Mentorship, Leadership Development and Strategic Agility: A Quantitative Study among Employees of a Commecial Bank in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

The increasing volatility of the banking environment has intensified the need for organisations to develop employees who can lead effectively, respond to change and support organisational adaptation. This study examines the relationship between mentorship, leadership development and strategic agility among employees of a commercial Bank in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The study adopted a positivist-pragmatic philosophical position, a deductive approach and a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected through a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire from 53 employees across four branchesof a commercial Bank in Owerri. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The findings indicate that mentorship is highly established within the participating branches, with respondents reporting strong levels of formal structure, trust, constructive feedback and developmental support. Pearson correlation analysis identified a strong positive relationship between mentorship practices and leadership development (r = .731, p < .001). Regression analysis further showed that leadership development was a significant positive predictor of strategic agility (R² = .615, β = .785, p < .001). Mentorship also demonstrated a significant positive predictive relationship with strategic agility (R² = .472, β = .687, p < .001). The findings suggest that mentorship is associated with the development of leadership capabilities and agility-related behaviours, including timely decision-making, adaptability, innovation, collaboration and responsiveness to changing customer needs. The study contributes context-specific quantitative evidence from the Nigerian banking sector and recommends strengthening formal mentoring systems, expanding peer, reverse and cross-functional mentoring, and integrating mentoring more closely with leadership-development and organisational-learning strategies.