Background Humble leadership has been shown to foster innovative work behaviour among nurses, yet the mechanisms underlying this effect are not well understood.

Aim To investigate the mediating role of nurses’ psychological empowerment in the relationship between humble leadership and innovative work behaviour.

Method A descriptive correlational research design was used. A convenience sample of 306 nurses working in inpatient departments and critical care units at the National Liver Institute in Egypt were recruited. Three data collection tools were used – the Expressed Humility Scale, the Innovative Behavior Inventory and the Psychological Empowerment Scale.

Results A majority of participants (73%) perceived that their leaders had a high level of humility, 61% of participants had a moderate level of innovative work behaviour and 68% of participants felt a high level of psychological empowerment. Humble leadership and psychological empowerment were positively correlated but there was no relationship between humble leadership and innovative work behaviour. The relationship between humble leadership and innovative work behaviour was completely mediated by psychological empowerment.

Conclusion Cultivating a humble leadership style can help nurse leaders to psychologically empower staff, which can in turn prompt staff to be innovative at work.