Leadership and Innovation have been both central to discussions within the academic literature. However, the number of empirical studies investigating the interaction between these two dimensions has been limited. This paper examined the mediating role of Trust in Leader, focusing on the influence of transformational Leadership (TL) on the Innovation of Palestinian universities. The study conducted a quantitative questionnaire data from (249) respondents representing the academic teaching staff of the universities in Palestine. Within this study the partial least squares-Structural equation model PLS-SEM for analyzing data and identifying the implications. Generally, the findings indicated that TL and trust in leader are significantly related to the innovation of universities in Palestine. A further result regarding the mediating role indicated that trust in leader mediates the influence of TL on innovation. Discussion on the findings and recommendations of this study were also provided.

Keywords : Transformational Leadership, Organizational Trust, Trust in Leader, Innovation, Universities, Palestine.