Abstract
In contexts of mandated sustainability reform, organisations are increasingly expected to align strategic transformation with inclusive and impactful development agendas. Yet such initiatives frequently generate unintended structural and psychological consequences, including role ambiguity, procedural overload, symbolic inclusion, and disengagement. These dynamics undermine collective thriving and weaken the socio-economic impact of reform, particularly in resource-constrained and hybrid governance environments. This study examines how leadership systems shape the structural production or prevention of meaningless work during sustainability-driven organisational transformation. Drawing on qualitative data from 36 senior leaders across eight energy-sector organisations in Bahrain, the paper introduces the Sustainable Network Leadership (SNL) framework. SNL conceptualises leadership as a multi-level governance infrastructure encompassing operational, strategic, cultural, and inter-organisational domains that structure how meaning is embedded in everyday work practices. Findings show that when leadership architectures are fragmented or symbolically oriented, transformation becomes performative rather than developmental. Conversely, when leadership systems integrate purpose, resource alignment, participatory legitimacy, and cross-organisational coordination, work is experienced as contributive and socially valuable, strengthening organisational resilience and reform credibility. By reframing leadership as a structural condition of meaning-making, this study advances scholarship at the intersection of organisational transformation, responsible leadership, and meaningful work, while offering a diagnostic framework for designing coherent and impact-oriented reform systems.