IntroductionPositive leadership is frequently associated with work engagement, but it remains unclear whether teachers’ perceptions of displayed charismatic leadership behaviors are directly associated with engagement or are linked to it through distinct professional resources. This study examined the indirect associations connecting perceived charismatic leadership with teachers’ work engagement through professional efficacy, professional belonging, and professional values.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with 248 higher education teachers recruited through convenience sampling in Shandong Province, China. The measurement items were adapted from established scales and localized through translation or wording review, expert review, pilot testing, and revision. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrap analysis of specific indirect associations were used to evaluate the proposed model.ResultsPerceived charismatic leadership was positively associated with professional efficacy and professional values but was not uniquely associated with work engagement or professional belonging in the structural model. Professional efficacy and professional values were positively associated with work engagement and yielded significant specific indirect associations between perceived charismatic leadership and work engagement. The corresponding indirect association through professional belonging was not significant.DiscussionThe pattern is consistent with the proposition that perceived charismatic leadership is related to teachers’ work engagement primarily through capability- and meaning-related professional resources. Because the data are cross-sectional and based on adapted self-report measures, the estimates should not be interpreted as evidence of temporal or causal mediation. Subject to longitudinal confirmation, higher education leaders may benefit from pairing inspirational communication with concrete support for capability development and credible professional-purpose formation.