Background Organizations should strive to function at the highest level possible. One way to foster organizational success is through leadership development (LD), though such education for middle managers was limited. Additionally, new mid-level managers in healthcare experienced decreased wellbeing. These issues are both harmful to institutional outcomes.

Aim The aim was to explore the impact of LD and psychological capital (PsyCap) on new middle managers’ burnout and turnover intention.

Methods This qualitative, single-case study occurred in the Mid-West United States. Three data collection techniques were utilized, with the primary method being semi-structured interviews of 19 new middle managers. Data was also collected by observing LD activities and reviewing organizational documents about existing LD programs.

Results Participants acknowledged a high prevalence of burnout and turnover intention. Subjects claimed to experience burnout related to the organization’s LD activities. The PsyCap constructs helped decrease burnout and turnover. Managers with high levels of self-efficacy and resiliency, though, expressed increased incidents of burnout. The combination of effective LD and positive PsyCap appeared to have a compounding effect of decreasing burnout and turnover.

Conclusion Healthcare organizations should utilize the data identified from this study to decrease and prevent burnout and turnover among their leaders. Administrators are encouraged to improve the effectiveness of their LD programs and employ managers with positive PsyCap elements. The adverse impact of self-efficacy and resiliency on burnout was contrary to the limited existing literature and should be examined further. Additionally, a combined exploration of LD and PsyCap related to burnout had not been studied, resulting in a unique contribution of this investigation; more research is necessary.