Background <p>The influence of visionary leadership is not unequivocally positive; while it can inspire and create opportunities, its high expectations and transformative demands may also generate significant pressure for employees.</p> Objective <p>This study examines the influence of visionary leadership on employee performance through the mediating role of affective organizational commitment within the framework of Social Exchange Theory.</p> Methods <p>A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted among full-time lecturers working in private universities across Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A total of 225 questionnaires were distributed, and 115 valid responses were analyzed using the SEM approach with SmartPLS.</p> Results <p>The structural model results show that visionary leadership has a significant and positive effect on employee performance and enhances affective organizational commitment. Affective organizational commitment also exerts a strong positive influence on employee performance, emerging as the strongest predictor in the model. Mediation analysis confirms that affective organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between visionary leadership and employee performance, indicating that visionary leaders improve performance not only through behavioral influence but also by cultivating employees’ emotional attachment to the organization.</p> Conclusion <p>The findings contribute to the leadership and organizational behavior literature by clarifying the psychological mechanisms through which visionary leadership operates.</p>