Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of leaders’ positive emotions on their followers’ perceptions of leaders’ effectiveness through a serial mediation mechanism that employed followers’ positive emotions and leaders’ helping behaviors as mediators. Design/methodology/approach This study is quantitative in nature. The data for it were collected from supervisors and subordinates in the restaurant and hotel industries of Pakistan. This study used a mix of convenient and purposive/judgmental sampling and the sample consisted of 400 dyads. Findings This study has found statistical support for all its hypotheses. In particular, the results of this study have demonstrated that followers’ emotions and leaders’ helping behaviors mediate the relationships between leaders’ positive emotions and followers’ perceptions about their leaders’ effectiveness, acting in the form of a chain. Practical implications This study has implications for organizational leaders who are in the process of implementing emotional regulation in the workplace. Originality/value This is one of the few studies that has tested a serial mediation model to examine the conditions under which leaders’ positive emotions determine their effectiveness.