Abstract: Anchored in self-regulation theory and employing cross-level analytical techniques, this article investigates the effects of differentiated empowering leadership on employees' innovation performance. By analyzing data from 331 employees across 66 teams, it uncovers significant insights that differentiated empowering leadership has a positive impact on employees' innovative performance. Moreover, it positively influences job crafting activities among employees, with such job crafting serving as a mediating factor that bridges differentiated empowering leadership and enhanced innovative performance. Notably, the study finds that achievement goal orientation plays a crucial role in amplifying the positive relationship between differentiated empowering leadership and job crafting. It also enhances the mediating role of job crafting in the pathway from differentiated empowering leadership to superior innovative performance among employees.