Objective/Meaning As core leaders in rural revitalization, the engagement willingness and effectiveness of “leading geese” in beautiful countryside construction directly determine the outcomes. Analyzing the factors influencing their participation behavior can provide both theoretical and practical support for motivating their involvement and advancing beautiful countryside initiatives.

Methods/Procedures This study targets participants of the Fujian Province Rural Revitalization Leader Training Program for “Leading Geese” from 2022 to 2024. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, an analytical framework is constructed based on three dimensions—behavioral attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—to systematically investigate the mechanisms through which these dimensions influence participants’ behavioral intentions and actual behaviors.

Results/Conclusions The findings indicate that personal willingness within behavioral attitude and interpersonal influence within subjective norms positively enhance participation behavioral intentions. At the level of perceived behavioral control, both Self-interest altruism and participation ability exhibit significant positive effects on behavioral intentions. Behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control jointly constitute the core driving factors of participation behavior. Accordingly, optimization pathways are proposed, including improving incentive mechanisms, strengthening interpersonal connections, enhancing participation capacity, clarifying responsibility and supervision, and building emotionally mutual-benefit bonds. These recommendations hold substantial practical value.