How New Leaders Emerge and Form Their Identity

Leadership Development: Cultivating Leader Identity and Capacity

In order to grow and sustain high performance, organisations must consistently produce new leaders. As less experienced team members step into key roles and forge their identities as leaders, they embark on a critical journey of self-discovery. Leadership identity develops not simply by title, but through real-world experiences where leadership status is recognised by others through followership.

Successfully supporting the development of new leaders is a cornerstone of long-term organisational resilience and adaptability. Let’s explore how leadership identity forms, what influences it, and what organisations can do to foster strong leadership pipelines.

Leadership Development: Building Leaders from Within

Many new leaders emerge through structured, formal training provided by their organisations. During this training, standards and expectations of desirable leadership behaviours are communicated—both explicitly and through observation of existing leaders.

The cultural norms of an organisation, including what leadership styles are encouraged or discouraged, heavily shape how new leaders choose to engage with their teams. Observing effective leadership behaviours in action plays a significant role in influencing emerging leadership identities.

However, in many organisations, leadership transitions are often less formalised—a classic “sink or swim” scenario. Those who fail to successfully adopt a leadership identity within an acceptable timeframe may face penalties, from poor evaluations to demotion or being sidelined. Meanwhile, new leaders who adapt quickly and perform effectively are typically rewarded with increased responsibility, visibility, and support.

New leaders are also expected to demonstrate flexibility, using a blend of leadership styles depending on context—a principle often referred to as situational leadership. At times, a more transactional, directive style is necessary to drive outcomes. At other times, transformational approaches are needed to empower individuals and create lasting change.

Ultimately, the leadership identity formation process is highly individual, shaped by environmental factors, personal experiences, and deeply held beliefs about power, influence, and relationships.

Previous Research on Leadership Identity

Research into leadership emergence has uncovered several consistent themes:

• Self-Image Transformation: A major part of becoming a leader involves the transition from seeing oneself as a team member or specialist to embracing a leadership self-identity.
• Contextual Adaptability: New leaders must recognise which behaviours are most valuable depending on the situation—for example, being more relationship-focused in small teams, or task-focused in large, complex groups.
• Role Tension: Emerging leaders often experience tension as they navigate the shift from peer to leader, which requires renegotiating past relationships and roles.
• Moral Orientation: Conscientious leaders, those driven by a strong sense of ethics and right action, tend to outperform more purely transactional leaders.
• Environmental Barriers: Organisational context can either enable or hinder a leader’s development, depending on the support available and the leader’s sphere of influence.

While much has been studied about leadership emergence, a new study sheds additional light on how leadership style becomes integrated into a leader’s very identity.

A New Study on Emerging Leadership Style and Identity

Researchers from the State University of New York conducted a recent study exploring how new leaders develop their leadership styles and integrate them into their self-concept. Their findings highlight a dynamic, ongoing process shaped by both individual characteristics and environmental factors.

Findings: Ten Processes That Shape Leadership Identity

The study identified ten key processes by which new leaders develop their leadership style and identity:

1. New Leaders’ Characteristics and Experiences

Each new leader brings unique values, beliefs, and perspectives.

• Communal leaders view power as a social responsibility, focusing on empowering team members.
• Exchange-oriented leaders see power as a self-serving asset, using rewards and punishments to drive behaviour.

2. Organisational Expectations and Culture

Organisational culture profoundly influences leadership emergence.

• Cultures that value control and authority produce more dominant, transactional leaders.
• Cultures that value collaboration and empowerment foster more communal, transformational leaders.

3. Power Beliefs

Earlier experiences and role models shape new leaders’ beliefs about power.

• Communal leaders focus on earning respect and promoting open communication.
• Exchange leaders tend to favour authority, demands, and one-way communication.

4. Perception of Situational Conditions

Leaders assess the needs of their work environment and adapt their styles accordingly. Their interpretation of organisational priorities heavily influences whether they adopt transformational or transactional behaviours.

5. Expectations and Personal Characteristics Impact Motivation to Lead

The motivation to lead arises from personal experiences, organisational culture, and internal values. Key drivers include:

• Responsibility levels
• Enjoyment of leadership tasks
• Altruism and service orientation

6. Motivation to Lead

The study identifies three types of leadership motivation:

• Affective Motivation: Based on emotional fulfilment and values alignment.
• Social Normative Motivation: Rooted in duty and social responsibility.
• Non-Calculative Motivation: Driven by a willingness to lead without focusing on personal costs.

7. Trying Leadership Behaviours

New leaders often experiment with various leadership behaviours to discover what works best in their context.

8. Emerging Leadership Style

Behaviours reinforced by positive feedback become the foundation of a leader’s authentic style. Unsuccessful behaviours tend to be discarded.

9. Self-Identity as a Leader

Once a leadership style solidifies, it becomes internalised as part of the leader’s identity. Positive developmental spirals can build increasingly effective leadership, while negative feedback loops can stifle growth and motivation.

10. Self-Identity Feeds Back into Motivation to Lead

Finally, a leader’s self-identity reinforces their motivation to continue developing, evolving their style and capabilities over time.

Practical Recommendations for Organisations

Based on the study’s findings, organisations should:

• Provide Regular Feedback: Help new leaders understand how their behaviours and beliefs are perceived and where adjustments may be needed.
• Support Diverse Leadership Pipelines: Focus on identifying and nurturing leadership potential across all demographics, especially for women and underrepresented groups.
• Cultivate Empowering Cultures: Create environments where collaboration, empowerment, and two-way communication are prioritised over dominance and rigid authority structures.

By consciously supporting emerging leaders through these processes, organisations can cultivate authentic, adaptable, and deeply aligned leadership talent with organizational values.

Take the Next Step: Develop Purposeful, Authentic Leaders

The future of your organisation depends on the leaders you cultivate today. At Oxford Leadership, we specialise in helping organisations develop leaders who are deeply self-aware and highly effective—leaders who can balance power, purpose, and people.

Through programmes like Self-Managing Leadership (SML)  and our targeted leadership development solutions, we empower emerging leaders to discover their authentic leadership style, align with organisational goals, and drive meaningful, sustainable success.

If you are ready to strengthen your leadership pipeline and build a resilient, authentic leadership culture, we are here to help.