A Longitudinal Investigation of Leader Development and Leadership Emergence

Abstract

Although it requires time to develop and emerge as leaders, there is a shortage of longitudinal research on these topics. Across two essays, this dissertation aims to address this gap in the literature. Essay 1 examines the nature and degree of leader self-view development during formal leadership training. Drawing upon theories of leader development, it is suggested that as individuals acquire new leadership skills and knowledge, their leader efficacy and identity will develop. Testing competing predictions between developmental readiness (i.e., openness to change) and developmental necessity (i.e., room to change) perspectives, Essay 1 further examines whether learning goal orientation and motivation to lead predict how much and in what ways trainees developed in their leader self-views. Cadets (N = 240) participating in a leadership development course self-reported their leader self-views throughout the program. Using latent growth models, results provide evidence that individuals’ leader efficacy and identity developed–although differently–during leadership training. Moreover, results highlight the need to consider the developmental necessity perspective when allocating leadership development opportunities. Essay 2 examines the dynamic co-occurrence of leadership and trust over time. Drawing upon social exchange theory and models of social entrainment, it is suggested that trust can facilitate the emergence of informal leadership and informal leadership can facilitate the development of trust over time. Cadets (N = 123) participating in a leadership development course provided peer ratings of trust and leadership over time. Using stochastic actor-oriented models, results provide support that, over time, individuals initially perceived as trustworthy emerge as leaders and individuals initially perceived as leaders are trusted. Moreover, being trusting of others can facilitate one’s own leadership emergence over time. Overall, results across these two essays shed light on the longitudinal processes that affect how leaders develop and emerge.