Becoming a Leader: Emergence of Leadership Style and Identity

This conceptual paper presents a model for understanding how new leaders’ styles of leadership emerge and self-identity changes. New leaders’ interpersonal orientation, power motivation, and regulatory focus along with organizational expectations are predicted to influence their beliefs about how to exert power and their motivation to lead (MTL). New leaders’ power beliefs, MTL, and perceptions of situational needs affect their engaging in transactional and transformational behaviors. This is the emergence of leadership style and the development of identity as a leader. Over time, new leaders’ behaviors, outcomes, and identity formation alter their power beliefs and MTL. This model suggests directions for human resource development research and practice supporting new leader development and building a culture of leadership consistent with the organization’s expectations.