How do childhood experiences shape adult leadership traits?

Developmental Psychology & Leadership

This work investigates how childhood experiences shape adult leadership traits using cross-cultural qualitative data from 20 global leaders. Applying the Gioia methodology, four core dimensions were identified: birth order and early responsibility, collectivist cultural discipline, prolonged childhood adversity, and intergenerational socioeconomic mobility, demonstrating that leadership traits develop through cumulative, lifespan processes rather than solely through adult training. Findings offer data-driven implications for leadership development, talent identification, and organizational design by challenging one-size-fits-all models and highlighting the value of context-aware, developmentally informed approaches.