Leadership Development starts earlier than we think: Capturing the capacity of new leaders to address the leader talent shortage

Globally, major leadership shortages exist within many organizational talent pipelines. One way of addressing this issue is to build upon the leadership experiences in childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood of a diverse set of leaders poised to lead with team-oriented, globally connected, and entrepreneurial styles of leadership. This chapter provides an overview of leadership capabilities developed throughout the early years, with acknowledgment of identity building and the importance of role modeling for a broad range of qualified future leaders. The chapter ends with a set of recommendations for learning and development professionals to leverage early leadership development and capitalize on the developmental needs of emerging leaders.