Leadership Emergence: Answering the “How” and “Why” Questions by Considering Levels of Analysis and Form of Emergence

Abstract

Leadership emergence is an inherently dynamic process whereby certain individuals come to be seen as leaders by others, some of whom will choose to follow them. The circumstances under which leadership emergence occurs depend on the persons involved, their interactions, and the context. Yet leadership research has too often viewed leadership emergence from a static and entity perspective, where some individuals are assumed to have qualities that predispose them to lead, without explaining how and why emergence occurs. Alternatively, we apply a typology that examines leadership emergence across levels of analysis (event, individual, dyadic, group, and organizational) and forms of emergence (global, compositional, and compilational). We examine representative theories of leadership emergence at the intersections of these considerations to demonstrate the utility of adopting a multilevel and dynamic perspective. Additionally, we offer recommendations for applying this typology to advance future theory and research into leadership emergence.