Introduction to the special issue: Longitudinal studies of leadership development

This introduction provides an overview of The Leadership Quarterly special issue on Longitudinal Studies of Leadership Development. The purposes of the special issue were to highlight research on the precursors of adult leadership, and to emphasize the importance of longitudinal designs and long-lens approaches to the study of leadership. In addition to shedding light on variables that impact the development of leadership, many of the studies in this special issue make use of important longitudinal databases that can be tapped for future research on leadership development across the lifespan.