Early Life Experiences Shape Leader Development: Uncovering Mechanisms via Large Language Models

While existing research suggests that early experiences profoundly influence leader development, the mechanisms through which these experiences translate into workplace leadership roles remain unclear. Based on experiential learning theory, we employ large language models (LLMs) to analyze narratives from 405 leaders, uncovering the mediating pathways between early life experiences and leader development. Using BERTopic for topic modeling and LaBSE for semantic similarity validation, we identify five key mechanisms—networking ability, autonomy, resilience, flexibility and self-efficacy—that link early experiences to leadership emergence and effectiveness. Our findings highlight the importance of both intrapersonal and interpersonal factors in leader development, offering new insights into how early life experiences serve as foundational seeds for future leadership. This research advances the leader development literature by providing a more nuanced understanding of the lifelong process of leader development and offers practical implications for leadership training and development programs.