Individuals are exposed to critical developmental experiences that shape their leadership identities throughout their life span. Yet, there is limited empirical research that clearly differentiates processes and variables tied to key life stages rather than broadly ascribed to “adults.” This symposium includes five presentations that offer unique insights on leader identity development via a lifespan lens. We specifically examine leader identity processes in four critical life stages: adolescence, emerging adulthood, adulthood and late adulthood. The research questions posed in the symposium address key leader identity antecedents, highlight the role of developmental interventions and cast light on leader identity dynamics during leadership transitions. The presentations integrate different theoretical foundations that emphasise the importance of cognitive processes, emotions, goals and self-regulatory processes for leader identity development in critical life stages. The results showcase multinational samples and diverse methodologies. Collectively, our symposium offers important lifespan insights on leader identity development and raises new directions for further research.