In order to address biodiversity decline, international reports recommend transformative change to reform global economic systems, shifting the prevailing paradigm of economic growth and overconsumption to penalise actions that deteriorate biodiversity and to reward sustainability. Yet, little is known on how can leadership enable such transformative change. In this conceptual paper, we engage in developing the concept of biodiversity-respectful leadership. In our conceptual development, we build on an interdisciplinary perspective. Our main contribution is in proposing and outlining the need for and the contents of a potential new leadership framework that addresses the biodiversity crisis, termed ‘biodiversity-respectful leadership’. To this end, our paper offers disciplinary reviews of prior research on biodiversity from the perspectives of institutions, business and consumers. Thereafter, we move toward a review of leadership research, before developing a multi-level biodiversity-respectful leadership framework. In closing, we highlight challenges in such development, while offering an agenda guiding future research.