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The purpose of this paper is to analyse three dimensions of leadership behaviour in professional environments by disclosing the specific competency profile developed by those who actually lead in work organizations.

Using data from a graduate survey oriented to provide evidence on the transition from higher education to labour market, a structural equations model (SEM) is specified and estimated to explain leadership behaviour at work in terms of the competency profile developed by individuals and its determinants. The competency profile behind leadership behaviour is the combination of two elements: the competency accumulated through professional experience and the competency profile of individuals five years before, which was partially a result of higher education. The relationships are tested on two subsamples of graduates from engineering and business/economics fields, and on a sample of graduates from all study fields.

Estimates show evidence of significant direct and indirect effects of a specific competency profile on three connected dimensions of leadership behaviour at work: tasks, relations and change. The results show direct effects of competency profiles at the time of graduation on competency profiles five years later, and of specific higher education ways of teaching and learning on competency profiles at the time of graduation. The effects are also significant by field of study with slight differences on estimates size and on the composition of effects.

The analysis brings together leadership behaviour, competency development and education production literatures to help scholars and managers to better understand the relationships between the process of competency development and individual leadership behaviour in working environments.