Drawing on self-determination theory, two experimental studies were designed to test the influence of social climate on leadership self-efficacy and transformational leadership behaviours in independent samples of university students. Across both studies, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: basic needs-supportive (BNS), behaviourally controlling (BC), or psychologically controlling (PC). Participants’ interim leadership self-efficacy, transformational leadership potential, group satisfaction, and group performance were subsequently evaluated. Study 1 (n = 199) and Study 2 (n = 176) found that the BNS climate predicted a significant effect on transformational leadership potential, but contrary to our hypotheses, did not have an effect on leadership self-efficacy. Furthermore, all three social climates did not reveal a significant effect on group satisfaction or performance. Overall, the findings emphasise the beneficial role of a BNS climate on leadership development in young adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)