Researchers consistently argue that organizations need to generate cre-
ative ideas to ensure long-term success and survival. One possible solu-
tion for increasing creativity is to inject “fresh blood” into the organiza-
tion by hiring new employees. However, past work suggests there may
be a number of impediments that stifle newcomer creativity and, further,
that encouraging newcomer creativity may compromise other adjust-
ment outcomes. Accordingly, the present research examines how em-
powering leaders, in conjunction with contextual and relational factors
(i.e., organizational support for creativity and newcomers’ trust in lead-
ers), facilitate newcomer creativity. Study 1 indicates that empowering
leadership positively predicts newcomer creativity and that this relation-
ship is contingent on the organizational context. Study 2 reveals that a
more specific and proximal contextual socialization factor–newcomers’
trust in leaders–is a more potent moderator than organizational support
for creativity. Further, these predictors operate through creative process
engagement to influence creativity. Finally, results indicate positive links
between empowering leadership and role clarity, attachment, and task
performance, suggesting that empowering leadership may serve as an
important, albeit overlooked, socialization tactic.