Entrepreneurial practices motivated by social and environmental purposes have gained worldwide recognition. Nevertheless, there are still many gaps in scientific knowledge regarding this phenomenon. This thesis investigates leadership attributes and processes that enable social endeavors. It encompasses two stand-alone essays that empirically investigate social venture leadership and the process through which it allows social innovations. Essay one research question concerned which characteristics, behaviors, and leadership skills are essential for social venture leaders to reach their business objectives. A qualitative research was conducted based on the Grounded Theory methodological protocol. Thirty-six actors were interviewed – social organizations leaders and their stakeholders. The results unveil eight essential attributes of social venture leaders: drive to cause impact, unswerving moral integrity, other-centered communication, constructive relational stance, team empowerment, co-creative problem solving, strategic network development, and high-quality delivery commitment. These findings suggest that one classic leadership perspective alone cannot fully encompass all the essential attributes of social venture leadership. Essay two research question concerned which psychosocial processes enabled by social venture leaders promote team creativity and innovation. A quantitative research was conducted, focusing on the team level of analyses, to verify the mechanisms through which servant and empowering leadership enable team creativity and team innovation in social ventures. A survey was conducted with a sample of 41 leaders and 73 team members from socioenvironmental organizations. The hypotheses were statistically evaluated through Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equations modeling, using the SmartPLS 3.0 software. All hypotheses were confirmed but one. Servant leadership positively influences team identity and team commitment. However, the connection between these processes with creativity was not established. Empowering leadership positively influences team boundary spanning and team dynamic capabilities, which were associated with team creativity and innovation in social ventures. These findings are a unique contribution to the literature and contribute to a deeper understanding of which leadership processes are necessary to bring about social innovations to solve socio-environmental problems. Both studies advance knowledge on leadership and its role in social ventures.