The aim of this study is to understand and explain the process of forming educational leadership identity among elementary school principals in Hamadan. Given that leadership identity is a dynamic، experience-based، and context-dependent phenomenon، a qualitative approach using grounded theory methodology with Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) analytical framework was adopted. Participants included principals identified as exemplary leaders according to formal educational and managerial performance indicators for the 1404–1405 academic year and holding a master’s degree or higher. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews، and sampling was initially purposive and subsequently theoretical، continuing until theoretical saturation was reached. Data analysis was conducted in three stages: open، axial، and selective coding، and a paradigmatic model comprising a core phenomenon، contextual conditions، intervening factors، strategies، and outcomes was employed. Findings indicated that the formation of educational leadership identity begins with causal conditions such as transformation in professional self-perception, experiencing the inefficiency of a control-oriented approach, and tensions arising from the gap between policy and practice, and manifests in the central phenomenon of a shift from task- and control-oriented leadership to learning-oriented and meaning-centered leadership. This process unfolds within the context of school culture and organizational resources and under the influence of managerial autonomy, teachers’ professional capacity, and parental pressures. Principals build trust, support professional development, and implement gradual change to foster a learning culture, strengthen teachers’ growth, improve student learning, and reinforce their leadership identity. The model can guide principals’ development and policies for preparing educational leaders.