The study examined how emotional intelligence and self-esteem relate to leadership competence in 260 nursing students at Northern Border University in Saudi Arabia. Three validated questionnaires were used: the Leadership Competence Scale (40 items, α = 0.91), the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (16 items, α = 0.88), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (10 items, α = 0.82). Males scored significantly higher on leadership competence (mean 139.33, SD 30.45) than females (mean 94.89, SD 32.14; p < .001, effect size d = 1.42). Conversely, women had higher emotional intelligence (mean 95.39, SD 23.04) than men (mean 67.45, SD 25.75; p < 0.001, d = −1.14). For men, emotional intelligence significantly predicted leadership competence (β = 0.28, p = 0.004) along with academic year (β = 0.275, p = 0.005) and age (β = 0.223, p = 0.023), with the model explaining 22.9% of the variance. For women, the strongest predictor of leadership competence was self-esteem (β = 0.293, p = 0.001) and academic year was also significant (β = 0.244, p = 0.007), while emotional intelligence had no predictive value (β = −0.037, p = 0.63); the model explained 29.9% of the variance. A significant interaction between emotional intelligence and gender (β = −0.37, p = 0.020) confirmed differential, gender-specific pathways to leadership competence. The authors conclude that it is important to consider these differences when preparing future nurses in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.