Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of organizational psychology at University College London and CEO of Hogan Assessment Systems, pointed out the most common misconceptions about leadership in an interesting article on the Harvard Business Review website. He also stressed the following scientific facts about leadership potential.
Not everybody can be a leader
The possibility of becoming a good leader depends on several personality traits. Sociable, ambitious and curious people are more likely to succeed as leaders. Cognitive abilities, particularly intelligence, play an important role too.
Leadership is not a single player's solo
A fundamental metric of a leader's effectiveness is the performance of his team or organization in comparison with the competition. Good leaders must have a sense of integrity and, besides having a higher IQ, emotional intelligence. Narcissism, on the other hand, leads to unethical behavior and harms the efforts of their teams.
Different leaders lead differently
Individual leadership styles depend heavily on personality. Ambitious leaders are more callous people and think more like entrepreneurs, focusing on growth and innovation. Sociable and sensitive leaders are more charismatic, but also show tendencies toward narcissism and psychopathy. Men are generally more focused of transaction, and women more on transformation. However, sex doesn't play a vital role. Leaders must be assessed according to their individual abilities.
People can be born leaders
All human behavior patterns are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The ability to lead others is from 30 to 60% inherited. This is mainly because leadership is based on personality and intelligence, which are hereditary characteristics. Conversely, leadership isn't defined by culture, culture is a result of leadership.
Leadership potential can be measured from childhood
Since leadership is highly dependent on genetics and early childhood experience, it can be predicted from an early age. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, however, notes that there is the question of whether this is ethical and legal. In the future, however, we may measure the ability of individuals to lead in childhood by simply sampling and analysing saliva.
Leadership has its dark side
Leadership is associated with a number of negative issues as well. Even a good leader can have bad tendencies. Therefore, it is important to focus on not only the strengths but also the weaknesses of leaders and help them keep their weaknesses under control. Playing only to one’s strengths can be dangerous.
Modern technological changes play a minor role
"Leadership evolved over millions of years, enabling us to function as group-living animals. It is therefore unlikely that the core foundations of leadership will change," concludes Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, "In short, the science of leadership is well established. We should focus instead on applying what we already know, and ignoring what we think we know that isn’t true."
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