What if the adage “Natural Born Leader” was true? According to the article “Natural Born Leaders,” a study presented at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in Brighton concluded that certain genes are linked to certain leadership styles that some individuals possess. In this study, Dr. Carl Senior and his research team studied the behavioral qualities behind transformational leadership, which is considered to be one of the most powerful leadership styles.
The research began with 115 students completing a leadership questionnaire. Upon completion of the questionnaire, the students had their cheeks swabbed in order to collect their genes. The goal of the study was to see if there was a correlation between genes involved in synthesizing dopamine and serotonin. Two different genes in particular were brought to their attention: catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). Students who proved to have the gene for the most common form of dopamine showed higher test scores than those who lacked the gene.
A follow up study on the inefficient dopamine gene (the gene expressed in those with low scores in the two leadership behaviors of intellectual stimulation and charisma) showed that these individuals were unable to produce efficient charisma, which is crucial to the expression of leadership qualities. The researchers hope to use their newfound knowledge on genes and leadership styles to improve how effective leaders are trained.
Knowledge about the genes that affect leadership qualities in different individuals may be used as a means to better train future leaders. Knowing that scientists can discover the genes that make certain individuals born leaders may help us understand why certain people in history were such influential and skilled leaders. Perhaps a future study could be done on the genes of such leaders as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and even Adolf Hitler in order to see if there was a link between their genes and the leadership styles they possessed. Such a study may prove that it is possible for a person to a “Natural Born Leader.”
Well, this might be true. When donating sperm, they have certain qualifications for males who do donate. They have to have some sort of status, education, a certain look and features. In other words, it supports the theory of "making leaders" .
ReplyDeleteIt does make some logical sense that the inefficiency of those neurotransmitters like dopamine and seratonin to have an impact on intelligence and furthermore leadership. In many cases the lower dopamine and seretonin levels or the communication between those receptors is the main cause of many psycological problems like depression and anxiety. It appears that intelligence and that ability to be a leader is more than just a cognative natured problem
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