Who should lead: How cognitive ability and personality predict leadership.

Abstract

Traditional measures of leadership explicitly ask test-takers whether they engage in successful leadership behaviors (e.g., Bass & Avolio, 1995). While these tests do show some relationships with leader effectiveness (Dumdum, Lowe, & Avolio, 2013), these tests are not ideal because test-takers could stretch the truth to make themselves appear to be more qualified leaders than they actually are. Because of this problem, we developed a test called Transactional/Transformational Implicit Leadership Test, (TILT). TILT is designed to assess leadership style without appearing to be a measurement of leadership. The TILT was posed to subjects as a reasoning test rather than a test of leadership style. For the present study, new measurement of leadership, a traditional leadership test, and multiple cognitive and personality tests to 120 subjects. The subjects of this study consisted of intro course college students in a two-hour, one-time session. We designed the study to examine two questions 1.) how well our new test of leadership measures leadership compared to a traditional test and 2.) which type of individual difference predicts leadership style more accurately, cognitive abilities (e.g., fluid intelligence and working memory capacity) or personality traits (e.g., extroversion and conscientiousness). Measuring effective leadership is important when determining who should be in charge. It is also important to not only build upon the current measures of effective leadership, but to also determine what characteristics predict generally what makes effective leaders. The results of the present study are important for determining how leaders are chosen in an industrial and organizational context.