Leaders are made- so are followers!

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It turns out that there are genetic traits that determine whether we are leaders or followers.  Outgoing nature, intelligence, dominance, and physical attractiveness are traits that are associated with leaders. But, so followers have these same traits, too.   Which means that given these traits, one can be made into a leader OR a follower.

 

And, every leader must also be a follower.  After all, the CEO should be a follower of the board of directors.  Learning how to follow can make you both a better leader and a better follower.

Leader and Follower Attributes

Richard D. Arvey (then at Minnesota, now at the National University of Singapore), along with Maria Rotundo, Wendy Johnson, and Matt McGue studied 646 identical and fraternal (male) twins; it was roughly a 50/50 split between monozygotic (100% of the same genes) and dizygotic (50% of the same genes) twins. Since these children lived in the same household, the environments for both twins should be similar.

What Arvey was seeking to determine was whether identical twins had a greater propensity to demonstrate leadership traits than fraternal twins.  (In other words, if one identical twin was a leader, one would expect the twin to be likewise.)  What he found was that 39 % of the variability was due to genetics.  (And, there is NO leadership gene, per se.)  In other words, nurture- the effect of the environment- had a greater impact than did genetics.  (As you can see, almost 2/3 of the tendency was non-genetically derived.)  And it’s why families with access to wealth and privilege tend to become leaders.

Ron Riggio (who edited the book:  The Art of Followership: How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations) has been studying followership for a while- and he knows that followership is not the absence of leadership.

All too often, we confuse “yes men” with followers.  These “yes men” do follow others, but they don’t truly engage their brains or take initiatives in moving the group forward.  Neither are the “alienated” true followers; oh, they follow, they think they know what’s best and often challenge the leaders- but they often create a vast network of negativity within the organization.  The “pragmatics” tend to back whomever they feel will benefit them- which means their goal is the really the maintenance of the status quo.

“Star followers” (also called ideal) are positive individuals who work with and for the leader to insure that positive outcomes result.   These ideal followers have the courage to challenge the leader and/or the status quo, if they feel that direction is not going to yield the desired outcome.  They also insure that behaviors are ethical- both in the leader and the organization.

Given this, we can understand how to develop our leaders and followers.  It’s not a one-step process.  Our organization’s (and country’s) success depend upon it.Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

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18 thoughts on “Leaders are made- so are followers!”

      1. I have heard many leadership gurus here claiming nature not nurture is necessary. I have also seen non-scientific studies claiming the same. I like this study. I am not disagreeing. I think leadership is nurture and situational. I appreciated the info here. Gives me more information to discuss with some of the people who are claiming nature matters more
        Roberta recently posted..To Get out of stuck and excel just ask

  1. According to the definitions within the article, I am a “star” or “ideal” leader.. my last corporate manager really liked me for the reasons stated. ;=)

  2. Hi, Roy,

    It is wonderful to have **met** you at Radu’s blog. I was attracted to your blog title.

    I am a firm believer that leaders are made. I have not done any research but see so many real life examples. Thank you for sharing those different types of ‘true followers’.
    It helps people to think hard if they are really great followers that can strike the balance between following and leading. Often, true leaders-in-the-making challenge the status quo. TRUE leaders respond using their brains and do not over-react or become defensive.

    For example, a network marketing leader who became successful decades ago may want team members to call people in the Yellow Pages. It worked for them. A true ‘Star Leader’ would challenge the efficacy of that same strategy in this date and age.
    A true leader will listen and work collaboratively for better TEAM results.

    I enjoyed reading your post. Very informative and interesting to read. Thank you 🙂

    Viola Tam
    Viola Tam recently posted..Network Marketing Success Tips: Brian Tracy (5)

  3. Hey Roy,

    Though studies show an interesting pattern, I believe leadership is something that you learn through being in that situation. Right there and right then, it might take time to make those decisions, to take certain steps which might make you a step ahead and to actually have the courage to “lead” and to make that change. There are a whole number of factors that make a leader and also certain innate abilities. But I might give nurture more weight than nature on this!
    Hajra recently posted..Will they call you over for a bloggers party?

  4. Well once again Roy I can mention that I am a fraternal twin. We are complete opposites. I am the out going twin and in fact, my dad would force me to take her to high school parties, otherwise she would sit in our family room in the rocking chair watching TV. Even today she is very shy, except when it comes to a discussion…. if she disagrees with you, you better watch out because she will certainly let you know.

    Thanks Roy for sharing yet another article where at the end I am always going …. ‘huh, I didn’t know that’!!
    Lynn Brown recently posted..Is Follow Friday Hurting Your Online Marketing Efforts

  5. Twin studies are so fascinating aren’t they? They are as close as we can get to really studying the whole nature/nurture issue. Not perfect but a good start.

    The interesting thing here is that despite your genes you can learn to be a leader. Great leaders may not have ever been so, except they lived through an exceptional time and had to step up.

    This is a really interesting area of study what with so much of our lives being told we need good leadership and so rarely being told what that means and how to do it.

    Good stuff Roy
    Bonnie recently posted..Failure is totally an option!

  6. What effect does the type of leadership have on the group? Are democratic methods less efficient than authoritarian, as even many lovers of democracy believe? Or does a group work better under a democratic leader who uses persuasion rather than force, education rather than propaganda,
    Followership recently posted..Followership and Leadership

    1. Those are great questions.
      I have found that leadership works best when followers are keen on the mission. That usually entails a more democratic system. Of course, one can examine North Korea and see that, given decades of training (indoctrination?) a dictatorship can provide leadership.
      But, for those of us who believe in freedom- either limited or full- then we seek non-authoritarian leadership.
      There are times, however, when a leader must be autocratic- in times of crisis. A massive recall of a product, the disintegration of a market, the death of another leader of the firm… In times like those, it is critical that only one set of directions are provided, that the directions are followed explicitiy, to insure that the team survives the crisis- and thrives in the future.

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