Leadership: a generational trait?

Is leadership innate or learned? Scientists have uncovered a gene that they believe creates leaders. The leadership gene (known as rs4950) is believed to be an inherited DNA sequence. And by leadership, scientists mean “taking charge” of a situation or people.

Scientists also think that leadership skills can be learned, but that there is a gene that initiates the drive to be a leader. For example, some people don’t want the responsibility or power of leadership, while others do. The Canberra Times (January 16, 2013) reports that researchers from the University College London found the gene after analyzing DNA samples from around 4,000 individuals and matching them with information about jobs and relationships. Workplace supervisory roles were used as a measurement of leadership behaviour.

The University College London showed, in the journal Leadership Quarterly, that a quarter (25%) of the observed variation in leadership traits between individuals could be explained by genetics. Therefore, the researchers maintain that the leadership gene rs4950 is passed down from generation to generation. But more research is needed to understand the ways in which the rs4950 gene interacted with other factors, such as cultural and environmental factors.

However, just because there is a leadership gene, the gene does not necessarily determine whether the leadership skills and style are used for good intentions or for dictatorship and “bad” intentions. Therefore, despite the importance of the gene, acquiring a leadership position still mostly depends on developing the necessary skills, relationship skills, and sense of morality. However, in the future, genetics may play a significant role in predicting who is more likely to occupy leadership roles in society.

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