25% of Leadership Abilities are due to Inherited Genes
Will leader’s son be a leader? The Bushes, the Gandhis/Nehrus, the Clintons, the Kennedys, the Bhuttos – does a leader beget a leader off-spring? Well, a new study seems to suggest that Leadership – although largely a learnt skill – is also inherited in part due to a Gene Sequence.
The study, published online inLeadership Quarterly, is the first to identify a specific DNA sequence associated with the tendency for individuals to occupy a leadership position. Using a large twin sample, the international research team, which included academics from Harvard, NYU, and the University of California, estimate that a quarter of the observed variation in leadership behaviour between individuals can be explained by genes passed down from their parents.
“We have identified a genotype, called rs4950, which appears to be associated with the passing of leadership ability down through generations,” said lead author Dr Jan-Emmanuel De Neve (UCL School of Public Policy). “The conventional wisdom — that leadership is a skill — remains largely true, but we show it is also, in part, a genetic trait.”
25% of the differences in Leadership behavior between individuals can be attributed to Genes difference. That’s a huge strike against the non-leaders and their families!
What one wonders is how does environment and a person’s personal behavioral changes over ride the gene differentiation? And is that passable to the next generation?
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