Power does tend to corrupt. Especially the more testosterone is added to the mix.

That’s just one finding that the scientific study of leadership has revealed. Yet, despite the legions of leadership consultants plying their theories, very little research in the field has been conducted with scientific rigor. Even science basics, such as control groups and identifying variables, are missing. That punches big holes in many leading leadership philosophies and best-selling books; they look at what top-performing companies have in common…but don’t check to see if the worst performing companies have those same things in common, too!

Enter John Antonakis. A professor of organizational behavior, author of The Nature of Leadership, and the editor-in-chief of The Leadership Quarterly, John applies the scientific model to studies of leadership qualities, with a particular interest in charisma. He’ll talk about power, hormones, and his AI charismometer in this episode.

Here’s what John and Maureen cover:

• Why the lack of truly scientific studies of leadership makes it difficult to tease out what really forges a good (even great) leader;
• How testosterone in a leader increases their likelihood of corruption; and
• That most traits of truly great leaders can be learned – you don’t have to be born with them!

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“As the corona fog clears, I trust too that scientists will see why they need to study leadership with the same urgency and energy they study molecules, vaccines, and interventions; simply put, leadership is an effective weapon that must be added to our arsenal to fight viral pandemics.”