From the article:
'A new study that aims to “plot a pathway from childhood experiences to adult leadership” which takes into account factors like the parental influence, motivational drive, intelligence, social skills and personality traits, has claimed to have identified the key characteristics of a child most likely to become a leader in adult life.
The research, which highlights behaviors like embracing novel experiences and supporting peers, may also help educators encourage leadership once they know what to look for and support, writes Laura Pappano at Harvard Education Letter.
The research was even able to identify characteristics in children as young as two years old.
As Allen Gottfried, director of the Fullerton Longitudinal Study, says – how a child initially responds to a novel situation involving new foods, people or situations is important.
“Some hold off, some withdraw, some engage,” he said.
Those who engage, “tend to become more extroverted, socially engaging and become everyday leaders.”'
The article seems to tout extroversion, but according to my reading, introversion/extroversion is largely innate and not something one should try to alter (except in extreme cases). Both introverts and extroverts have their strengths, as discussed by Katharine Beals' site http://katharinebeals.com/ and book.
