Study: We Can Spot Powerful Leaders In 2 Minutes

A new study suggests we can identify the leader of a group of strangers by sight.

By Colin Lecher Posted 12.20.2012 at 2:00 pm 8 Comments

Warren Buffett And Barack Obama Wikimedia Commons

Thought experiment: What if you didn't know Barack Obama was president? Would you be able to spot him in a crowd--single him out as a leader? A new study suggests you might. Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found that people can identify leaders by sight--all it takes is about two minutes.

To figure this out, the researchers took a sample of 200 people, then broke them up into small groups and had them solve puzzles. The subjects then ranked each other based on who was the most dominant, prestigious, and influential in the group. After that, another group of 60 people was hooked up to eye-tracking technology and shown two minutes of the teams' problem-solving attempts. The watchers, researchers found, focused in on the person ranked the most dominant. (As an aside, likability didn't seem to affect where people looked, and "dominant" means "intimidating" more than "inspiring.")

Watching a group complete simple tasks together sounds like a fairly easy way to pick out the leader, so there's no telling how the situation would change at, say, a cocktail party. But if we really can determine the boss in two minutes, that's an intriguing find.

[University of British Columbia]

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8 Comments

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Robot

12/20/12 at 3:07 pm

A nice looking typical color suit with quality tie and quality matching shoes does wonders and yes a good haircut.

You too can be a leader among men and if your looking for a job, this helps wonders!!!

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gizmowiz

12/20/12 at 4:34 pm

I can spot arrogant vain stupid ones the second they open their mouths.....Obama is one such person.

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UncleJesie

12/20/12 at 4:43 pm

@Robot - totally agree.

I notice that a server at a restaurant can usually do this by the second time they visit a table. Good ones can do it immediately.

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ThisGuy13

12/20/12 at 6:09 pm

@gizmowiz - Weird I can notice those same type of people as soon as they type out a sentence and wouldn't you know I see one now.

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zerox012

12/20/12 at 8:53 pm

Intimidating? Then we get what we deserve.

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Oakspar77777

12/21/12 at 2:29 pm

Really? It looks to me like Mr. Buffett is schooling Obama on how to pass a tax that will tax hard work buisness owners by "taxing the rich" without actually raising Mr. Buffets taxes by anything.

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LouisMP

01/02/13 at 3:26 pm

This study says more about what it takes to be a good follower than a leader. The study reminds me of a friend who runs an ostrich farm. They are tall and intimidating birds that can break your leg in a single kick. To safely walk into the pen among the birds, you need to demonstrate dominance and leadership. This is commonly done by hanging a large yellow raincoat on a broom handle and holding it up higher than the tallest bird.

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leadershift

01/04/13 at 8:09 am

the mistake we have made is believing that a Leader "looks" or "appears" a certain way is evidence of Leadership. When in reality Leadership is Influence and Results. I do not beleive big o has measured up in the results category, nor the character category.