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LEADERSHIP IS A PROCESS OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE, WHICH MAXIMISES THE EFFORTS OF OTHERS TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF A SHARED GOAL.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Does a President's Personality Predict his Performance as President?


Here is some interesting research from the US contained in the 2005 book Personality, Character and Leadership in the White House:



  • Men who become presidents have traits that set them apart from other Americans.
  • There appear to be eight distinguishable types of presidents (http://www.personalitiesinhistory.com/Types_of_Presidents.asp.)
  • A president’s character has no relation to how good a president’s historians judge him to be.
  • A number of personality traits and qualities do predict presidential success.
  • The ability to lie and deceive is an important quality for success in the White House, and presidents who are less straightforward typically make better presidents.
  • Despite his recent popularity and reputation for integrity, John Adams’s personality closely resembled Richard Nixon’s.
  • Presidents are much more extraverted today than in the past and less intellectually curious than in the past. They may also be lower in character.
  • Jimmy Carter is the only modern president that much resembles Founding Fathers Jefferson and Madison and the greatest president of the 19th century, Abe Lincoln. Eisenhower is the only modern president much like Washington.
  • Franklin Roosevelt seems to be the template for modern presidents, with recent presidents showing high (Kennedy, Clinton) or moderate (LBJ) similarity to him. Reagan resembled his as well.
  • Modern Democratic presidents tend to be very extraverted, achievement-oriented, ebullient, and sympathetic to the poor, but are willing to deceive and relatively unprincipled.
  • Modern Republican presidents tend to be less sympathetic to the less fortunate and much more inclined to rely on traditional sources of moral authority than average Americans.
  • George W. Bush appears to have fewer traits related to presidential success than most presidents. He most resembles Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan.
For more, see - http://www.testingthepresidents.com/

'Personality, Character and Leadership in the White House is by far the most comprehensive scientific study of presidential personality ever published. It must provide the starting point for all future debate about the intricate connection between a president's personality and his leadership.' Dean Simonton, professor of psychology, University of California at Davis, author of Why Presidents Succeed and Greatness: Who Makes History and Why
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