Leadership Study Considers Executive Functions in the Brain

From the FUTURIST UPDATE -- News & Previews from the World Future Society
October 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 10)

Brain-based executive-intelligence testing could potentially help recruiters identify the leadership candidates most likely to succeed, according to a study by Canadian and U.S. psychologists. The result could be a significant boost in an organization's productivity, they report in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Neuroscientists have long believed that good function in the prefrontal cortex enhances people's ability to plan for the future, manipulate many ideas simultaneously, avoid impulsive action, and react thoughtfully in novel situations--skills described as "executive functions."

"In the past, psychologists have used IQ and personality tests to predict managerial and academic performance, with real success," says senior author Jordan Peterson of the University of Toronto. "However, this is the first demonstration of the unique potential of prefrontal or executive function tests to more accurately determine who will and who will not excel."

The authors calculate that adding executive-function tests to employee interviews could result in as much as a 33% gain in productivity per hired employee. "Neuroscience has revolutionized our understanding of the brain in recent years," says Peterson. "Perhaps this is the beginning of the neuroscience revolution in management."

SOURCE: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (August 2007),

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