《who makes a good leader》.pdf

WHO MAKES A GOOD LEADER? COOPERATIVENESS, OPTIMISM, AND LEADING-BY-EXAMPLE ∗ ¨ SIMON GACHTER, DANIELE NOSENZO, ELKE RENNER and MARTIN SEFTON We examine the characteristics of effective leaders in a simple leader-follower vol- untary contributions game. We focus on two factors: the individual’s cooperativeness and the individual’s beliefs about the cooperativeness of others. We find that groups perform best when led by those who are cooperatively inclined. Partly, this reflects a false consensus effect: cooperative leaders are more optimistic than noncooperators about the cooperativeness of followers. However, cooperative leaders contribute more than noncooperative leaders even after controlling for optimism. We conclude that differing leader contributions by differing types of leader in large part reflects social motivations. (JEL A13, C92, D03) “Then I would look for integrity. A leader sets would not do. In settings where followers are an example, especially a strong leader. He or she tempted to free-ride on the contributions of is someone on whom people . . . in the organiza- tion model themselves.” Peter Drucker on Pick- others, the challenge is for leaders to some- ing a Leader, excerpted from “The Daily Drucker” how induce followers to eschew their narrowly (Drucker [2004], p. 5) defined personal interests to promote the wider interests of the group. Such settings are com-