Genetic Underpinnings of Transformational Leadership: The Mediating Role of Dispositional Hope

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigate the extent to which dispositional hope mediates genetic influences on transformational leadership. Based on a sample of female twins (214 identical and 178 fraternal) from the Minnesota Twin Registry, results indicated that 53% of the variance in hope and 49% of the variance in transformational leadership were accounted for by genetic factors. After controlling for positive emotionality and negative emotionality, it was found that the genetic influence on transformational leadership was mediated by dispositional hope with the overlapping genetic factors explaining 20.8% of the total variance in transformational leadership. © Baker College 2011.