When you look at the CEOs of the most powerful companies, many qualities come to mind.
You think of charismatic, extroverted people who dedicate themselves day and night to the future of a company; people who can push themselves to the limit, no matter what the task.
One factor you may never have considered, however, is that they have a combination of high testosterone and low cortisol.
Testosterone is important for male sexual/reproductive development, and many studies have linked it to leadership traits such as aggressiveness and risk-taking.
Cortisol is also know as the stress hormone, and is associated with the ‘fight or flight” response.
According to a study focusing on male executives, the amount of these hormones in men has a impact on their success. [the study was focused on men, since testosterone levels do not vary much between women].
Men who had high levels of testosterone but also high levels of cortisol, had less success and leadership responsibility. The same was the case for men with low levels of both the hormones. The combination of high testosterone and low cortisol, was associated with the greatest leadership responsibilities/abilities.
A high level of cortisol has the potential to curb testosterone, which actually diminishes the aggression and competitive habits of a person. This implies that too much stress can inhibit your leadership and success potential.
During the research, 78 male executives were studied while participating in an executive education program at Harvard. To measure the levels of testosterone and cortisol, saliva samples were taken. After this, researchers began to determine the amount of subordinates and leadership responsibilities each man had.
Speaking on the findings, lead study researcher Gary Sherman had this to say: “Stress reduction has leadership implications. It can unleash leadership potential in employees who might otherwise not show it.”
Stress has long been considered a factor that is harmful for health, but this new study suggests that it also plays a large role in the ability of an individual to succeed in the first place.
Given these findings, stress management should be a top priority for all those out there who strive to be the best they can be.
Continuing his comments on the study, Gary Sherman stated, “The literature has, by and large, treated stress as a consequence of low status, the current findings suggest that stress may also have an additional role as a gatekeeper of the various psychological and physiological processes that determine status”