Understanding high school student leaders, i: Predicting teacher ratings of leader behavior

We describe the first stage of a longitudinal research program concerned with the prediction, understanding, and durability of early displays of leadership behavior. The predictability of teachers' ratings of leadership behavior for 242 high school students was explored with respect to predictors from the following construct domains: personality, interests, motivation, behavior, self-rated skills, and academic ability. Results revealed that variables from each construct domain significantly and consistently predicted leadership ratings for as long as 12 months after the collection of the predictor data. In addition, the linear combination of predictors from different domains yielded strong prediction of leadership, with R²s in the .40 range. Evidence also showed that both academic ability and the other measured constructs contributed unique variance to the prediction of leadership behaviors as reported by the teachers. These exploratory findings are discussed in light of a continuing research program designed to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the origin, development, and emergence of adult leadership behavior.