Leadership or luck? The influence of coaches, politicians and CEOs on performance

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-01-22 07:06

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How much influence does luck - rather than effectiveness - play in leadership? Using a statistical method to assess whether differences in performance come down to leadership (or just luck or other factors beyond the leader’s control), researchers at the University of Chicago studied US sports and businesses, as well as local and national economies around the world. They found that US sport coaches have greater influence over performance than politicians or company CEOs. Politicians (particularly autocratic ones) are usually able to have some influence over economic performance or management, but the results indicate that CEOs tend to have little effect on a company’s economic performance.