Researchers at Stanford University found that people who feel guilty tend to carry a strong sense of responsibility to others, which in turn makes others see them as leaders.
Becky Schaumberg, who led the study, said: "If people feel guilty toward their organisations, they'll behave in ways that make sure they live up to the firm's expectations."
"These behaviours might not look like what we usually think of as guilt," Schaumberg was quoted as saying by BusinessNewsDaily.
As part of the study, the researchers took personality tests of groups of strangers, measuring traits, including guilt proneness, shame proneness and extraversion.
Then the researchers put each group in a lab and, without designating a leader, had them perform two group tasks, such as outlining a marketing campaign for a new product.
In all of the groups, those who were most likely to be judged by others as the group's leaders also scored highest in guilt proneness on the personality test.
In addition, the researchers found that guilt proneness predicted emerging leadership more so than extraversion, a well-known marker of leadership.
Schaumberg said in group discussions, guilt-prone members seemed to the rest of the group to be making more of an effort than others to ensure everyone's voice was being heard to lead the discussion and to generally take charge.
The researchers also studied incoming MBA students by asking their former managers, clients and co-workers to evaluate their traits of leadership effectiveness, such as communication skills and the ability to motivate others.
In this real-world setting, the study also found a strong link between a participant's guilt proneness and the extent to which others saw the person as a leader.
The key seems to be that though guilt feels unpleasant to the individual, it can be quite beneficial for the group, causing people to do what's good for the group at personal cost, Schaumberg said. (More) PTI SKP AKJ SKP
