Football coach Vince Lombardi once said that “Leaders aren’t born, they are made.” Turns out he was wrong: For the first time ever, scientists have identified a specific DNA sequence associated with occupying a leadership position. Meet genotype rs4950, that “appears to be associated with the passing of leadership ability down through generations,” according to the study’s lead author. “The conventional wisdom — that leadership is a skill — remains largely true, but we show it is also, in part, a genetic trait.”
足球教练文斯-隆巴迪曾经说过,“领导不是天生的,是后天养成的。”事实证明他是错误的:科学家们首次发现了一个和领导力相关的特定DNA序列。基因rs4950“似乎和领导能力的遗传有关,”引自这项研究的第一作者,“传统观点认为——领导力是一种技巧——这在很大程度上仍是事实,但我们的研究显示它也有一部分是遗传特质。”
Researchers from Harvard, NYU, and the University of California looked at data from large supply of DNA, looking at the career and relationship status of about 4,000 subjects. They found a significant association between rs4950 and leadership, which they measured by whether the person had taken on a supervisory role at work.
来自哈佛大学、纽约大学和加州大学的研究人员看着大量的DNA数据以及约4000例事业和感情的状态。他们发现rs4950和领导力之间的重要联系,他们是以被调查者是否在工作中承担监管的角色来衡量的。
The study doesn’t completely repudiate Lombardi’s notion of leadership as a learned skill. But the inherited leadership trait matters, too.
这项研究并没有完全否定Lombardi认为“领导力是可以学习的技能”的概念。但遗传的领导特质也很重要。
Does that mean employers of the future will do a DNA test on job applicants to see if they’re leadership material? The study’s lead author acknowledges that concern。
这是否意味着未来的雇主会给求职者做DNA测试判断他们有没有当领导的潜质?该研究的第一作者坦诚有这种担忧。