Risk Factors for Heart Disease

The ESP is an instrument with which executives are rated on various competencies that are related to the job, such as visionary thinking, global perspective, empowering others, adaptability, seasoned judgment, and financial acumen. We divided the average of the ratings given by observers into quartiles and looked at the health of those individuals who were rated highly (the top 25 percent) and compared it to the health of those who were rated less highly (the bottom 25 percent) on the top thirteen competencies deemed “most important” by this particular group of executives.

We found that those in the top 25 percent were more healthy or at lower risk than those in the lowest 25 percent. In other words, those in the lowest 25 percent had significantly more modifiable risk factors—that is, blood-lipid levels, hours of exercise per week, smoking activity, blood pressure, and body fat—and were thus at greater risk. Specifically, those in the lowest quartile had significantly higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels and were more likely to be overweight than those rated in the top quartile.

These results do not imply cause and effect; they merely indicate the presence of a relationship. Thus, to imply that leaders are perceived as being less effective because they are at higher risk would be premature; however, what these data do suggest is that leaders need not compromise their health in their efforts to be effective.