Fast Facts
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Leaders were bolder: In a study of 40,127 adults, people who held leadership roles for all six years reported greater risk tolerance than those who never led.
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Chimpanzees showed the same pattern—more strongly: Higher-ranking chimps were rated as more willing to take risks in nearly every situation studied.
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The link may be ancient, but its cause is unknown: The findings suggest leadership and risk-taking could have deep evolutionary roots, but they show correlation—not whether boldness leads to power or power changes behavior.
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How leaders rise may matter: Human leaders can gain status through education or credentials, while chimpanzees often compete directly for rank,researchers plan to investigate bonobos for more clues.
Power and boldness travel together
A study of more than 40,000 adults and 86 chimpanzees found a link between social standing and risk-taking. In both species, people and animals with more power tended to score higher for willingness to take risks.
Among adults, people who held leadership roles throughout a six-year period gave themselves an average score of 6.2 out of 10. Those who never led averaged 4.96. Caregivers also rated higher-ranking chimpanzees as more willing to take risks in activities such as seeking food and competing for rank.
A shared pattern, with important limits
The pattern appeared stronger among chimpanzees. Their rise in rank can involve direct competition, while people can gain leadership through education, credentials or inheritance. Those routes may reduce the risks of gaining power.
Still, the study shows a connection, not cause and effect. Researchers cannot tell whether bold people more often become leaders, or whether leadership changes how people approach risk. In fact, adults who moved into or out of leadership roles gave similar risk ratings over time.
What this means for human choices
The findings offer a useful reminder: confidence can help people step forward, but risk alone does not make a good leader. At work, for example, teams can weigh bold ideas against evidence, costs and the views of others. That approach may help organizations make better choices without treating recklessness as courage.
The comparison also points to a deeper human story. A link between rank and risk may reach back beyond modern society, though scientists need more research to test that idea. Studies of bonobos and other groups could add clues. For now, the research helps explain one possible thread in our shared evolutionary journey.
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