Management expert Professor Sean Hannah, of Wake Forest University in the United States, said: 'Once we have confirmed how the brain works in these leaders, we can create an 'expert' profile.

'This profile can help us develop brain training methods to enhance brain functioning in leaders, such as the neurofeedback techniques that have been successfully used with elite athletes, concert musicians and financial traders.'
The discovery could revolutionise how organisations assess and develop leaders, with brain scans being used to identify those with the 'leadership gene'

The discovery could revolutionise how organisations assess and develop leaders, with brain scans being used to identify those with the 'leadership gene'

Scans of 103 volunteers from the US Military Academy at West Point, ranging in rank from officer cadet to major, found neural networks in the frontal and prefrontal lobes of those deemed 'leaders' were different from the rest.

These areas of the brain are associated with self-regulation, decision making and memory.

The study was published in the American Psychological Association's Journal of Applied Psychology.

The officers, 87 of whom were men, were defined as being more psychologically complex if they had a more diverse sense of their own abilities and accomplishments as leaders.

In addition to a series of questions, and physical and mental tests, half underwent 'brain mapping' - a quantitative electroencephalography scan.

Using electrodes placed on 19 different locations on subjects' heads, researchers were able to track activity in particular areas of the brain while the participant was at rest.

Researchers also tested leadership and decision-making abilities in a hypothetical tactical military expedition.

The participants had to lead their unit to interact with hostile and non-hostile civilians, enemy forces, the