Quantifying leader lives: What historiometric approaches can tell us

Abstract Historically notable leaders, such as John F. Kennedy, Mohandas Ghandi, and Rupert Murdoch, serve as exemplars in our field of study. Across the domains of military, business, government, ideology, and the arts, these outstanding leaders have markedly impacted the institutions, fields, and broader social structures in which they worked and lived. To understand the unique styles, developmental experiences, and performance contributions of such leaders, a historiometric approach is encouraged. We define this methodological strategy as the study of multiple eminent leaders that requires the translation of historical, qualitative information into quantitative indices of individual differences in leaders. Best practices, limitations, and implications for this technique as an advancement of leadership theory are reviewed.