Leadership prototypes and associated individual traits. ⁎ . ⁎ Dominance and prosocial prototypes based on Spisak, Homan, et al. (2012). 

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... an evolutionary perspective, coordination distinctions between exploratory change and stable exploitation align with leadership opportunities as moderated by age. For the majority of human evolution our species was semi- or entirely nomadic and the trade-off between resource exploration versus exploitation had a substantial physical component — which eventually led to our dispersal on a global scale (see Rolland, 2010). The need to fi nd resources in competitive environments was (and is) a strong selection pressure — as is the need to exploit consistent resource pools to create stable environments (see Spisak et al., 2011). Interestingly, this resource dilemma parallels ecological strategies of organisms to select food that maximizes their rate of energy intake (e.g., Optimal Foraging Theory; MacArthur & Pianka, 1966). If a resource is readily available and has a high payoff relative to cost of acquisition then it will be exploited. Exploration will occur when resource density decreases to a level that allows for gain (relative to cost) from searching. Indeed, these costs and bene fi ts associated with various alternative resources are a strong predictor of hunter – gatherer decision making (Hill, Kaplan, Hawkes, & Hurtado, 1987) and extends (be it at a proximate level) to contemporary OB decision making (March, 1991). Consequently, it appears this tension between exploration and exploitation is an evolutionarily consistent coordination pressure selecting for a number of distinct adaptations. Below, we provide such landmarks of human evolution necessary for building our hypothesis. Regarding exploration, our ability to engage in endurance running (ER) is a signi fi cant occurrence in the evolution of humans (Bramble & Lieberman, 2004; Carrier, 1984). ER provided our ancestors with a competitive advantage through a number of adaptations such as reduced body hair and sweating which allowed for running extended distances even at relatively high external temperatures (Bramble & Lieberman, 2004). Arguably ER contributed to our membership in the “ predator guild ” through the practice of persistence hunting (i.e., the ability to run prey animals to exhaustion) as well as competitive scavenging by quickly covering large distances when opportunities arise — particularly during midday when other scavengers are less active (Liebenberg, 2006, 2008). Whatever are the speci fi c bene fi ts of ER, this unique skill provided access to a successful niche of exploration. However, even though coordinated exploration such as persistence hunting and competitive scavenging enhanced fi tness there was also cost in terms of physical energy. Thus, assuming exploration bene fi ted from leadership (as is the case with modern exploratory activities; Jansen et al., 2009) and decision making is in part driven by an optimal resource foraging strategy, certain individuals, with relatively more to gain, would be better suited for this energetic task and likely be endorsed as a leader. One key aspect is the vigor and stamina associated with relatively younger age. In an environment of persistence hunting, competitive scavenging, and other exploratory activities, successful followers should endorse physically fi t leaders with the endurance to maximize the bene fi ts of change. The main point being that change very often has a physical component which favors younger leaders. Further, even if it is not a matter of physicality, then, as is found in lifespan research, utilizing new knowledge independent of acquired knowledge and displaying creativity to solve problems in novel situations (i.e., fl uid intelligence) is more often exhibited by younger individuals (Horn & Cattell, 1967). Developmentally, this form of intelligence peaks and starts to decline from the mid-twenties (see Craik & Bialystok, 2006). Thus cues of younger age are indicative of advantageous physical and cognitive capabilities for addressing the “ fi tness-relevant ” challenges associated with exploratory change. Considering the importance of this association and the pressure for swift and accurate coordination, a contingent heuristic has arguably formed to expedite collective action (i.e., if time of change, then young leader). The trade-off to this exploratory tendency is stable exploitation. The requirements of exploitation include increasing the ef fi ciency, re fi nement, and execution of the processes necessary to systematically harvest the bene fi t of an established resource (March, 1991). This form of leadership bene fi ts the group by taking advantage of acquired knowledge and best practices stored within an experienced leader that can be transmitted via social learning (e.g., “ copy-successful-individuals ” ; Mesoudi, 2008). For example, in many cultures, older individuals are sought after to settle disputes that may threaten the stability of the community (Nicholson, 2005) and this perhaps relates to the fact that the underlying dynamic of many disputes, such as tensions over resource sharing, are reoccurring. Older, more experienced group members can utilize a higher level of crystallized intelligence – the ability to access long-term memory and use acquired skills, knowledge, and experiences (Horn & Cattell, 1967) – to solve such enduring problems. Indeed, where fl uid intelligence peaks in the mid-twenties and then starts to decline, crystallized intelligence continues to increase and remains stable until approximately the age of 70 (see Craik & Bialystok, 2006). Relatedly, older individuals are more likely to maintain status within a well-established and stable political or religious institution, while younger individuals are more likely to take risks on something new (Lehman, 1953). One major difference between younger and older individuals is that older individuals have been shown to be signi fi cantly better at reasoning about social con fl icts (Grossmann et al., 2010) which is perhaps a re fl ection of their superior crystallized intelligence. Thus cues of older age can serve as an honest signal of one's ability to secure stable exploitation of established resources and, as with the younger prototypes, can increase the pace of leadership endorsement. In this scenario, however, the follower heuristic shifts (i.e., if need for stability, then old leader). It is also important to note that even in “ premodern ” populations the human body was adapted for approximately 7 decades of operation with an “ average modal adult lifespan of about 72 years ” (Gurven & Kaplan, 2007: 334) – which corresponds with the observed decline in crystallized intelligence and also exceeds the typical retirement age in modern organizations. This means that age ranges in human social groups have remained suf fi ciently consistent for evolution to select for these age-biased leadership prototypes. The proposed heuristics re fl ect distinct implicit prototypes of exploration and exploitation leadership and consequently adds to the existing research on evolved situation – trait contingencies (Spisak, Dekker, et al., 2012; Spisak, Homan, et al., 2012). In addition to the dynamic currently under investigation, a number of fi tness-relevant coordination problems such as intergroup relations contingently select for context-speci fi c leadership prototypes (see Fig. 1). It is important to understand such biases as they can impact who is likely to emerge as a ...

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... adds to the existing research on evolved situation-trait contingencies (Spisak, Dekker, et al., 2012;Spisak, Homan, et al., 2012). In addition to the dynamic currently under investigation, a number of fitness-relevant coordination problems such as intergroup relations contingently select for context-specific leadership prototypes (see Fig. 1). It is important to understand such biases as they can impact who is likely to emerge as a ...