Implicit Leadership Theories of Bruneians
Abstract
A leader’s effectiveness is affected by the followers’ acceptance of the leader as their leader. Followers
rely on their cognitive schema to judge whether someone deserves to be considered a leader. This
cognitive schema is the implicit leadership theory (ILT) individuals have on the qualities of a leader.
When leaders are perceived as conforming to this ILT, they are seen as leaders, and followers accept their
influence attempt. This study examined the ILT of Bruneians. The findings indicate that Bruneians are
associated with a distinct ILT and shows that gender and personality variables predict the variation in
ILT.