(Cornell: Ithaca, NY) -- Creativity might be the trait many CEOs say is essential for senior leadership, but Cornell University research finds it can actually block you from reaching the top slots.

“Our three studies show that when people voice creative ideas, they are viewed by others as having less leadership potential,” says Jack Goncalo, assistant professor of organizational behavior in Cornell’s ILR School. The research will be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in 2011.

Its implication: Creative people are getting filtered out on their way to the top.

The reason is that deeply held expectations of “creative people” and “effective leaders” often clash. Creative people are viewed as risky and unpredictable, while leaders are expected to reduce uncertainty and uphold the norms of the group. Although people claim they want creativity, when given the opportunity, they actually preserve the status quo by sticking with unoriginal thinkers, data suggest.

This might help explain why many of the 1,500 leaders surveyed in 2010 by IBM’s Institute for Business Value doubted their abilities to lead through complex times, says Goncalo.

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