Many observers of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) maintain a high level of interest in the potential for executive heads to promote a strong role for IGOs. However, despite the development of robust research methods to examine leaders' personal characteristics, the executive heads of IGOs are rarely studied in such a manner. This study addresses this gap and demonstrates that, even with the constraints under which heads of IGOs typically operate, those with an expansionist leadership style display a greater willingness to work to enhance the status of their organization. The relationship is established in two stages: first, utilizing historical accounts and political analyses to determine the degree to which six United Nations Secretaries-General and four European Union Commission Presidents pursued a prominent role for their organization; and second, using content analysis to measure their leadership styles. The study demonstrates the benefits of systematically examining executive heads, the usefulness of at-a-distance assessment beyond the study of national level leaders, and argues for the use of further comparative research to develop a better understanding of leadership across different forms of political organization.
 

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