If you’re looking to be seen as a leader, you need to get some more muscle.

A new study by the University of California said that a muscular physique is an important attribute when it comes to leadership.

In the study male participants were measured on their strength, using a handheld, hydraulic Dynamometer, which measures chest and arm strength in kilograms or pounds.

Photo Credit: Cameron Anderson and Aaron LukaszewskiStudy participants in a series of experiments conducted by Cameron Anderson, a professor of management at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and Aaron Lukaszewski, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University, overwhelmingly equated physical strength with higher status and leadership qualities. The paper, "The role of physical formidability in human social status allocation,"is forthcoming in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

After the men were tested there were photographed from the knees up in a white tank top. A group of men and women were then shown the photographs and were told these men were recently hired by a consulting firm.

The group was then asked to rate the men on how much they admired them and what man they thought would rise in status. Other questions included “Do you think this person would be a good leader?” and “How effective is this person dealing with others in the group?”

The men that were given a higher status were the stronger men.

Cameron Anderson, professor of management at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business said this is consistent with real examples of strong men in positions of power.

To make sure the group participants were not just judging the men on physical attractiveness, researchers used Photoshop to switch the bodies around. A weak man’s head was placed on a strong man’s body, and vice versa.

During that study the group again rated the stronger bodies higher in status.

"Strong men who were perceived as being likely to behave aggressively toward other group members were actually granted less status than their apparently gentler counterparts," said Prof. Lukaszewski. "Together, the results suggest that the conferral of status upon formidable men, perhaps counter-intuitively, serves a fundamentally pro-social function — to enhance the effectiveness of cooperation within the group."

There was little effect on participants’ thoughts on leadership skills when it came to pictures of physically strong vs. weak women.