Every leadership style has a different area of focus.

For instance, some types of leadership –

such as democratic leadership – focus on the development of people. Others, such as
bureaucratic leadership, focus on existing processes and hierarchies.  Today, we’re going to
focus on a leadership style that puts the spotlight on the leaders themselves: charismatic
leadership.
What is Charismatic Leadership?

The Definition 
Charismatic leadership is defined by a leader who uses his or her communication skills,
persuasiveness, and charm to influence others. Charismatic leaders, given their ability to
connect with people on a deep level, are especially valuable within organizations that are
facing a crisis or are struggling to move forward.  

10 Charismatic Leadership Characteristics

Charismatic leadership involves a sense of style, flair, and confidence.
These charismatic leaders have a quality which is hard to pin down, but which attracts
followers and inspires people to action. Transformational leaders are often highly
charismatic because they are capable of initiating and maintaining a significant level of
change in the organization.

The following are some of the most prominent characteristics of charismatic leadership.

1. Communication
Charismatic leaders have extraordinary skills in communication. This helps to motivate
employees through tough times and also help them stay grounded when things are good. The
leaders are equally comfortable communicating one-to-one or in a group setting.

2. Maturity
Though they have a very powerful personality, a charismatic leader also has maturity and
character. They don’t believe in empty showmanship, but they draw on their wisdom and
knowledge which they have accumulated over the years of life and business experiences.
They behave in a mature and responsible manner on all occasions.

3. Humility
Charismatic leaders also have a sense of humility. They place a lot of value on each
employee, and have the ability to truly listen to their concerns. The charismatic leader is able
to convince the employee of the value that they bring to the organization, and show them
how their contributions impact the strategic interests of the company. They inspire great
loyalty from their employees.

4. Compassion
Successful charismatic leaders are also compassionate. Charisma alone may not be enough,
because there’s a very real possibility that it can disintegrate into mere hero worship.
Compassion, integrity, honesty, and fortitude are also qualities that successful charismatic
leaders exhibit.

5. Substance
Charisma can exist without substance, but only for a very short time. Flashy and glitzy
behavior may capture the attention of people, but eventually they will want something
substantial beneath the facade. A charismatic leader must not only talk the talk, but also walk
the walk. Charm gets him the face time, and substance closes the deal.

6. Confidence
It goes without saying that charismatic leaders are truly confident. They are the glass half
full kind of people, and are comfortable with who they are. They understand themselves well
and do not try to be anyone else. Charismatic leaders are secure and confident enough to be
comfortable in their own skin.

7. Positive body language

One of the first things that you’d notice about a charismatic leader is their warm, open, and
positive body language. They make eye contact with were that they are talking to, smile, and
introduce themselves to strangers with the genuine joy of making a new contact. They have
an endearing swagger, and they are authentic.

8. Listening skills
Charismatic leaders are extremely good listeners. When they listen to you, they don’t fidget
or look distracted. A charismatic leader pays attention to what is being said, and listens with
interest. They are engaged in the conversation and act with empathy.

9. Self-monitoring
One of the attributes of charismatic leaders is that they often tend to watch themselves. They
are aware of their powerful personality, and the fact that their followers are watching them
constantly. For this reason, they consider it important to portray a good image of themselves
to their followers. This can be achieved only with self-monitoring.

10. Self-improvement
A charismatic leader understands that he has certain qualities that make him different from
others, and that these are the qualities that get him attention and make him charismatic. So he
also knows how important it is to continually improve himself.

Five Charismatic Types

Dubrin, classified Charismatic leaders into 5 types, viz. socialized, personalized, office-
holder, personal, and divine charismatic, which are discussed below:
1. Socialized Charismatics:

A socialized charismatic is a leader who uses power only for the benefit of others, rather than
using it for private gains. Socialized charismatic leadership (SCL) is a type of leadership
characterized by a leader’s altruistic intent and helping others internalizes his or her values.
Socialized charismatic leaders are thought to play an ethical leadership role. The socialized
charismatic formulates and pursues goals that fulfill the needs of group members and provide
intellectual stimulation to them. Followers of socialized charismatics are autonomous,
empowered, and responsible.

2. Personalized Charismatics:

Personalized charismatics are leaders who use the powers to a certain extent for personal
gains, to serve their own interests. The personalized charismatic leaders have vested interest
agenda, characterized by high authoritarianism, high narcissism, self-aggrandizing, and non-
egalitarian. Such leaders impose self-serving goals and they offer support to group members
only when it facilitates their own goals. They are exploitative leaders who wish to
accumulate power by imposing self-serving goals. Followers of this type of leader are
typically obedient, submissive, and dependent;

3. Office-holder Charismatics:

For this type of leader, charismatic leadership is more about the office occupied by him/her
rather than his/her personal characteristics. By being a holder of a key position, the leaders
attain high status. Leaders in a large bureaucratic organization can use their authority and the
power associated with the position. Most managers we find in organizations lack charisma.
They are bland personalities, the person you never remember, who has nothing of interest to
focus on. They are the people we forget since they can never get anyone excited about what
they are doing.

4. Personal Charismatics:

A leader with this quality often gains very high esteem through the extent to which others
have faith in them as people. Personal charisma is when someone has very high amounts of
sophisticated social and emotional skills. Irrespective of the high or low status held by this
leader, the personal charismatics are able to influence the followers, through their right traits,
behaviors, and characteristics.

5. Divine Charismatics:

A historically important type of charismatic leader is that of the divine charismatic. Middle
English also adopted the word as "karisme" to refer to gifts of healing and teaching.  Such
leaders tend to have divine grace and they are considered as magnetic savior, who would
arise to lead people through a crisis. The divine charismatic leaders are the ones where
people think that they are god sent.

Importance of Charismatic Leadership

by Emily Newman | Jul 29, 2015 | Customer Service | 0 comments
“Being a leader gives you charisma. If you look and study the leaders who have succeeded,
that’s where charisma comes from, from the leading.” – Seth Godin
We know that running a business, especially in the current scenario, is no child’s play. It
becomes even tougher if the leadership does not perform to its optimum and are unable to
guide the people who work in the company. Amongst the top traits, that people look for in
those in authority is charisma.

Charismatic leadership will be able to get the best out of each person, be able to motivate
them to achieve more and overall be glowing examples of all the positive traits required to
run a business. Do you believe that your company has charismatic leadership? If not yet, the
good news is that it is possible to ‘acquire and learn’ how to be charismatic. Anyone with
charisma would be someone with refined and polished communication and a deep
understanding of interpersonal relationships – both these sets of skills can easily be learned
and so it is possible for anyone to ‘grow’ into being a charismatic leader.
In today’s competitive business environment, it is becoming increasingly harder to attract
and retain talented and highly skilled employees and also much tougher to acquire and retain
customers. Both these sets of people will be attracted to a company where the leadership is
aware of their interactions with others, the manner in which they behave with all those
associated with the company – charismatic leadership would ensure that the persons are
positive, level-headed and polite which in turn earns them devotion, reverence and a
commitment that make great things possible for the company and each person in it.

Charismatic leadership will mean that the company will not need to try too hard to get
people to listen to them and achieve many successes together. A lack-lustre leadership can
actually bring about the company’s downfall.

Charismatic leadership is not the only way that companies succeed – each person in the
company should aim to develop this skill. It leads to being popular and gain many supporters
and being the person that people turn to for support and advice. In the long run such people
climb the corporate ladder and become hugely successful. It works both ways – to gain trust
as a leader one must be charismatic and to work your way to a leadership position, charisma
helps.
How would employees and customers know that a company has charismatic leadership –
what are the traits that these authority figures would display?

Charismatic leadership is confident and can help the others to be confident too. They are able
to communicate with ease irrespective of the kind of interactions they have.

Charismatic leadership can engage and hold the interest of even very large audiences. Their
confidence is contagious – people around charismatic leadership feel energized and
confident too, which in turn allows a smoother flow of communication between all. The
crucial difference between people with charisma and those who don’t possess this trait is that
the former are confident while the latter have false pride and are arrogant. Charismatic
leadership not only have high self-esteem, but will inspire others to have self-respect too.

Charismatic leadership is people who are optimistic – they have the ability to use failure as a
learning opportunity and remain in control even when things and people around them seem
to be falling apart. This exuberance is easily spread to others making the whole work
environment enthused, relaxed and relatively stress free. Their high optimism allows them to
think rationally and positively, keeping them in command of even the most perplexing
situations. Given the respect and awe charismatic leadership can inspire, such people are
great negotiators and influencers, adept at problem solving and will work with their teams
and employees to do the same.

charismatic leadership have a high amount of such intelligence which enables people to find
them approachable, friendly, dependable and trustworthy.
In addition, charismatic leadership can keep people interested in what they do and say.
Employees will emulate all that such leaders say and do and conversely charismatic
leadership will ensure that they actively listen to what the employees have to say and
consider their suggestions and feedback. The sign of truly charismatic leadership is that they
can convey and get their point across with fewer words. They inspire people through their
messages and people listen with rapt attention each time – and in fact look forward to
hearing what they will say next.
Charismatic leadership is conspicuous by the fact that they use both verbal and non-verbal
communication – including hand gestures and steady appropriate eye contact. If the people
being address seem uncomfortable or distracted in any way, they have the capability to
change the tempo and tone of their addressal to ‘recapture their audience.’

Charismatic leadership are enablers – they are genuinely interested in the feedback and
views of others and it is extremely easy for them to make those around them feel
comfortable. They will be honest which in turn enables others to be completely
straightforward and forthright with their answers.
Charismatic leadership are people who are able to recall personal and important details about
other people and even remember discussions / interactions, which is a trait that makes them
loved, trusted and respected. They are mindful of their behaviour and always maintain a
pleasant demeanour, are ready with a smile and will be courteous to whoever they meet,
irrespective of the level or position held by the person. Employees of such companies are
more likely to be happy, committed and passionate about delivering great customer service
and ensuring that their company is successful.
Apart from the soft skills, charismatic leadership are also highly intelligent and have
expertise in a number of areas. They are smart, suave and tech-savvy – keeping themselves
abreast with all the latest news and current affairs. Their wide knowledge base makes them
great orators and conversationalists too. They would be able to explain with relative ease
subjects that others may find overwhelming or incomprehensible. Their manner of speaking
is smooth and flawless and their audience always seem enraptured – easier for them to get
crucial and important messages across and also gain quicker understanding and buy-in from
all those involved.
Charismatic leadership is strong and resolute and do not face a challenge to unite their
employees for a cause that affects all. They can motivate people and are like beacons even in
the darkest crisis. They are assertive in a non-authoritarian manner, allowing people to trust
and respect them. They believe in communicating directly and presenting the facts as they
are and don’t believe in hiding or masking any details as they understand the long term
impact of lies and concealing facts. Charismatic leadership is rational and pragmatic and yet
remain firmly grounded in the values and beliefs they uphold and also those of the company.
While possessing a number of positive traits, charismatic leadership is fully aware of the fact
that it would be impossible to please all at any time. They remain unwavering in their vision
and have the gumption and ‘fire’ to fulfil goals set and also set new and more aggressive
goals. They would never waver from the ethical path and would have zero-tolerance for
people who do – this makes them feared and admired simultaneously! Their conduct
permeates the entire organization and ensures a formidable reputation in the business world,
thereby attracting more customers, investors and other people to partner with. What would
you say about your company’s leadership?

Who is a charismatic leader example?

Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler & Nelson Mandela
are some examples of Charismatic leaders from the recent past. They all had a huge
following and were able to influence a large section of society to bring out positive change.
These charismatic leaders carried great responsibility and showcased a long-term
commitment to their values and vision, in which they fully believed in.

EXAMPLES OF CHARISMATIC LEADERS

As mentioned in the previous sections, charismatic leadership has plenty of historic
examples in a range of fields. There are the political examples of Martin Luther King and the
other extreme example of Hitler. But you also have charismatic leaders in the field of social
justice and business.
The below examples will hopefully outline the characteristics of charismatic leaders and the
ideas of the model in a tangible manner.

Mother Theresa
Mother Theresa might not be a conventional example of a leader, but she perfectly fits the
definition of a charismatic leader. Mother Theresa, who was born in Macedonia, became a
Roman Catholic nun and started working with the poor.
She left her teaching position at the St. Mary’s School for Girls in 1946 in order to start
serving the poor in the slums of Calcutta. In the 1950s and 1960s, she established different
facilities in the slums to help the poor survive disease and malnutrition. Later, she also
opened charities elsewhere in the world – all helping the poor.
Mother Theresa was dedicated to a single cause and she had a vision to help the lives of
those that don’t have much. She inspired others to follow her example and she dedicated her
life to empowering the less fortunate. In essence, she showed what good charismatic
leadership could achieve.
Mother Theresa once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across
the waters to create many ripples.” This highlights one of the important parts of charismatic
leadership: having others following you. Without the followers buying into your vision, you
won’t succeed as a leader.

Charles Manson
But as we’ve mentioned above, charismatic leadership is not always a force for good. For all
the world’s Mother Theresas, there are examples of leaders who’ve used their charisma for
doing bad. Charles Manson is one such example.
In 1969, the US uncovered a cult called The Family, when the police found nine bodies in
Los Angeles. The cult’s leader was a charismatic Charles Mansion who had managed to
captivate the attention of young girls, only to end up killing them.
Interestingly, Manson’s leadership skills and charismatic nature wasn’t just natural
characteristics. He did, in fact, take a course on leadership and self-improvement during his
time in prison. His ability to manipulate and influence people came from a highly popular
book: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Manson used the learned
techniques of promising people things, boosting their confidence just slightly and creating a
vision of the better future, where he was the only saviour. Unfortunately for the world, his
vision was dark and involved taking the lives of innocent people. He took proven leadership
qualities and turned them into a sinister manipulation. Yet, his example shows how
charismatic leadership works when it’s efficient.
To find out more about Dale Carnegie’s book and its message, check out the below
Slideshare presentation, which summarizes the ideas in the book. Despite the bad press, the
book is still one of the best in the field of leadership and worth reading

Jack Welch / General Electric

Charismatic leaders have also appeared in the business world. General Electric’s (GE) CEO
Jack Welch is a good example of a charismatic leader. Welch had a sporting background and
he used the lessons he learned as an athlete during his time in business.
After graduating from college, Welch found himself working as a chemical engineer at GE
in 1960. In 1981, he became the company’s youngest CEO. His approach to his position as a
CEO was about creating personal and meaningful relationships. He met with the employees
and the customers, talking with them to create a positive atmosphere.
Nonetheless, his charismatic leadership style didn’t mean he avoided working towards the
vision. He didn’t hesitate to cut costs, even if it meant laying off employees, because his
ultimate vision was about creating a valuable and respectful business. He wanted to create an
organization that would beat its rivals and in order to do this, he had to weed out mediocrity
from his company. While this meant certain people had to go, it also improved the
company’s communication, its development and ultimately its bottom line.
In a telling quote, Jack Welch once said, “The essence of competitiveness is liberated when
we make people believe that what they think and do is important – and then get out of their
way while they do it.” The idea sums nicely the essence of charismatic leadership and
especially the idea of the motive arousal.

Steve Jobs / Apple

Finally, another example of a highly charismatic leader in the business world is the late
Steve Jobs. Whilst Jobs was not universally liked as a leader, he was effective and persuasive
– he even got the people who didn’t really like him to continue working for him.
Jobs clearly highlighted strong conviction and vision. He wanted particularly designed
products, often forcing the designing team to great lengths to achieve it. He kept mentioning
his key objectives and ideas in almost all of his speeches and ensured everyone in the
company knew what the vision was.
Furthermore, Jobs didn’t just apply a single communication tactic with his subordinates. He
changed his rhetoric and figurative language according to the audience. Just as a charismatic
leader would in order to find the right motive for his or her followers to participate in the
vision, he was able to sense what his crowd wanted and needed from him. A study into Jobs’
use of rhetoric, Loizos Heracleous and Laura Klaering from the Warwick Business School
found leaders could take advantage of Jobs’ skills and “employ them to increase followers’
belief in their charisma as well as their effectiveness as a persuasive speaker”.
Jobs used different images and examples as part of his discussion. For example, IBM was the
evil player in the game, while Apple would come and save the day – you can see the
charismatic vision and motive arousal working for his favour.
Charismatic Theory

Charismatic leadership is a trait-based leadership theory where the leaders act as visionary
driven by their convictions and motivate their followers to work towards common vision
using their charm and persuasiveness. These charismatic leaders act as role models and
exhibit extraordinary characteristics that inspire devotion and motivation in followers to
persuade change. Leaders are able to cultivate a profound sense of trust with the group of
followers.

Charisma has been associated with leadership for centuries, and defined as 'a divinely
conferred power or talent'. It was first formalized as a leadership theory by House in 1976,
following the work of Weber, an early sociologist, in the 1940s.

The Theory of Charismatic Leadership

During the first decade of the 2000s, the trait approach of leadership gained new interest
through the current emphasis given by many researchers to visionary and charismatic
leadership.

Charismatic leadership came to the forefront of public attention during the 2008 US elections
when Barack Obama was elected as the first African American president. He is believed to
be charismatic, among many other leadership attributes he demonstrates.

The trait approach began with an emphasis on identifying the qualities of great persons,

shifted to include the impact of situations on leadership, and, currently, has shifted back to
reemphasize the critical role of traits in effective leadership. Max Weber defined the term
“charisma” as, “charisma is applied to a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue
of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural,
superhuman, exceptional powers or qualities”.

UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT CONTEXT OF

CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP
Charisma is a trait often associated with leaders and the world is full of examples of people being
described as charismatic leaders. The term charismatic comes from the ancient Greek
word charis, which means grace, kindness and life. Charismatic people are considered as graceful
and virtuous. The idea of using one’s charisma and influence in order to lead is not a new way of
looking at leadership, although the theories around it are rather recent.

In this section, we’ll explore the idea of charismatic leadership through its past and present
contexts.
The historical context
The idea of a strong and noble leader, who relies on personal characteristics, has been present in
history. People have attributed and associated great personalities with the ability to rule in a good
manner ever since the dawn of time.

In terms of crafting a proper leadership theory, the two biggest influencing theories behind
charismatic theory have been developed by Max Weber and Robert J. House.
 Max Weber’s charismatic leadership

The charismatic theory’s driving force is Max Weber’s study on political obligation. The
German sociologist explored the reasons people follow authority and the findings were
published posthumously in 1922 in Economy and Society.
Weber moved away from the classical thinking that authority is achieved through the three
routes:

 Self-interest – You obey for material or economic gain

 Fear – You follow the rules because you don’t want the punishment
 Habit – You obey simply out of the socialization of authority
Instead, Weber thought people follow a leader or a state because they evaluate the authority
and perceive it good, right or just form of power. Therefore, the leader’s legitimacy is
subjective to each subordinate.
From the above ideas, Weber distinguished three models of legitimate leadership, summed
up in the below image:

Weber’s idea of charisma was value-free and more about the appearance of charisma rather
than making specific value judgments. He writes in the book how charisma “knows no
formal and regulated appointment or dismissal, no career, advancement, or salary, no
supervisory or appeals body, no local or purely technical jurisdiction, and no permanent
institutions in the manner of bureaucratic agencies”. Charismatic leaders are almost savior
like and people follow them as they are perceived to put things right.
Charismatic leadership relies on three components in Weber’s theory. There is
the psychological dimension, which refers to the inner qualities of the leader. Weber talks
about the trait being a “gift” of the leader, claiming it could be either a divine trait or a
specific physical or mental state of being. But since charisma to Weber, is value-free and
created by the subordinates’ assumptions, there is no detailed explanation on the origins of
charisma.
The second dimension is about the social aspect. Charismatic leadership might not stem
purely out of one’s inner being, but have a social source. This could be the cultural influence
of society, family, work or even education. Charisma essentially takes on a traditional form
and legitimizes its source. The impersonal nature of charisma implies that it can be taught,
according to Weber.
Finally, Weber’s theory also has a relational dimension between the leader and the
subordinate. According to Weber, charisma is the “affectual relationship between leader and
followers developing as the historical product of the interaction between person and
situation”. A leader has to prove his or her worth and the charisma in order to continue to
enjoy legitimacy. Charismatic leadership is therefore relational because the subordinates can
withdraw their support, leading the leader without legitimacy to rule.
Interestingly, Weber’s charismatic leader carried its own demise and the legitimate authority
of a charismatic leader was something he didn’t think could last. This was because it
changed the system it was operating in and removed the traditional justification of authority
around it. According to Weber, charismatic leadership would be hard to routinize and
therefore, it created succession issues in organizations or the state.

Robert J. House’s charismatic leadership

Weber’s ideas of charismatic leadership were theoretical and the conversation that followed
around the topic tended to be speculative in nature. In 1976, Robert J. House published his
working paper A 1976 theory of charismatic leadership, which aimed to move the theory to a
more testable concept. House moved the charismatic leadership theory more towards a
psychological explanation, rather than a sociological or political science theory of power.
House’s main argument was that charismatic leadership is rooted in personal and behavioral
characteristics and the leaders with these qualities can inspire subordinates through
appropriate articulation of the organizational vision. Therefore, it follows the similar notion
of Weber that charismatic leaders don’t receive authority out of fear or financial gain, but out
of emotional excitement.
To communicate the vision to subordinates, charismatic leaders need to showcase high levels
of self-confidence, dominance, influence and strong conviction. Furthermore, certain
situational and organization factors can help boost the leadership’s appearance. These
assumptions and characteristics will be discussed further in the following sections.
The main takeaway from House’s theory is that charismatic leadership should not be defined
solely in terms of the effects it has on followers. Instead, House looked more towards the
behaviors and the situational factors that influence the effectiveness of charismatic leaders.

The modern context

The above two theories have largely shaped the conversation around charismatic leadership,
providing the theory with context and testable characteristics. The two theories, along with
other research on the leadership model, have revived the trait-based approach to leadership.
Since charismatic leadership is linked with personal traits and the transformation of
subordinates, the current conversation around the model often links it with transformational
leadership theory. Both of these theories seek radical changes around the organizational
structure they operate in, yet there are certain important differences between the two.
While charisma can improve the effectiveness of leadership, transformational leaders don’t
necessarily have to be perceived as charismatic in order to rule efficiently. Furthermore,
transformational leadership always has change at the heart of it, whereas charismatic
leadership might not be interested in changing the operational structure of the organization.
Nonetheless, in current literature, charismatic leadership has assumed a more benevolent
approach to leadership. Instead of focusing on a strong moral conviction and the personality
traits of the leader, the inclusion of transformational elements has added a behavior element
to the theory.
Aside from linking charismatic leadership with other leadership styles, such as
transformational and inspirational leadership, the focus has also moved even more towards
the emotional, inspirational and symbolic aspects of the leadership’s ability to influence. In
2007, J. C. Pastor, M. Mayo and B. Shamir’s research found the emotional responses of the
subordinates influence the perception of the leader as charismatic. Furthermore, it isn’t
purely about the leader’s apparent qualities, but the characteristics of the subordinates can
influence how effective charismatic leaders are.
Ronald E. Riggio, PhD and professor of leadership and organizational psychology, summed
up the current idea of charismatic leadership well in his 2012 article. Riggio defined
charismatic leaders as “individuals who are both verbally eloquent, but also able to
communicate to followers on a deep, emotional level.” Charismatic leadership is about
creating a vision and captivating people emotionally with the message.

THE CORE ELEMENTS OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP

The above touched on the context and approach to charismatic leadership. It’s now time to
consider the core elements of the leadership model and how they drive the above ideas
forward.

Organizational and situational assumptions

House’s 1976 essay on charismatic leadership outlined key assumptions regarding the
leadership model. The assumptions rely on the idea that charismatic leadership relies on the
behavioral, situational and organizational factors.
First, charismatic leadership requires the leader to showcase behaviors, which create an
impression of competence and success. In short, the leadership requires a strong goal
articulation. D. Berlew wrote in Leadership and Organization Excitement in 1974 that,
“The first requirement for…charismatic leadership is a common or shared vision for what
the future could be.“ A good example of this would be Martin Luther Kings, “I have a
dream”. The speech and idea provided subordinates a vision of the future, the leader would
want them to accomplish together. According to House, the goal articulation is more often
about ideology rather than pragmatism.
For successful goal articulation to appear, a charismatic leadership theory requires the use
of motive arousal. This means the goal and vision put forward by the leader must create an
emotional appeal and spark off the right type of motivational response. House points out to
the example of military leaders, who use authoritarian symbolism and images of the enemy
in order to excite the followers. He gives the example of the US military leader, Patton, who
addressed recruits “against the background of a large American flag, and dressed with
medals of his accomplishments and wearing a shining helmet displaying the four stars
indicating the status of general.”
The motive arousal aspect of charismatic leadership requires an understanding and an
analysis of the task and the subordinates’ need for achievement, affiliation and power. The
effectiveness to accomplish tasks can therefore be manipulated by the leader’s ability to
arouse the right motives. House summarized studies, which had found the following
assumptions:

Task requirements The correct motive arousal

 Assumption of calculated The need for achievement

risks
 Achievement oriented
initiative
 Assumption of personal
responsibility
 Persistence toward
challenging goals

 Being persuasive The need for power

 Asserting influence
 Exercising control over
others
 Being competitive or
combative

 Affiliative behavior The need for affiliation

 Cohesiveness
 Team work
 Peer support
Finally, charismatic leadership requires specific situational determinants. For Weber,
charismatic leadership is born out of a stressful situation. The vision outlined by the leader is
likely something difficult or impossible to achieve, yet which creates the right motive
arousal in leaders, enforcing the idea of the charismatic leader as the ‘savior’. An
 example could be Mahatma Ghandi in India during the Indian independence movement. In a
business environment a failing company might benefit from a charismatic leader who creates
a vision of a better future for subordinates.
But stressful disasters are not the only situational determinant charismatic leadership can use
as an advantage. Edward Shils’ 1965 paper Charisma, Order, and Status identified the
formal institutions of society, with large amounts of power, being something that could be
perceived charismatic. In essence, the idea of the “awe-inspiring quality of power” can
integrate a vision and therefore, become seen as charismatic.

Behavioral assumptions
For the above characteristics of charismatic leadership to work efficiently, the behavior of
the leader must be aligned with the assumptions. Charismatic leadership model emphasizes
the behavioral assumptions as the key.
As mentioned in the previous section, House outlined the four qualities of a charismatic
leader. These were:

 Dominant
 Strong desire to influence others.
 Self-confident.
 Strong sense of one’s own moral values.
Interestingly, charismatic leaders are not just interested or relying on showcasing the above
qualities themselves, but rather they behave in a way that supports role-modeling behavior.
Essentially this means charismatic leadership wants subordinates to adopt the behaviour of
the leader.
Role-modeling has been shown by studies to have a strong effect on influencing other
people. An authoritative figure can get subjects to administer pain to other people and people
can adopt biased or racist attitudes from leaders. But naturally, role-modeling could be used
for positive change and behavior as well. In a corporate environment, role-modeling could
work as a method of improving employee motivation. According to House’s analysis,
“leaders can have an effect on the values (or valences) subordinates’ attach to the outcomes
of their effort as well as their expectations”.
From the above idea follows another crucial behavioral aspect of the charismatic leader. The
leader should focus on engaging in behaviors, which create the impression of competence
and success. Weber mentioned in his book how charismatic leaders are required to prove
their power to the subordinates. While accomplishments are generally the easiest way to
do this, the idea of appearance will also help charismatic leaders. This appearance
assumption links closely with the above idea of goal articulation.
A very nice chat around how to become a better leader.
The best way to create the impression is often through high expectations and strong self-
confidence. Studies have shown your self-esteem level and the expectation of being able to
 achieve a goal relate to motivation and goal attainment. In charismatic leadership, the leader
has a role of improving the subordinate’s self-esteem in order to improve organizational
effectiveness.
A leader must not only set high-expectations, but also show confidence in the subordinate’s
ability to get things done. The behavioral assumption is associated with the above motive
arousal. As shown earlier, specific tasks require the leader to use specific motivational
influences in order to get the best out of subordinates. Furthermore, House drew two
hypotheses out of the assumptions:

 If leaders set specific and high expectations, then the goals of subordinates are clearer.
 If the leader shows more confidence in the subordinate’s ability to achieve those goals,
then the person will perceive them more attainable.
Therefore, charismatic leadership works most efficiently when leaders are able to instill
confidence and self-esteem to subordinates, which means subordinates are more inclined to
achieve objectives and thus trust the leader further.

“Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can’t be two

people. Instead you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his

people.” – Lee Iacocca

You’ve probably met a person who oozed of charisma. The almost-indescribable
characteristic is something we associate with other leaders, while we consider some people
simply lacking it. More often than not, charismatic leaders are considered powerful orators
with a clear vision.

THE QUALITIES OF CHARISMATIC LEADER

Since charismatic leadership is heavily focused on the behaviour and personality of the
leader, it comes as no surprise that the qualities and traits required of a charismatic leader are
at the centre of the theory. We’ve already touched upon some of the traits through House’s
theory (dominant, self-confident, self-assured and strong conviction), but further research
has identified other characteristics as well.
After examining the key traits of a charismatic leader, we’ll also consider the steps you
should take if you’d like to use this leadership model.

The key characteristics

In 1988, Jay Conger and Rabindra Kanungo published Charismatic Leadership, which
outlined the key characteristics of a charismatic leader. The findings have been repeatedly
shown to be accurate in a number of other similar studies, such as Robert House and Jane
Howell’s 1992 paper Personality and Charismatic Leadership.
One thing charismatic leadership emphasizes is the nature of your charisma. While it might
seem charisma is a ‘natural’ quality you either have or don’t have, the reality is that many
charismatic qualities can be learned and reinforced.

#1 Visionary

Martin Luther King dreamt of a society where everyone is equal, Gandhi wanted different
religions to live in peace in India and Sir Winston Churchill wanted the British to stay
resilient during the war. Every charismatic leader has a vision – they are able to look beyond
the horizon and imagine a different way of doing things. Obviously, it doesn’t mean
everyone has to imagine a society-wide change or movement, but you have to have a vision
of what you want to achieve or what you want the organization you lead to accomplish.
Being a visionary means being open to chance and understanding that constant improvement
is required for progress. You need to embark on a road of self-improvement, where you are
constantly looking to expand your skills and learning things beyond your comfort zone. In
addition, you need to listen to other people and understand how their experiences have
shaped them. If you can combine your understanding of the world, with the experiences of
others, you can visualise new solutions and approaches to solving things.
Visionary people are both dreamers and doers. You want to spend enough time thinking
about the world and the problems you face. But you don’t want to be caught daydreaming,
while other people fix the problems.
This video shows you how to develop your vision statement and inspire your subordinates.

#2 Articulate

Charismatic people are good communicators. In order to get people on your side – to
understand your vision and to believe in it – you have to be able to share the message loud
and clear. If you aren’t articulate, your subordinates won’t be able to understand what you
are envisioning.
There are two key aspects of articulation in terms of charismatic leadership. First, it simply
means being a better communicator and being able to talk about complex issues to people in
a way they understand. In the business world, the key is to explain the why, the how,
and the when. You need to explain the reason or the vision behind the action, clarify what is
needed in order to get to the objective and ensure people know how fast this all should be
accomplished.
But the second aspect of articulation and communication relates to the understanding of your
subordinates. Charismatic leadership requires you to be able to read people and select the
right motivations for inspiring them. Therefore, you need to be able to analyze your audience
and select the right communication style for each occasion.
If you’d like to improve your own communication abilities, especially in terms of getting
your message across, watch the below YouTube clip. On it, Julian Treasure explains how to
speak in a way that ensures people listen.
#3 Sensitive

Charismatic leaders must be sensitive, both in reading people’s emotions and ambitions, but
also in showing them compassion and empathy. As mentioned above, you must be able to
sense the other person’s expectations and needs in order to properly approach them with
your vision. In short, you need to be able to sense the mood and be able to adjust to it.
In addition, you must also show humility and compassion. When you listen to people, you
need to convince them you are there to help and you understand what the person is saying.
Even if you can’t do what the person might want you to do, you need to be able to convince
them to work in a specific way and make them feel like its their best interest as well.
The charismatic leader who can show compassion towards subordinates is the leader that
gets people on his or her side. Since you require subordinates to buy into your vision, you
need to show respect and empathy towards them. People follow leaders who make them feel
good and important, instead of someone who doesn’t listen to them.

#4 Risk-taker

Just as you need to be a visionary, you must be willing to take risks as well. Because you are
trying to obtain a visionary goal, something transformative and different, you won’t have a
paved out road ahead of you. In order to accomplish great things, charismatic leadership
requires you to put yourself on the line.
Risk-taking means two things. First, as a leader, you are accountable for any problems that
might arise. You aren’t afraid to step out of the way if things don’t work out and you won’t
try to place the blame elsewhere.
But in addition, you aren’t afraid of challenges either. You understand that each challenge
will bring about positive things, whether or not you accomplish what you set out to do. You
are ready to give it your best shot because you can see the rewards of accomplishing things,
while realizing failure isn’t the end of the world.
In business, risk-taking isn’t the same as gambling. Risk-takers don’t just rush into things
and hope for the best and neither do charismatic leaders. You understand the importance of
analyzing tasks and the options ahead of you, but you are willing to take calculated risks if
the situation calls for it.
Listen to Stephen Kelly (CEO of Sage) on what he has to say on taking smart risks.

#5 Creative

Finally, charismatic leaders tend to be creative. In order to be more visionary, you naturally
need a healthy dose of creativity. You must be able to think outside of the box in order to
create meaningful change in the organization.
Creativity is further linked to the charismatic leadership’s idea of strong conviction. You
need to be able to speak with conviction – meaning that you need to use creative images,
rhetoric and messaging in order to get others to buy into your vision.
 If you’d like to improve your ability to be more creative and to stand out from the crowd,
you should try these five scientifically proven tips (BBC Science):

 Change how you do things – Altering your daily routines can help you because more
innovative.
 Removing distractions – You should try to create an environment around you which
doesn’t have distractions – visual or audio -.
 Spend time on mundane tasks – You can spark your creative mind by engaging in
tasks, which require less thinking.
 Improvising and taking risks – Risk-taking can boost creativity together with
improvisation. If you can play an instrument or you like drawing, spend some time doing it
without an objective in mind.
 Allowing your mind to wander – You shouldn’t be afraid to just sit around and allow
your mind to think freely.

How to become a charismatic leader

One thing charismatic leadership emphasizes is the nature of your charisma. While it might
seem charisma is a ‘natural’ quality you either have or don’t have, the reality is that many
charismatic qualities can be learned and reinforced. Joyce Newman, president of the
Newman Group, told in a Forbes interview, “We are not born charismatic – we cultivate it in
many ways”. Furthermore, Joyce pointed out that becoming charismatic is a “trial and error
process” and “once you have your charismatic status, you can lose it”.
In his 1989 book The Charismatic Leader: Behind the Mystique of Exceptional Leadership,
Jay Conger proposed a four-step model for charismatic leadership. The model is a good
guide for anyone looking to improve his or her charismatic leader characteristics.

Step 1: Regularly assessing your vision and the environment for achieving it

First, you need to create a vision, which fits the current environment. If you are working in
an organization, you want to understand where the company is heading and where
it could be heading with a new vision. You must understand the different parts making the
vision a reality, such as what type of employees do you need, what must the organization
focus on and who might be able to help you out.
Once you have formulated a vision and a framework for achieving the vision, you need to
outline to others. But even after the vision is out in the open, you need to have the clarity to
keep assessing your environment to ensure the vision is attainable. While you might not
change the end objective, you might need to adjust the framework on how you get to the goal

Step 2: Improving your ability to communicate this vision

You need to be able to articulate your vision to the subordinates and other stakeholders in a
clear and concise manner. The above points on characteristics should give you tips on
improving your communication skills. But there are two other strategies you need to focus
on: motive arousal and persuasive language.
In order for subordinates to buy into your vision, you need to find what motivates them to
perform the required tasks. Notice that in an organization, different people might find
different motives appealing. For example, the idea of more power might appeal to middle
management who are driven and ambitious. On the other hand, employees with less
motivation and ambition might find a vision of financial gain as motivating
Your language must be persuasive. Again, understanding the person’s motivations help, but
you also need to utilize role-modeling for inspiring the person to act. Setting an example can
act as a powerful motivator for subordinates.

Step 3: Creating a trustworthy and committed environment

Coercion is not an effective part of charismatic leadership. Instead, you should focus on
building relationships that are based on trust. This can lead to the creation of a committed
environment where subordinates are inspired to work hard towards the goals.
You need to be able to ensure the vision you’ve set out is viable. This means you need to be
accountable for the actions the organization takes, you must be willing to take risks and you
need to showcase high levels of expertise. These will help you create more trust, not only in
your vision, but also on yourself as a leader.

Step 4: Achieving the objectives

The final step is about achieving the vision you have set out using the chore tactics of
charismatic leadership. This includes role-modeling and empowering your subordinates with
motive arousal. Charismatic leadership provides the ideas and tools to lead people, but it also
understands the differences in the situations. Therefore, achieving the vision is the key, not
following a rigid set of rules in order to get there.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP

Charismatic leadership is among the leadership theories that can be both a blessing and a
curse to an organization. A strong vision with emotional influences can be a force for
positive change, such as the example of Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement, but it
can lead to darkness as well.

Advantages of charismatic leadership

As mentioned above, charismatic leadership can at its best, be an inspirational style to lead.
A successful, charismatic leader is able to create a vision, which attract subordinates to the
cause. The ability to motivate and empower people through this vision can eventually lead to
more success.
Consider an example of a failing business. A charismatic leader can utilize the tools of
charismatic leadership and create a vision of an organization that leads the industry. The
message of the better future, and the confidence the leader shows towards subordinates can
guarantee the employers are motivated to work together towards these goals. As the
examples and research data above shows, the right type of motivation and vision can boost
people’s ability to get the job done more effectively.
Furthermore, the shared vision provides another big advantage of the theory: better
workplace cohesion. Since everyone in the organization is aware of the same mission and
objectives, everyone is essentially working to achieve the same goal. No one is gaining
anything more, as the motivation isn’t about punishments or financial gains – rather; the
whole company shares the same objective. Knowing that everyone is essentially looking
forward to the same achievement can create a stronger sense of togetherness and unity.
The visionary way to lead can lead to better results because it ignites people’s passion. It’s
hard to be a charismatic leader without strong convictions and therefore, the leader is
passionate about getting things done. As many entrepreneurs tend to say, “it’s the passion
that gets you up every morning”. In addition to the passionate approach to doing things,
charismatic leadership also encourages risk-taking and thinking outside of the box. Together,
these qualities can drive change in an organization and have a meaningful impact on the
operational efficiency of the company.
Since the emphasis is on achieving the objectives and working towards the shared goal,
charismatic leadership tends to flourish learning behavior. Mistakes are not used for
punishment and disasters are not shrugged under the carpet. Instead, charismatic leaders and
therefore the subordinates examine the mistakes and learn from them in order to move
forward. For a business, learning from past mistakes is a crucial part of avoiding the issue
second time around.
The clarity in the objectives and vision are especially beneficial in situations where a
company might be facing a crisis. As House and Weber argued in their theories, charismatic
leadership works especially well in crises. If work morale is low and the company is lacking
direction, a strong, charismatic leader can provide the organization a needed boost and
positive vision for the future. The focus on individuals and their self-esteem will also provide
an instant boost in employee morale.
Overall, the above can boost employee moral and productivity. The workplace can
become a more invigorating and exciting place to be, with the possibility of larger social
change on the horizon. The company’s profitability, productivity and longevity can therefore
improve.

Disadvantages of charismatic leadership

But as we briefly mentioned at the start of the section, charismatic leadership is not always
transformational in a positive manner. The vision, envisaged by the charismatic leader, is not
always universally positive and in the darkest examples of the human history, it can be
deadly. If you consider the essence of charismatic leadership – dominance, confidence,
strong convictions and the ability to get followers on your side – then one example of
charismatic leader from history could be Adolf Hitler. He was able to paint a vision of a
future for people, which they took at face value.
Unlike ethical leadership, charismatic leadership doesn’t make judgments on whether the
vision is good or sustainable. Therefore, there isn’t much room for inner moral conflicts
within the leadership theory. The problem is that a charismatic leader might be driven by
self-interest or poor judgment, instead of showcasing values that cherish other people’s
wellbeing.
In a less-sinister manner, charismatic leadership can slip into arrogance or tunnel vision.
The leader, along with his or her followers, can simply focus on the vision, without re-
evaluating or re-examining its validity or attainability. For an organisation, this could be
devastating, as resources might be better spent in a different manner.
Since charismatic leadership doesn’t work without the support of subordinates,
the obedience levels of subordinates can go on unchallenged. In essence, this means the
leadership model’s apparent strength can simply be down to “yes-men” around the leader.
Instead of questioning or challenging the leader’s ideas, subordinates merely follow the
orders.
Finally, charismatic leadership is based on the relationship between the leader and his or her
subordinates. If, and when, the leader moves on from the organization, the company
might suffer consequently because a strong leadership base disappears with him or her. The
organization either needs a new charismatic leader, who has to spend time establishing his or
her relationship with the subordinates, or implement a wholly new leadership structure into
the organization. As the subordinates have based their trust in the vision of the charismatic
leader, there is no leadership development within the organization to guarantee the next
generation of leaders are able to take over.

Quotes on Charisma

Charisma appears to be extremely powerful to influence people, but it is difficult to define

and learn. Given below are a number of different charismatic definitions:

"Throw away those books and cassettes on inspirational leadership. Send those consultants
packing. Know your job, set a good example for the people under you, and put results over
politics. That's all the charisma you'll really need to succeed. Do You Need Charisma?

Dyan Machan
"We need less posturing and more genuine charisma. Charisma was originally a religious
term, meaning "of the spirit" or "inspired." It's about a sparkle in people that money can't
buy. It's invisible energy with visible effects."

Marianne Williamson
"You have got charisma! Becca!: Hats that? It's a special quality of leadership that captures
the popular imagination and inspires allegiance and devotion."
Crawl (Movie: Son in Law, 1993)
"Charisma is a fancy name given to the knack of giving people your full attention."

Robert Brault
I mean, my first impression, and they're rarely wrong, is that you have none of the qualities
that we normally seek in a prospective flat-mate.'I talking here about things like presence,
charisma, style and charm, and I don't think were asking too much, I don't think were being
unreasonable."

Alex Law (Movie: Shallow Grave, 1994)

"Charm is charisma in the lady."

M. Johannsen.
"Most of us have known leaders at work, in the community, in government, who capture our
imagination with a passion for an idea – a vision of the way the future could be. When they
speak, we find ourselves mesmerized by their words and drawn by their sense of urgency.
They seem to possess a certain indescribable energy that inspires and motivates. They appear
to touch our emotions more than our rational mind. Things happen when they are around.
There is change. And often we find ourselves, quite willingly, drawn to them. We may also
find ourselves performing beyond our expectations to accomplish their goals. Most of all, we
are moved by them – and, quite frequently, moved to follow them. What is at the core of
their power? Charisma is one word that comes to mind."