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LEADERSHIP NOW: REFLECTIONS ON
THE LEGACY OF BOAS SHAMIR
MONOGRAPHS IN LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT
Series Editor: Yair Berson

Recent Volumes:
VolumeOut-of-the-Box Leadership: Transforming the
1: Twenty-First-Century Army and Other Top-
Performing Organizations – Edited by James
G. (Jerry) Hunt, George E. Dodge and
Leonard Wong
VolumeTransformational and Charismatic Leadership:
2: The Road Ahead – Edited by Bruce J. Avolio
and Francis J. Yammarino
VolumeAuthentic Leadership Theory and Practice:
3: Origins, Effects and Development – Edited by
Willaim J. Gardner, Bruce J. Avolio, and Fred
O. Walumbwa
VolumeBeing There Even When You Are Not: Leading
4: Through Strategy, Structures and Systems –
Edited by Robert Hooijberg, James G. Hunt,
John Antonakis, Kimberly B. Boal, Nancy Lane
VolumeTransformational and Charismatic Leadership:
5: The Road Ahead (Second Edition) 10th
Anniversary Edition – Edited by Bruce J.
Avolio and Francis J. Yammarino
VolumeThe Physicality of Leadership: Gesture,
6: Entanglement, Taboo, Possibilities – Edited by
Donna Ladkin and Steven S. Taylor
VolumeOrganizational Neuroscience – Edited by
7: David A. Waldman and Pierre A. Balthazard
VolumeLeadership Lessons in Compelling Contexts –
8: Edited by Claudia Peus, Susanne Braun and
Birgit Schyns
MONOGRAPHS IN LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT VOLUME 9

LEADERSHIP NOW:
REFLECTIONS ON THE
LEGACY OF BOAS SHAMIR
EDITED BY

ISRAEL KATZ
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

GALIT EILAM-SHAMIR
Ono Academic College, Israel

RONIT KARK
Bar Ilan University, Israel

YAIR BERSON
Bar Ilan University, Israel
United Kingdom – North America – Japan
India – Malaysia – China
Emerald Publishing Limited
Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2018

Copyright © 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

Reprints and permissions service


Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any
form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without
either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying
issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright
Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst
Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald
makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application
and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data


A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78743-201-7 (Print)


ISBN: 978-1-78743-200-0 (Online)
ISBN: 978-1-78743-258-1 (Epub)

ISSN: 1479-3571 (Series)


CONTENTS

About the Editors

About the Authors

Introduction: From Leader-Centric to


Collective Leadership
Israel Katz, Galit Eilam-Shamir, Ronit Kark, and Yair
Berson

PART I.
LEADER-CENTRIC APPROACHES

Chapter 1 The Motivational Effects of


Charismatic Leadership: A Self-Concept Based
Theory
Boas Shamir, Robert J. House, and Michael B. Arthur

Chapter 2 The Rhetoric of Charismatic


Leadership: A Theoretical Extension, a Case
Study, and Implications for Research
Boas Shamir, Michael B. Arthur, and Robert J. House
Chapter 3 “What’s Your Story?” A Life-
Stories Approach to Authentic Leadership
Development
Boas Shamir and Galit Eilam-Shamir

Chapter 4 Keeping the Baby While


Refreshing the Bathwater: Revisiting the Role
of Singular Leadership
Bruce J. Avolio, Benjamin M. Galvin, and David A.
Waldman

Chapter 5 Charismatic Pygmalion: The Most


Effective Leadership Combo
Dov Eden

PART II.
THE LEADER-FOLLOWER RELATIONSHIP

Chapter 6 The Charismatic Relationship:


Alternative Explanations and Predictions
Boas Shamir

Chapter 7 The Role of Followers in the


Charismatic Leadership Process: Relationships
and their Consequences
Jane M. Howell and Boas Shamir
Chapter 8 Great Minds Think Alike?
Congruence in Leader and Follower
Organizational Identification and Perceptions
of Leader Charisma
Deanne N. Den Hartog and Corine Boon

Chapter 9 Reversing the Lens in Leadership:


Positioning Followership in the Leadership
Construct
Mary Uhl-Bien and Melissa Carsten

PART III.
THE CONTEXT OF LEADERSHIP

Chapter 10 Social Distance and Charisma:


Theoretical Notes and an Exploratory Study
Boas Shamir

Chapter 11 Organizational and Contextual


Influences on the Emergence and
Effectiveness of Charismatic Leadership
Boas Shamir and Jane M. Howell

Chapter 12 The Implications of Emotional


Distance on Construal Level of Leadership
Micha Popper
Chapter 13 Leadership in Transformation:
From Maestro to a Jazz Orchestra
Smadar Porat

PART IV.
EPILOGUE

Chapter 14 Leadership Now: Reflecting on


the Legacy of Boas Shamir
Yair Berson, Ronit Kark, Galit Eilam-Shamir, and
Israel Katz

Index
ABOUT THE EDITORS

Israel Katz is an Associate Professor at the Departments of


Psychology and Sociology (where he is also the Director of
Organizational Studies) in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is
also a Founder and the Head of Zofnat – the Institute of Research,
Development and Organizational Consulting. He serves as the Chief
Editor of Organizational Analysis (a professional publication in
Hebrew) and has published several books and numerous articles,
mostly in Hebrew, on the topic of organizational leadership.
Galit Eilam-Shamir holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from
the Hebrew University and a Master’s degree in Organizational
Behavior from Tel Aviv University. She is a Senior Lecturer and heads
the MBA program in Organizational Management Studies at the
Faculty of Business Administration at Ono Academic College. Her
career straddles academic interests and practical work. In her
studies and publications, she focuses on the subject of managing
and leading change and on leadership, more particularly authentic
leadership. Part of her research work in this field was conducted in
tandem with her late spouse, Prof. Boas Shamir. Their joint
investigations in this area have shed light on the concept of
authentic leadership, while also challenging the concept itself. They
suggested that authentic leaders act according to their self-
perception as shaped by their life story and evolving within it. Their
work also addressed a number of practical implications of developing
authentic leadership. Dr Eilam-Shamir boasts extensive experience in
organizational consulting and personal consulting to managers in
business and public organizations. Her consulting activity centers on
providing comprehensive professional guidance to organizations
undergoing change processes. Another aspect of her consulting
activity involves work with senior executives on developing personal
leadership, based on their personal and professional life stories.
Ronit Kark is an Associate Professor of Leadership and
Organizational Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Bar-
Ilan University (BIU). She was the Founder and the Director of the
Graduate Gender Program “Gender in the Field: Linking Feminist
Theory and Practice,” at BIU. She is also an affiliated Scholar at the
Center for Gender in Organizations at Simmons College, Boston, MA.
She received her Ph.D. from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and ­‐
completed her postdoctoral studies at the University of Michigan. Her
research interests include leadership and followership, positive
relationships in organizations, identity and identification processes,
gender and leadership, and leading for creativity. Her work was
published in leading journals including: AMR, AMA, LQ, JOOP, JOB,
Organization, AMLE, and JAP. Prof. Kark is an Associate Editor at the
LQ and also served on the Editorial Boards of the AMJ, AMR, AMD,
Frontiers in Psychology, and IJMR. She was awarded the Best Paper
Prizes by the International Leadership Association (ILA, 2005), the
International Academy of Management and Business (IAMB, 2012),
and the Academy of Management Annals (AMA, 2016, #2). She also
received the AOM 2012 Award for her “Scholarly Contributions to
Advancing Women in Leadership” and the 2016 prize for an
“Outstanding Researcher” at BIU. She consults to organizations
(private, public sector, and non-governmental organizations, NGOs)
on leadership development and on enhancing socially responsible
leadership and serves voluntarily on the advisory committees and
boards of NGOs that aim to enhance social change and equity.
Yair Berson is an Associate Professor at the Department of
Psychology of Bar-Ilan University, and a Visiting Research Professor
at New York University’s Stern School of Business (2017–2021). He
received his Ph.D. in Management from the Center for Leadership
Studies/School of Management at SUNY Binghamton. He previously
served as an Assistant Professor of Management at Polytechnic
University (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering) and as a Senior
Lecturer at the University of Haifa. In addition, he was a Visiting
Professor at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern
University. Dr Berson’s research focuses on the role of leaders’
characteristics, in particular, personal values and visionary
leadership, in shaping organizations and individuals through strategic
processes, such as organizational learning and change. Most
recently, he expanded his work to examine the role of leaders in
facilitating neuro- and physiological-synchrony among followers. Dr
Berson’s work has been published in venues such as Psychological
Science, the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of
Experimental Psychology-General, Personnel Psychology, Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, the Journal of Organizational
Behavior, and The Leadership Quarterly. He is a co-author of The
Dream Weavers: Strategy Focused Leadership in Technology-Driven
Organizations (IAP, 2004). Dr Berson’s work has also been featured
several times in the business literature in such venues as Forbes,
Financial Times, Psychology Today, and Israel’s business magazines
Globes and The Marker. He has been serving on the board of The
Leadership Quarterly since 2004.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Bruce J. Avolio, Ph.D. is the Mark Pigott Chair in Business Strategic


Leadership Executive Director, Center for Leadership & Strategic
Thinking in Michael G. Foster School of Business, the University of
Washington, Seattle, WA. Bruce has published 12 books and over
150 articles on leadership and related areas. In 2017, Bruce was
recognized as being among the top 70 most highly cited researchers
in the United States in economics and business, and among the top
3,000 across all sciences around the globe (Thompson Reuters).
Corine Boon is an Associate Professor of Human Resource
Management (HRM) at the University of Amsterdam Business School,
the Netherlands. Her research focuses primarily on strategic HRM
and person-environment fit. Her research has been published in
journals including Journal of Management, Human Relations, Human
Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, and
the International Journal of Human Resource Management. Corine is
an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Human Resource
Management and currently serves on the editorial boards of the
Journal of Management, Human Resource Management Review, and
Human Resource Management Journal.
Melissa Carsten, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Management at
Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Dr Carsten conducts research
on followership role orientations, and how followers contribute to the
leadership process in organizations. Her research has been published
The Leadership Quarterly, the Journal of Organizational Behavior,
and the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
among others. Dr Carsten serves on the Editorial Boards of The
Leadership Quarterly, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, and
Group and Organization Management.
Deanne N. Den Hartog is a Professor of Organizational Behavior,
the Head of the Leadership and Management Section and the
Director of the Research Institute at the University of Amsterdam
Business School, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on
leadership, including charismatic, cross-cultural, and ethical
leadership as well as proactive work behavior, HRM, and trust. Her
research has been published in journals including the Journal of
Management, the Journal of Applied Psychology, The Leadership
Quarterly, and many others and Deanne serves on several editorial
boards.
Dov Eden is the Saltiel Emeritus Professor of Corporate Leadership
at Tel Aviv University’s Coller School of Management where he has
chaired the Organizational Behavior Program, directed the Israel
Institute of Business Research, and directed executive training. He is
the recipient of Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s
(SIOP) 2018 Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions. He is a
fellow of SIOP, the Academy of Management, the American
Psychological Association, and the Association for Psychological
Science. He served as an Associate Editor of the Academy of
Management Journal and on editorial boards of other leading
journals. His research focuses on leadership, motivation, work stress,
and field-experimental methodology.
Benjamin M. Galvin is an Associate Professor in the Marriott
School of Business at Brigham Young University. He earned a Ph.D.
in Management from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona
State University, AZ. His research interests include leader identity,
CEO narcissism, motivation to lead, and inclusive leadership. His
research has been published in key journals including the Academy
of Management Review, Personnel Psychology, and The Leadership
Quarterly.
Jane M. Howell holds the Taylor/Mingay Chair in Management and
is a professor of organizational behavior at the Ivey Business School,
The University of Western Ontario, Canada. She received her Ph.D.
in Business Administration from The University of British Columbia.
Her current research interests include champions of innovation and
crisis leadership.
Micha Popper was the Head of the Organizational Psychology
Program at the University of Haifa Israel and has been a Visiting
Professor at the University of Western Ontario and Simon Fraser
University. Prior to his academic career, he was the Head of the
Israel Defense Forces School for Leadership Development and was
one of the founders and director of the Center for Quality Leadership
in Israel. His research concerns leadership and followership as
evolutionary-cultural phenomena, leadership development, dynamics
of leader–follower’s relationship, and learning processes in
organizations.
Smadar Porat is the head of R&D and a partner at the Institute for
Quality Leadership. She received her Ph.D. from the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem and received her B.A. and M.A. in the
Department of Psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel. Her
research interests include complexity leadership, leadership from a
network perspective (social network analysis), relational leadership,
emergent leadership, and leadership in the plural. She also consults
to local and global organizations on leadership development,
focusing on “leading managements,” leadership in times of
disruption, and leadership for innovation.
Boas Shamir was a Professor in the Department of Sociology and
Anthropology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He
obtained his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the London School of
Economics and Political Sciences. His research interests included the
role of leaders’ life stories in the leadership process, and
relationships between threats and leadership.
Mary Uhl-Bien is the BNSF Railway Endowed Professor of
Leadership in the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian
University. She has also been a Visiting Scholar in Australia, Sweden,
Portugal, and Spain. Her research focuses on complexity leadership,
relational leadership, and followership. She has published four edited
books and a textbook, and her work has appeared in the Academy
of Management Journal, the Journal of Applied Psychology, the
Journal of Management, and The Leadership Quarterly. She is a
Founder of the Network of Leadership Scholars in the Academy of
Management and is active in executive education nationally and
internationally.
David A. Waldman is a Professor of Management in the W. P.
Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, AZ. His
interests focus on leadership processes, including interdisciplinary
efforts involving neuroscience, technology transfer, and social
responsibility. His accomplishments include over 120 articles in such
journals as the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of
Management Review, the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel
Psychology, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science,
and the Journal of Management. He currently is on six editorial
review boards, and is a Fellow of the American Psychological
Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology.
INTRODUCTION: FROM LEADER-
CENTRIC TO COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP
Israel Katz, Galit Eilam-Shamir, Ronit Kark, and Yair
Berson

The initiative for this book came in the wake of the sudden passing
of Professor Boas Shamir on November 8, 2014. Professor Shamir
was a teacher, partner, colleague, and one of the key scholars of
leadership in our time. We sought to bring together some of his
impressive scholarly works alongside new studies that correspond
with his contribution to the field. The initiative for this book
originated in the “Leadership Today” conference hosted by the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Professor Shamir’s academic home
for more than 30 years, in November 2015, one year following his
passing.
Photo courtesy of Tel Aviv University.

Boas Shamir was, during our close acquaintance, a sensitive,


modest man, a man of integrity, and exceptionally diligent as
attested by the 122 articles and books that he authored and co-
authored over the years beginning in 1980. These unique qualities
echoed on a webpage created in his honor. Colleagues and students
emphasized his originality and in-depth approach, his meticulous
style, and openness to new ideas. Furthermore, they noted his talent
for constructive criticism that brought out the best in others. Boas’s
opinion was highly regarded among his colleagues, and his articles
remain points of reference, despite the passage of time. As an
anchor in the lively discourse on leadership in recent decades, Boas
represented a position of professional leadership, which is entirely
the result of his intentionality and the admiration for him in the
scientific community. His work integrated different research methods
including advanced quantitative methodologies to qualitative analysis
of leaders’ speeches and secondary analyses of accumulated
research findings. He had outstanding knowledge of a virtuoso in his
research field and the ability to establish discourse with different
theoretical traditions with both respect and constructive intellectual
challenge.
Boas’s interest in leadership began quite early, but on the advice
of his teachers he wrote his dissertation in England on another
subject. Their sense, and his at the time, was that there was an
abundance of research in the field of leadership and that it was a
commonplace and saturated field, and that despite all this, our
knowledge on the subject was not really well founded or expanding
with the accumulation of years. When, despite this, he returned in
the 1990s to his original desire to study leadership with a systematic
research effort in the field, it was with the intent of challenging the
prevailing positions of the time, which saw leadership as a given
attribute of individuals and made a sharp distinction between leaders
and followers. Boas, instead, viewed charismatic leadership as a
relationship that develops in certain contexts through a complex
bond between leaders and followers. Precisely this complex position
enabled him to create a dialogue with longstanding traditions (that
focused on heroic leadership) and new concepts (such as relational–
construal models), while formulating his own complex position. For
Shamir, leadership, captures the impact of individuals on society, it is
asymmetrical in nature, and anchored in a shared connection in
which there is a formative role for both leaders and followers.
This book seeks to integrate eight of Boas Shamir’s scholarly
contributions with four articles that have been written especially for
this volume by other prominent scholars in the field, who were all
influenced by Boas Shamir’s work and respected it. The works are
organized into three parts inspired by Boas Shamir’s editorial logic
evident in one of his most recent works: a series of four volumes on
leadership published by SAGE, in which each volume has a different
focus (Shamir, 2015). The three parts reflect both the evolvement of
Shamir’s work from a focus on a single entity, the leader, through the
leader–follower relationship, to larger entities and contextual
conditions. At the same time, Shamir insisted on the traditional focus
on a single leader and hence the life story approach, a leader centric
approach, which engaged him in his last decade (Shamir & Eilam,
2005). The choice of articles that we reprinted in this volume also
reflects Shamir’s legacy. Among these are not only his most cited
theoretical works (i.e., Howell & Shamir, 2005; Shamir, House, &
Arthur, 1993; Shamir & Howell, 1999) but also works that received
somewhat less attention but shed light on his creative writing (i.e.,
Shamir, Arthur, & House, 1994; Shamir, 1991, 1995). Overall, these
articles reflect 20 years of his writing, and, in line with his legacy, we
consider them to be among his most influential writings.
Part I of this book focuses on leader-centric approaches, including
charismatic and authentic leadership, both of which highlight the
ways in which leaders motivate followers through a common bond
they form with them. The opening article of this collection is
arguably Boas’s most influential article (Shamir et al., 1993), as
demonstrated by the impact it has had on the field of leadership and
organizational behavior. This article lays the foundations for the
motivational effects of charismatic leaders and as such serves as the
theoretical backbone for the neo-charismatic approaches to
leadership, long considered most influential among leadership
scholars. It is, indeed, one of the most cited article in the field with
over 3,500 citations. In this article, Shamir with Robert House and
Michael Arthur, outlined the role of the leader in the harnessing
followers’ self-concept by infusing meaning into the task, the
establishment of a sense of value, and expression of faith in the
follower and the collective. All of these lead followers to identify with
the collective and ultimately perform better.
The second article in this section, published in the following year
(1994), is written by the same group of authors (Boas Shamir,
Michael B. Arthur, and Robert J. House), and focuses on leadership
discourse as rhetoric. It includes an analysis of a particularly
impressive speech from the 1988 Democratic Party National
Convention, comparing it to another speech at the same conference.
In this article, the authors examined the links between rhetorical and
charismatic leadership. On the basis of text analysis and by providing
a theoretical perspective, the article presents the elements of
speeches that create desired effects, including emphasis on the
intrinsic value of effort, empowerment of followers, the intrinsic
value of goal accomplishment, and instilling faith in a better future.
A more recent article that still takes a leader-centric perspective,
yet with a significant contribution to the field, is co-authored with
Galit Eilam-Shamir and emphasizes Boas Shamir’s view of authentic
leadership. This article focuses on the way in which the leader’s self-
concept is expressed in his or her behavior. This takes place through
presenting a vision and perspective for the work of the group or
organization, through originality and through an expression of beliefs
and values in interactions with followers. Rather than being a
prescriptive approach, Shamir and Eilam-Shamir argue that every
leader has his or her own version of leadership, and part of the
challenge of being authentic involves expressing the leader’s own
personal approach, on the basis of experiences that the leader has
accumulated throughout his or her career.
An article written especially for this collection by Bruce J. Avolio,
Benjamin M. Galvin, and David A. Waldman is integrated into this
section. This article seeks to restore the status of singular
leadership, leadership by individuals that has prominent results in
relation to the actions of others. They demonstrate the importance
of singular leadership both through links with positive outcomes,
such as effects on organizational outcomes, and through their
destructive influence. In their contribution, Avolio et al. discuss how
and why singular leaders are important, the nature of their influence
on followers, peers, and organizational outcomes, and present a
theoretical model aimed at clarifying the influence of different forms
of singular leadership within organizations.
Another contribution was written especially for this collection by
Dov Eden, a renowned scholar of leadership and organizational
behavior. Dov Eden notes how the two concepts of charisma and the
Pygmalion effect developed separately, and how clarifying the link
between them is important to research on leadership. Whereas
charisma deals with the way in which an aura is constructed around
the leader, the notion of Pygmalion, self-fulfilling prophecies, is about
the way that directing high expectations to followers generates
displays of ability and action. The aura of charisma is charged with a
combination of emotion and values, transmitted by signals conveyed
by the leader that ultimately lead to the formation of a self-fulfilling
prophecy among followers. Eden discusses the importance of the
simultaneous operation of these two effects, in a way that empowers
both the influence of the leader and the feeling of self-generativity
among the followers at the same time. Obama’s “Yes, we can” chant
reflects this interesting combination.
The articles in Part II focus on the leader–follower relationship.
Two articles on this topic were chosen for this collection, written by
Boas Shamir alone and in collaboration. Shamir saw charisma as the
way in which a leader influences others, and its behavioral
expressions as dynamism and energy, displaying of self-confidence,
high-level commitment and motivation, setting high-performance
standards, action-directed toward innovation, setting goals through
using ideological concepts, and displaying confidence in followers
while setting high expectations of them.
In his 1991 article (Shamir, 1991), which opens this section,
Shamir compares six common explanations of the effects of
charismatic leaders on their followers, and demonstrates how it is
possible to derive fertile but distinctive research hypotheses from
them. Alongside this mapping, the article has a distinct focus on
deciphering the charismatic relationship in which the leader and the
followers function as partners.
In the second article chosen for this section, Jane M. Howell and
Boas Shamir (2005) distinguish between two types of charismatic
relationships in which both the leader and the followers play a role.
The distinction is according to the level of relational identity and self-
concept clarity among followers. When these are high, the
connection with the charismatic leader is perceived as mutually
empowering and based on a collective-socialized orientation. When
these are low, the relationship is perceived as personalized, one that
relies on a position of weakness and vulnerability on the part of the
follower, leading followers to unquestioned obedience and other
harmful consequences.
An original contribution to this section, also focusing on the
leader–follower relationship, is a contribution by Deanne N. Den
Hartog and Corine Boon. They argue that congruence between
leaders and followers on organizational identification will yield more
followers attributions of charisma to the leader. Specifically, leaders
who identify with the organization are more likely to embody and
communicate its values, an act that will facilitate followers’
attributions, only if followers too identify with the organization.
Followers, low on identification, will identify with leaders who are
also low on identification. They report a study in the healthcare
sector, demonstrating these effects as well as carryover effects of
charisma to organizational citizenship behavior.
In another contribution to this volume, Mary Uhl-Bien and Melissa
Carsten follow on Shamir’s “reversing the lens” approach to the
study of followership in the context of charismatic leadership. Taking
Shamir’s approach, they study followership within leadership rather
than independently. They focus in particular on the challenges
associated with this approach, by demonstrating how followership
theory adds new perspectives to the study leadership as a “dynamic,
fluid, relational process.” They show several alternative views, some
focus only on leadership and followership and others offer
interesting combinations of these phenomena. They demonstrate
how these views are reflected in Shamir’s legacy as a scholar.
In Part III of the book, we deal with the issues of distance in
terms of social distance and networks. Two articles by Boas Shamir
(one of which is co-authored with Jane M. Howell) are included here,
and they deal with the relationship between distance between leader
and followers and the attribution of charisma by followers.
In his 1995 article, Shamir attempts to distinguish between
leaders whose followers have direct, immediate experience of them,
and leaders who are distant, mostly represented by state-level
leaders. This article demonstrates that a distant leader is perceived
with more idealization, a rather stereotypical image that has been
created for him or her as a result of followers’ perceptions. In
contrast, close leaders are perceived more “as they appear,”
perceptions are more linked to behaviors, and on the basis of
followers’ concrete experience of the leader.
The second article in this section, by Boas Shamir and Jane M.
Howell, published in 1999, casts a spotlight on the organizational
context in which leadership is enacted. It distinguishes between
“weak” situations, characterized by ambiguity and instability, that
serve as an excellent incubator for charismatic leadership and
“strong” situations, in which relative order and stability prevail, and
in which charismatic leadership is less common or is even inhibited.
This section also contains an article written especially for this
volume by Micha Popper. Like Boas Shamir, Popper emphasizes the
importance of social distance. Building on construal level theory of
psychological distance (Trope & Liberman, 2010), he examined the
role of follower emotional perception of the leader as a determinant
of the whether the leader is construed abstractly or concretely. He
reports the results of a study including interviews and testing
correlations on an online pool.
Finally, this section also includes an article by Smadar Porat, who
was a doctoral student of Boas Shamir up until the time of his
passing. The article deals with the transition from the perception of
the leader as an orchestra conductor (with an emphasis on his
differentiation and dominance) to an approach of the “jazz band,” in
which, alongside the constant need to improvise and demonstrate
flexibility, leadership is perceived as an emergent phenomenon.
Leadership occurs as part of a social process with multiple
interactions in which members of the relevant group are involved in
ongoing negotiations regarding the role of the leader. This work is
framed within social networks theory and is based on examples from
research that examines when and from who people seek advice in
any given context.
In addition, to reflecting on how the work of Boas Shamir has
evolved throughout his career and summarizing how it echoed in the
works included in this volume, we also include at the end of this
volume is a brief version of Galit Eilam-Shamir’s 2015 speech from
the conference, we mention above, to the memory of Boas Shamir.
This speech is based almost completely on quotes from Boas
Shamir’s writings throughout his career. This was Galit’s way of
honoring her husband’s request not be eulogized, and at the same
time to convey his spirit and teachings on the subject that so
occupied him in his scholarly research.
We hope that the readers will find value in this collection and that
it will contribute to the intensive discourse about leadership that
accompanies our lives.

REFERENCES
Howell, J. M., & Shamir, B. (2005). The role of followers in the
charismatic leadership process: Relationships and their
consequences. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 96–
112.
Shamir, B. (1991). Meaning, self and motivation in organizations.
Organization Studies, 12(3), 405–424.
Shamir, B. (1995). Social distance and charisma: Theoretical notes
and an exploratory Study. The Leadership Quarterly, 6(1),
19–47.
Shamir, B. (2015). Emerging approaches to leadership: Followership,
relational and neuroscience approaches to leadership. SAGE.
Shamir, B., Arthur, M. B., & House, R. J. (1994). The rhetoric of
charismatic leadership: A theoretical extension, a case study,
and implications for research. Leadership Quarterly, 5(1), 25–
42.
Shamir, B., & Eilam, G. (2005). “What’s your story?” A life-stories
approach to authentic leadership development. The
Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 395–417.
Shamir, B., House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1993). The motivational
effects of charismatic leadership: A self-concept based theory.
Organization Science, 4(4), 577–594.
Shamir, B., & Howell, J. M. (1999). Organizational and contextual
influences on the emergence and effectiveness of charismatic
leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 257–283.
Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of
psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117(2), 440–
463.
Leadership Now: Reflections on the Legacy of Boas Shamir
Monographs in Leadership and Management, Volume 9, 1–6
Copyright © 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
ISSN: 1479-3571/doi:10.1108/S1479-357120180000009001
PART I

LEADER-CENTRIC APPROACHES
CHAPTER 1

THE MOTIVATIONAL EFFECTS OF


CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP: A SELF-
CONCEPT BASED THEORY1
Boas Shamir, Robert J. House and Michael B. Arthur

ABSTRACT
The empirical literature on charismatic or transformational
leadership demonstrates that such leadership has profound
effects on followers. However, while several versions of
charismatic leadership theory predict such effects, none of
them explains the process by which these effects are achieved.
In this paper we seek to advance leadership theory by
addressing this fundamental problem. We offer a self-concept
based motivational theory to explain the process by which
charismatic leader behaviors cause profound transformational
effects on followers. The theory presents the argument that
charismatic leadership has its effects by strongly engaging
followers’ self-concepts in the interest of the mission articulated
by the leader. We derive from this theory testable propositions
about (a) the behavior of charismatic leaders and their effects
on followers, (b) the role of followers’ values and orientations
in the charismatic relationship, and (c) some of the
organizational conditions that favor the emergence and
effectiveness of charismatic leaders.
Keywords: Motivational effects; leadership; transformational;
charismatic; visionary; inspirational

INTRODUCTION
In the past 15 years a new genre of leadership theory, alternatively
referred to as “charismatic,” “transformational,” “visionary,” or
“inspirational,” has emerged in the organizational literature (Bass,
1985; Bennis & Nanus, 1985; Boal & Bryson, 1988; Burns, 1978;
Conger & Kanungo, 1987; House, 1977; Kuhnert & Lewis, 1987;
Sashkin, 1988; Tichy & Devanna, 1986).
These theories focus on exceptional leaders who have
extraordinary effects on their followers and eventually on social
systems. According to this new genre of leadership theory, such
leaders transform the needs, values, preferences and aspirations of
followers from self-interests to collective interests. Further, they
cause followers to become highly committed to the leader’s mission,
to make significant personal sacrifices in the interest of the mission,
and to perform above and beyond the call of duty. We refer to this
new genre of theories as charismatic, because charisma is a central
concept in all of them, either explicitly or implicitly.
Theories of charismatic leadership highlight such effects as
emotional attachment to the leader on the part of the followers;
emotional and motivational arousal of the followers; enhancement of
follower valences with respect to the mission articulated by the
leader; follower self-esteem, trust, and confidence in the leader;
follower values; and follower intrinsic motivation.
The leader behavior specified by charismatic theories is different
from the behavior emphasized in earlier theories of organizational
leadership. The earlier theories describe leader behavior in terms of
leader/follower exchange relationships (Graen & Cashman, 1975;
Hollander, 1964), providing direction and support (Evans, 1970;
House, 1971), and reinforcement behaviors (Ashour, 1982;
Podsakoff, Todor, & Skov, 1982). In contrast, the new leadership
theories emphasize symbolic leader behavior, visionary and
inspirational messages, nonverbal communication, appeal to
ideological values, intellectual stimulation of followers by the leader,
display of confidence in self and followers, and leader expectations
for follower self-sacrifice and for performance beyond the call of
duty. Such leadership is seen as giving meaningfulness to work by
infusing work and organizations with moral purpose and
commitment rather than by affecting the task environment of
followers, or by offering material incentives and the threat of
punishment.
Research based on these theories has yielded an impressive set of
findings concerning the effects of charismatic leaders on follower
attitudes, satisfaction, and performance. However, there is no
motivational explanation to account for the profound effects of such
leaders, some of which are difficult to explain within currently
dominant models of motivation. The purpose of this paper is to offer
a motivational theory to account for the effects of charismatic
leaders on their followers.

Empirical Evidence
In the last decade, at least 35 empirical investigations of charismatic
leadership in organizations have been conducted. These studies
relied on a variety of research methods, including two case studies
(Roberts, 1985; Roberts & Bradley, 1988), two longitudinal
observational studies (Trice & Beyer, 1986), numerous field surveys
(for example, see Hater & Bass, 1988; Podsakoff, MacKenzie,
Moorman, & Fetter, 1990; Smith, 1982; Yukl & Van Fleet, 1982), an
analysis of behavior in a management game (Avolio, Waldman, &
Einstein, 1988), three rigorous laboratory experiments (Howell &
Frost, 1989; Kirkpatrick, 1992; Puffer, 1990), an interpretative
analysis of interviews (Bennis & Nanus, 1985), a rigorous content
analysis of interviews (Howell & Higgins, 1990), a rigorous analysis
of historical archival information (House, Spangler, & Woycke, 1991),
and four longitudinal analyses of the effects of leader behavior on
U.S. Air Force Academy cadets (Curphy, 1990; Howell & Avolio,
1993; Keller, in press; Koene, Pennings, & Schreuder, 1991;
Waldman & Ramirez, 1993).
These studies were conducted across a wide variety of samples,
including students who served as laboratory subjects (Howell &
Frost, 1989; Kirkpatrick, 1992; Puffer, 1990), military combat and
noncombat leaders (Curphy, 1990; Yukl & Van Fleet, 1982),
numerous samples of middle and lower level managers (for example,
see Avolio & Bass, 1987; Bass & Yammarino, 1988; Hater & Bass,
1988; Smith, 1982; Waldman, Bass, & Einstein, 1987), world-class
leaders of nations (Bass, Avolio, & Goodheim, 1987) educational
leaders (Roberts, 1985; Roberts & Bradley, 1988; Sashkin, 1988),
Asian Indian middle managers (Pereria, 1987) top-level corporate
leaders (Bennis & Nanus, 1985), U.S. presidents (House et al.,
1991), Dutch supermarket managers (Koene et al., 1991),
educational administrators in Singapore (Koh, Terborg, & Steers,
1991), presidents of alcoholic rehabilitation organizations (Trice &
Beyer, 1986), and emergent informal project champions (Howell &
Higgins, 1990).
Space limitations prevent a detailed review of the findings of
these studies (for reviews see Bass, 1990; House, Howell, Shamir,
Smith, & Spangler, 1991). While the studies were not guided by a
unified theoretical perspective, there is a considerable convergence
of the findings from studies concerned with charismatic leadership
and those concerned with transformational and visionary leadership.
Collectively, these findings indicate that leaders who engage in the
theoretical charismatic behaviors produce the theoretical charismatic
effects. In addition, they receive higher performance ratings, have
more satisfied and more highly motivated followers, and are viewed
as more effective leaders by their superiors and followers than
others in positions of leadership. Further, the effect size of
charismatic leader behavior on follower satisfaction and performance
is consistently higher than prior field study findings concerning other
leader behavior, generally ranging well below 0.01 probability of
error due to chance, with correlations frequently ranging in the
neighborhood of 0.50 or better.

The Problem
Unfortunately, the literature on charismatic leadership does not
provide an explanation of the process by which charismatic
leadership has its profound effects. No motivational explanations are
provided to explain how charismatic leaders bring about changes in
followers’ values, goals, needs, and aspirations.
Three types of changes that have been emphasized by previous
theories present a particular theoretical challenge. First, Burns
(1978) and Bass (1985) suggested that transformational or
charismatic leaders are able to elevate followers’ needs from lower
to higher levels in the Maslow hierarchy. Second, Burns (1978)
claimed that such leaders raise followers to higher levels of morality,
to “more principled levels of judgment” (p. 455). Third, House
(1977), Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) proposed that such leaders
are successful in motivating followers to transcend their own self-
interests for the sake of the team, the organization, or the larger
polity. We shall refer to these effects as “the transformational effects
of charismatic leadership.”
However, none of these theorists offers a motivational explanation
that can account for these important effects. It is very difficult, for
instance, to envision how any of the existing individual-focused
theories of motivation – whether an exchange theory, a
reinforcement theory, or a cognitive theory – can account for a
transformation such as that called for by Kennedy in his famous
challenge, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you
can do for your country.”
The problem is that current theories of charismatic leadership
claim that a variety of leadership behaviors transform followers from
an individual-oriented, hedonistic, rational-economic mode of
operation to a collective, moral, and value-oriented mode of
operation. However, these claims cannot be accounted for by current
psychological theories of motivation, which assumes either a
rational-economic or a highly idiosyncratic need-satisfying model of
human beings. Therefore, we need to supplement current theories
of charismatic leadership with a motivational theory that will be able
to better explain the relationships between leader behaviors and
effects on followers, and account for the transformational effects of
charismatic leaders.
In the following sections of this paper, we first present some
assumptions about the motivational significance of the self-concept.
We then show how charismatic leaders activate self-concept related
motivations, and how these motivations can explain the effects that
are not well explained by current theories. Following, we specify
leader behaviors that are likely to activate these processes. We
derive from our motivational analysis testable propositions about the
effects of these behaviors on followers’ self-concepts, and their
further effects on followers. We then discuss some follower
attributes that moderate the hypothesized relationships. Finally, we
specify organizational conditions under which charismatic leadership
is likely to emerge and be effective.

ASSUMPTIONS
In this section, we explicate a set of assumptions which underlie the
motivational theory which we then advance. In developing these
assumptions, we have drawn mainly on Bandura’s (1986) Social-
Cognitive Theory, Stryker’s (1980) Identity Theory, and Tajfel and
Turner’s Social Identity Theory (Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Tajfel &
Turner, 1985). For a more detailed account of these assumptions see
Shamir (1991).

(a) Humans are not only pragmatic and goal-oriented but also self-
expressive. We assume that behavior is not only instrumental
calculative but also expressive of feelings, aesthetic values, and
self-concepts. (For supporting empirical evidence, see
Csikszentmihalyi & Rochberg-Halton, 1981; Kinder & Sears,
1985; Prentice, 1987; Snyder & Ickes, 1985.) We “do” things
because of what we “are,” because by doing them we establish
and affirm an identity for ourselves. Making the assumption that
humans are self-expressive enables us to account for behaviors
that do not contribute to the individual’s self-interest, the most
extreme expression of which is self-sacrifice (Strauss, 1969).
Earlier theories of leadership addressed the instrumental aspects
of motivation. We will argue later that charismatic leadership
addresses the expressive aspects.
(b) People are motivated to maintain and enhance their self-esteem
and self-worth. Self-esteem is based on a sense of competence,
power, achievement, or ability to cope with and control one’s
environment. Self-worth is based on a sense of virtue and moral
worth and is grounded in norms and values concerning conduct
(Gecas, 1982). Both competence standards and cultural norms
are internalized into the self-concept in the form of evaluative
standards (Bandura, 1986).
Self-evaluation is an important source of intrinsic motivation:
people’s anticipatory self-reactions to their own performances
serve as principal sources of reward and sanction. Furthermore,
these self-reactions, at least in part, reflect social values, thus
providing an important link between the individual and the
collectivity.
(c) People are also motivated to retain and increase their sense of
self-consistency. Self-consistency refers to correspondence
among components of the self-concept at a given time, to
continuity of the self-concept over time (Turner, 1968) and to
correspondence between the self-concept and behavior. People
derive a sense of “meaning” from continuity between the past,
the present and the projected future (McHugh, 1968), and from
the correspondence between their behavior and self-concept
(Gecas, 1982; Schlenker, 1985).
(d) Self-concepts are composed, in part, of identities. In addition to
values, identities – sometimes referred to as role-identities
(McCall & Simmons, 1978; Stryker, 1980) – also link the self-
concept to society. According to social identity theory (Tajfel &
Turner, 1985), the self-concept comprises a personal identity
encompassing idiosyncratic characteristics and a social identity
encompassing salient group classifications. Social identities locate
the self in socially recognizable categories such as nations,
organizations, and occupations, thus enabling people to derive
meaning from being linked to social collectives (Ashforth & Mael,
1989).
According to one view of structural symbolic interactionism
(Stryker, 1980), identities are organized in the self-concept
according to a hierarchy of salience. The higher an identity in the
salience hierarchy, the greater the probability that a person will
perceive a given situation as an opportunity to perform in terms
of that identity, and the greater the probability that a person will
actively seek out opportunities to perform in terms of that
identity. Santee and Jackson (1979) and Callero (1985) provide
empirical support for these assertions.
(e) Humans may be motivated by faith. We assume that when goals
cannot be clearly specified or the subjective probabilities of
accomplishment and rewards are not high, people may be
motivated by faith, because being hopeful in the sense of having
faith in a better future is an intrinsically satisfying condition. Note
that faith is not synonymous with expectancies. By definition,
faith cannot be reduced to subjective probabilities since the mere
translation of faith into calculations implies loss of faith.

THE THEORY
Our assumptions about the self-concept and its motivational
implications allow us to propose a theory to explain the
transformational effects of charismatic leadership. The theory has
four main parts: (a) leader behaviors; (b) effects on followers’ self-
concepts; (c) further effects on followers; and (d) the motivational
processes by which the leader behaviors produce the charismatic
effects. These processes link the leader behaviors to their effects on
followers’ self-concepts, and the effects on followers’ self-concepts to
further effects on followers. The theory is outlined in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. An Outline of the Theory.

At the heart of our theory are five processes by which charismatic


leaders motivate followers through implicating their self-concepts.
These processes are presented first. We then derive from our
motivational analysis a set of empirically observable leader behaviors
that are hypothesized to activate the self-implicating processes, a set
of effects on followers’ self-concepts that are triggered by the leader
behaviors, and a set of further effects on followers that are mediated
by the self-concept effects.
We do not view the variables specified within each set as
constituting exhaustive sets. Nor can we rule out the possibility that
the variables within each set are intercorrelated and constitute
syndromes (Meindl, 1990). At this stage, our propositions refer to
the relationships between the sets of variables. Hopefully, empirical
research guided by these propositions will enable a more
parsimonious and more exact formulation of the relationships
implied by the theory.

The Self-Implicating Effects of Charismatic


Leadership2
We suggest that charismatic leaders motivate their followers in the
following manner:

(a) Increasing the intrinsic valence of effort. This is accomplished by


emphasizing the symbolic and expressive aspects of the effort –
the fact that the effort itself reflects important values – that by
making the effort, one makes a moral statement. Charismatic
leadership is presumed to strengthen followers’ belief in the
necessity and propriety of “standing up and being counted.”
The intrinsic valence of the effort may also be increased by
making participation in the effort an expression of a collective
identity, thus making the effort more meaningful for the follower.
This implicates the self-concept of followers by increasing the
salience of that identity in the follower’s self-concept, thus
increasing the likelihood of efforts and behaviors representing
that identity. Charismatic leaders may use existing identities and
emphasize their uniqueness or superiority (“Black is beautiful”),
or they may create “new” desirable social categories for the
followers (“the master race”). In both cases, the self-concepts of
the followers are clearly engaged.
Meindl and Lerner (1983) have suggested that the salience of
a shared identity can increase the “heroic motive” and the
likelihood that self-interest oriented pursuits will voluntarily be
abandoned for more altruistic or collectivistic endeavors. It
follows that, when charismatic leaders increase the salience of
collective identities in their followers’ self-concepts, they also
increase the likelihood of self-sacrificial, collective-oriented
behavior on the part of followers.
It is important to note that, once followers choose to make
the effort and through that effort identify themselves with certain
values and with the leader and the collective, they are subject to
considerable social and psychological forces that are likely to
increase their commitment to that effort (Kanter, 1967; Salancik,
1977). We will return to this point in our discussion of personal
commitment.
(b) Increasing effort-accomplishment expectancies. Charismatic
leaders increase effort-accomplishment expectancies by
enhancing the followers’ self-esteem and self-worth. They
enhance self-esteem by expressing high expectations of the
followers and confidence in the followers’ ability to meet such
expectations (Eden, 1990; Yukl, 1989). By so doing, they
enhance followers’ perceived self-efficacy, defined as a
judgement of one’s capability to accomplish a certain level of
performance. Self-efficacy is a strong source of motivation
(Bandura, 1986, p. 351).
Charismatic leaders also increase followers’ self-worth through
emphasizing the relationships between efforts and important
values. A general sense of self-worth increases general self-
efficacy; a sense of moral correctness is a source of strength and
confidence. Having complete faith in the moral correctness of
one’s convictions gives one the strength and confidence to
behave accordingly.
Another aspect of charismatic leadership that is likely to
increase effort-accomplishment expectancies is its emphasis on
collective efficacy. “Perceived collective efficacy will influence
what people choose to do as a group, how much effort they put
into it, and their staying power when group efforts fail to produce
results” (Bandura, 1986, p. 449). Thus, being a member of an
efficacious collective enhances one’s self-efficacy.
(c) Increasing the intrinsic valence of goal accomplishment. This is
one of the most important motivational mechanisms of
charismatic leadership. Articulation of a vision and a mission by
charismatic leaders presents goals in terms of the values they
represent. Doing so makes action oriented toward the
accomplishment of these goals more meaningful to the follower
in the sense of being consistent with his or her self-concept.
Charismatic leadership also increases the meaningfulness of
goals and related actions by showing how these goals are
consistent with the collective past and its future and thus
creating the sense of “evolving” which is central for self-
consistency and a sense of meaningfulness (McHugh, 1968). In
addition, such leadership stresses the importance of the goal as a
basis for group identity and for distinguishing the group or
collective from other groups. This brings meaning to the
followers’ lives and efforts by connecting them to larger entities
and to concerns that transcend their own limited existence
(Jahoda, 1981). By these leadership actions, certain identities are
evoked and made more salient and therefore more likely to be
implicated in action.
(d) Instilling faith in a better future. The “rewards” involved in the
charismatic leadership process involve self-expression, self-
efficacy, self-worth, and self-consistency, which emerge from the
process and cannot be exchanged. In most cases, charismatic
leadership de-emphasizes extrinsic rewards and their related
expectancies in order to emphasize the intrinsic aspects of the
effort. Refraining from providing pragmatic extrinsic justification
for the required behavior increases the chances that followers
will attribute their behavior to internal self-related causes and
thus adds to followers’ commitment to that course of action.
Note that while noncharismatic leadership emphasizes
proximal, specific goals and increases the subjective likelihood
that goal attainment would lead to specific outcomes (House,
1971; Locke & Latham, 1990) charismatic leadership tends to
emphasize vague and distal goals and Utopian outcomes. It is
here that Bass refers to charismatic leaders’ use of “symbolism,
mysticism, imaging and fantasy” (1985, p. 6). In order to
understand the motivational impact of such messages (that
contradict current motivational models which stress goal
specificity and proximity), we have to resort to our assumption
that having faith in a better future is a satisfying condition in
itself. People would therefore follow leaders who provide hope (a
vision) for a better future and faith in its attainment, even if such
faith cannot be translated into specific proximal goals whose
attainment is highly probable.
(e) Creating personal commitment. Another important aspect of
charismatic motivational influence is the creation of a high level
of commitment on the part of the leader and the followers to a
common vision, mission or transcendent goal (Bennis & Nanus,
1985; House, 1977). “Their art is to manufacture ethics to give
life through commitment to the spirit of the organization”
(Hodgkinson, 1983, p. 218).
When we speak about commitment in the context of
charismatic leadership, we refer to unconditional commitment-
internalized “personal” or “moral” commitment (Johnson, 1982).
This is a motivational disposition to continue a relationship, a
role, or a course of action and to invest efforts regardless of the
balance of external costs and benefits and their immediate
gratifying properties.
We propose that such commitment is achieved when the
relationship or role under consideration becomes a component of
the individual’s self-concept and when the course of action
related to that relationship or role is consistent with and
expressive of the individual’s self-concept; in other words, when
“action is not merely a means of doing but a way of being”
(Strauss, 1969, p. 3).
Such a concept of commitment fits very well into our analysis
of charismatic leadership. By recruiting the self-concept of
followers, increasing the salience of certain identities and values,
and linking behaviors and goals to those identities and values
and to a mission that reflects them, charismatic leadership
motivates followers through the creation of personal
commitments.
These processes are self-reinforcing because the behavioral
manifestations of such a commitment are likely to further bind
the self-concept of the individual to the leader and the mission.
Faced with their own voluntary and public action on behalf of the
leader, the collective, or the mission, individuals are likely to
integrate these relationships and values even further into their
self-concepts as a result of self-attribution and self-justification
processes and the need to reduce or avoid cognitive dissonance
(Salancik, 1977; Staw, 1980). When the self is engaged in a
situation, the need for self-justification and dissonance reduction
is particularly strong.
Generated and reinforced in these ways, personal
commitment is perhaps the most intrinsic of all intrinsic
motivators since in the final analysis it is a commitment to one’s
own self-concept and evaluative standards, “to a conception of
(oneself) as a certain kind or kinds of person who is expected
and expects to act in a certain way in certain situations” (Strauss,
1969, p. 3).3
Summary. To recapitulate, we have suggested that
charismatic leaders achieve transformational effects through
implicating the self-concept of followers. More specifically, we
have argued that such leaders increase the intrinsic value of
efforts and goals by linking them to valued aspects of the
follower’s self-concept, thus harnessing the motivational forces of
self-expression, self-consistency, self-esteem, and self-worth. We
have further argued that charismatic leaders change the salience
hierarchy of values and identities within the follower’s self-
concept, thus increasing the probability that these values and
identities will be implicated in action. Since values and identities
are socially based, their control of behavior is likely to represent a
shift from the instrumental to the moral and from concern with
individual gains to concern with contributions to a collective.
Finally, we have argued that charismatic leaders increase self-
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„Niet precies,” antwoordde lord Lister de oude getrouwe en hij
verheugde zich erover, dat de beide echtelieden in hem, „den
hooghartigen lord,” niets anders zagen dan een goed vriend.

Want inderdaad was lord Lister steeds vol ongenaakbare trots jegens
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ondergeschikten als tegenover hen, die misdeeld door de fortuin, bij
hem troost en hulp kwamen zoeken.

„James,” vroeg de lord, „heb je vanmiddag een slaapje gedaan?” [24]

„Ja, uwe Lordschap,” antwoordde James en Mary voegde er aan toe:

„Hij heeft een uiltje geknapt van meer dan twee uren, de ouwe
slaapkop!”

„Blijf dan op, James, tot één uur en zorg voor een sterk kop koffie.
Tegen dien tijd ben ik wel terug.”

James, die nu weer de correcte, stijve houding had aangenomen,


zooals het den kamerdienaar van een lord past, boog eerbiedig.

Raffles begaf zich weer naar zijn kleedkamer terug, waar hij den
rossigen pruik, snor en baard weer op zijn hoofd en gelaat
bevestigde.

Hij trok een breedgeklepte pet over de blonde krullen naar beneden
en hulde zich toen in de wijden, tot op de enkels reikende „dievenjas.”

Vóór het massieve, ijzeren hek der villa, dat met kunstig smeedwerk
was versierd, wachtte sinds geruimen tijd de kleine zwarte auto, die
Raffles voor speciale tochten zich had aangeschaft.
Dit voertuig had alleen aan den voorkant een raampje van slechts
enkele vierkante decimeters oppervlakte en aan den achterkant een
evengroot gat, waardoor versche lucht ongehinderd kon binnen
stroomen.

Alleen voor nachtelijke tochten, werd deze wagen gebruikt, die door
Raffles gedoopt was met den naam „Camera Obscura.”

Door een enkelen greep met een aan den binnenkant der auto
aangebrachten handel, was het den inzittenden persoon mogelijk, de
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mannen van Scotland Yard, die hem op de hielen zaten, was
ontkomen, toen eensklaps over de electrische lichtstralen der
autolantaarns een zwarte schijf was neergevallen en het voertuig
geruischloos verdween in den zwarten Londenschen mist.

Raffles opende, door op een knop te drukken, het portier van de


„Camera Obscura” en liet zich, nadat hij binnen in de donkerrood
gecapittoneerde auto een electrisch lampje had doen ontgloeien,
neervallen in de zijden kussens.

„Black-Nightstreet!” klonk het zachte bevel tot den chauffeur.

De man knikte.

„All right, sir, White-chapel,” antwoordde de man, die even tegen zijn
zwarte pet tikte en daarop het voertuig in beweging zette.

Op den hoek van de Black-Nightstreet en Cherrylane stond een


donkere gedaante, die, toen de auto stilhield en het portier was
geopend, met een enkelen behendigen zwaai in het voertuig
verdween.

„Good evening, sir,” klonk Arthur Hopers stem.

Raffles beantwoordde kort den groet van den „chef” en tegelijkertijd


gleed zijn rechterhand naar een der wijde zakken van de dievenjas,
waar hij de geladen browning had geborgen.

„Nog nieuws?” vroeg Raffles.

„Niet anders dan u zeker gehoord zult hebben. De hertogin zit achter
slot en grendel.”

„Zoo!” was alles wat Raffles antwoordde.

Raffles liet het kleine raampje aan de vóórzijde van de auto zakken
en voegde den chauffeur, die zich had omgewend, toe:

„Parklane, hoek Onslow Gardens.”

„Yes Sir,” klonk het terug en de auto gleed weer geruischloos verder
over het plaveisel.

„Hebt u de laatste editie van de „Evening Standard” niet gezien, graaf


Harrison?” vroeg Hoper. „Daar stond het bericht in over de
gevangenneming van hertogin Silverton.”

„Heb je de krant bij je, Hoper?”

„Zeker, graaf, hier is ie!”

En de „chef” haalde uit een van zijn zakken een in vieren gevouwen
blad te voorschijn, dat hij den lord overhandigde.
Bij het licht van het electrische lampje boven zijn hoofd las Raffles het
volgende:

„Gevangenneming van hertogin Silverton.”

Hedenavond om zes uur werd hertogin Lily Silverton overgebracht naar het
parket van den rechter-commissaris, waar zij aan een streng verhoor werd
onderworpen in verband met den raadselachtigen dood van haar
echtgenoot.

Omtrent het resultaat van dit verhoor is niets uitgelekt!”

Later bericht:

„Naar wij vernemen moet de hertogin ten stelligste hebben ontkend, haar
echtgenoot morphine te hebben toegediend.

Hare genade is ten zeerste onder den indruk van de aanhouding.”

Raffles las deze veelzeggende woorden. [25]

Toen vouwde hij het nummer van de „Evening Standard” weer dicht
en overhandigde het aan Arthur Hoper.

En zonder zich uit te laten over het belangwekkende nieuws, dat hij
daar juist had vernomen, leunde hij achterover in de zachte kussens
van de kleine „Camera” en stak de handen in de diepe zakken van de
„dievenjas”.

Zijn rechter omklemde met vasten greep den browning.

[Inhoud]
ZEVENDE HOOFDSTUK.
In de sterfkamer.

Op den hoek van Parklane en Onslow Gardens stapten twee donkere


gedaanten uit een kleine auto.

Een van het tweetal, die gehuld was in een lange, wijde jas, die bijna
tot den grond reikte, gaf den chauffeur op fluisterenden toon een kort
bevel en toen reed de bestuurder naar den kant van den weg, waar
het voertuig in de pikdonkere schaduw van een hoogen muur
verdween.

De lichten van de auto waren uitgedoofd.

De kragen hunner jassen hoog opgeslagen, de petten over het


voorhoofd getrokken en de handen in de zakken hunner jassen
verborgen, liepen de beide mannen Onslow Gardens in.

Toen ze het huis, dat nummer twintig droeg, hadden bereikt, liet
Hoper een zacht gefluit hooren.

Het scheen een overeengekomen teeken te zijn, drie tonen, die


tweemaal op eigenaardige wijze werden uitgestooten.

Bijna op hetzelfde oogenblik werd de huisdeur van de woning ten


deele geopend en een vrouwelijke gedaante verscheen op den
drempel.

„Alles veilig!” sprak ze op zachten toon, toen ze bij het zwakke licht
van een verwijderden lantaarn Arthur Hoper herkende.

„Niemand thuis?” informeerde de „chef van het vak,” die Raffles


eenige schreden achter zich had gelaten en nu vlak voor den ingang
der woning stond.
„Naar den schouwburg, komen eerst laat thuis. Wie heb je bij je?”

„Een voorname! ’t Is een graaf!” haastte Hoper zich op fluisterenden


toon te antwoorden.

Toen vroeg hij, nadat hij een blik had geworpen in de pikdonkere
vestibule:

„Heb je ’t overal donker?”

„Natuurlijk!”

„Nou, vooruit dan maar!”

En met een wenk naar Raffles, welke door dezen dadelijk werd
begrepen, volgde hij het meisje in het huis van haar meesters.

Ook Raffles was de ruime vestibule binnengegaan en sloot


onhoorbaar de zware huisdeur achter zich dicht.

Zwijgend volgden de beide mannen de kamenier een breede trap op,


die naar de eerste verdieping leidde, en vandaar door een vrij lange,
breede gang naar een kamer aan de achterzijde van het huis.

Overal heerschte volslagen duisternis, want op aanraden van Hoper


had zijn handlangster door het geheele huis de electrische lichten
uitgedoofd.

Toen het meisje de deur van de kamer voor de beide mannen had
geopend, liet Raffles een oogenblik het licht van zijn electrische
zaklantaarn door het vertrek schijnen.

Hij zag, dat het een tamelijk ruime, vierkante kamer was, blijkbaar als
studeervertrek ingericht. [26]
Tegenover de deur, door welke zij waren binnengekomen, scheen
zich een breed raam te bevinden, waarvoor de zware, donkere
overgordijnen waren dichtgetrokken.

De kamenier tastte naar het koord en een oogenblik later zag Raffles,
dat achter de gordijnen twee glazen deuren waren, voorzien van fijn
geplooide vitrages.

In een oogenblik had het meisje door het opheffen van een koperen
kruk de glasdeuren geopend en Raffles zag, dat hierachter zich het
zinken plat uitstrekte, waarvan Arthur Hoper hem had verteld.

„Weet gij ook, of in het huis van hertog Silverton de kamer


overeenkomend met deze, evenals hier tot studeerkamer is
ingericht?” vroeg Raffles op fluisterenden toon.

„Neen, sir, die kamer was de slaapkamer van den hertog. De hertog
is daar gestorven. Ik weet dit zeker, want zoodra het lijk naar
beneden was overgebracht, naar het praalbed, is de geheele kamer
schoongemaakt en hebben de meubelen urenlang op het plat
gestaan.”

Een glans van voldoening en tevredenheid gleed over het gelaat van
lord Lister.

Dit was alles wat hij op het oogenblik noodig had te weten.

„Gij kunt alles nu weer afsluiten,” sprak de Groote Onbekende tot de


kamenier, toen de beide mannen naar buiten waren gestapt. „Steek
de lichten weer op, voor zoover zij ’s avonds branden wanneer uw
meesters afwezig zijn en maak u verder over niets ongerust. Gij zult
in geen geval in moeilijkheden komen. Wacht hier, over een uur
zullen wij wel terug zijn.”

Toen drukte hij haar een goudstuk in de hand.


Een paar minuten later waren de roodpluchen overgordijnen weer
dichtgehaald voor de goed gesloten glazen deuren van de
studeerkamer. In gangen en vestibule van het deftige heerenhuis
brandden de electrische lampen en de jonge kamenier zat in het
studeervertrek met een kostbare kanten kraag van haar meesteres
op den schoot. Zij had mevrouw beloofd, daarin een klein gaatje, dat
er ongelukkig in was gekomen, onzichtbaar te zullen bijwerken.

Arthur Hoper had uit een van zijn zakken een paar wijde viltpantoffels
te voorschijn gehaald, die hij over zijn laarzen trok. Voor Raffles was
een dergelijke voorzorgsmaatregel onnoodig. De zachte, buigzame
schoenen, welke hij droeg, schenen van een soort dof-zwarte zijde
vervaardigd te zijn en zolen van een soortgelijke stof te hebben.

Onhoorbaar liep het tweetal voort over het breede zinken plat, dat
zich inderdaad achter de geheele huizenrij bevond.

Toen zij de achterzijde van het huis, dat hertog Silverton had
bewoond, hadden bereikt, bleef Raffles staan en keek met scherpen
blik rond.

In de kamer, die, evenals in de woning, waardoor zij hierheen waren


gekomen, toegang gaf tot het zinken terras, heerschte doodsche
stilte en volslagen duisternis.

De Groote Onbekende ging nu naar de buitenzijde van het platform.

Zoover mogelijk boog hij zich, op de knieën liggende, over den rand
heen. Daarna richtte hij zich weer op en sprak op fluisterenden toon
tot Hoper:

„Ik dacht het wel, beneden wordt gewaakt bij het lijk van den hertog.
De kamer hieronder is verlicht. Laat je naar beneden glijden en houd
de wacht in den tuin. Bij het minste onraad waarschuw je mij.”
En toen Hoper, de geslepen en bekwame „man van het vak” reeds
aanstalten maakte om zich langs een stevige waterbuis te laten
neerzakken, beduidde Raffles hem door een teeken, nog even te
wachten.

De Groote Onbekende haalde snel uit een der diepe, ruime zakken
van zijn „dievenjas” een leeren taschje te voorschijn, toen nam hij uit
een anderen zak den kleinen browning, rolde de jas tot een bundeltje
samen en sloeg er een daarvoor ingericht riempje, waaraan zich een
haak bevond, omheen.

„Houdt dit bij je!” beval hij op korten toon.

Arthur Hoper nam het pakje van lord Lister aan, bevestigde het met
de kleine, stevige haak aan zijn eigen overjas en vroeg toen:

„Nog iets, sir?”

„Neen.”

Zonder verder een woord samen te wisselen, liet de „chef van het
vak” zich nu over den rand van het terras neerzakken en behendig
als een kat gleed hij langs de gladde buis naar beneden, waar hij in
de schaduw van eenige hooge struiken zijn observatiepost innam.

Lord Lister had het leeren taschje geopend en haalde daaruit een
oliespuitje te voorschijn. Nauwkeurig spoot hij eenige druppels van de
vloeistof, die zich daarin bevond, in de scharnieren van het rechtsche
raam en lichtte dit toen geheel onhoorbaar en zoo handig, dat geen
smid het hem had kunnen verbeteren, uit de beugels.

Het leeren taschje was zóó ingericht, dat hij het met een enkele
beweging, door middel van een smal [27]riempje, om zijn middel kon
bevestigen en zoo stapte de Groote Onbekende, slechts gewapend
met zijn revolver, de donkere, eenzame kamer binnen.
Zooals hij daar stond in het nauwsluitende, zwarte tricot pak, leek hij
niet meer dan een sombere schaduw, die geheimzinnig en
onhoorbaar voortglijdt.

Raffles bracht de glazen deur, welke hij uit haar hengsels had
genomen, weer in haar normalen toestand terug, sloot toen den
toegangsweg naar het plat weer af, schoof de overgordijnen dicht en
ontstak, alsof het de gewoonste zaak van de wereld betrof, het
electrische licht.

Een helder schijnsel viel nu door het vertrek, dat als slaapkamer was
ingericht.

Een breed mahoniehouten ledikant stond tegen een der wanden en


de sprei van witte tulle, gevoerd met goudgeel satijn, bedekte de
zijden dekens.

Lord Lister ging naar de eenige deur, welke de slaapkamer verder


nog had.

Voorzichtig schoof hij den kleinen koperen grendel, die boven het slot
was bevestigd, dicht en toen begon hij het bed, waarop hertog
Silverton was gestorven, te onderzoeken.

Het kostbare mahoniehout, waarvan het ledikant was vervaardigd,


glom als een spiegel en weerkaatste het licht van het kleine
electrische kroontje, dat aan het plafond hing.

Zijn nauwkeurig onderzoek leverde echter blijkbaar geen resultaat op,


want nadat de Groote Onbekende de kostbare sprei weer glad had
getrokken, begon hij de wanden van de kamer te bekijken.

Met een kleinen hamer, welke hij ook uit het taschje te voorschijn had
gehaald, beklopte hij bijna elken vierkanten decimeter der muren; op
het bruinleeren behangsel zocht hij naar de mogelijke sporen van een
geheime kast, achter den spiegel en het groote vrouwen portret, dat
waarschijnlijk de moeder van den hertog voorstelde, bekeek hij met
scherpen blik, zoekende naar een kunstig verborgen schuilplaats,
maar niets vond hij, dat zijn moeite loonde.

Maar lord Lister gaf den moed nog niet op.

De slanke, lenige gestalte, gekleed in het gladde tricot, bukte zich nu


voorover, om het sneeuwwitte berenvel, dat vóór het bed een
gedeelte van den gladgewreven parketvloer bedekte, te verwijderen.

En toen keek hij eenige oogenblikken naar den houten vloer, met
massieve blokjes ingelegd.

Weer werd het leeren taschje geopend en daaruit kwamen nu een


sterk vergrootglas en een uiterst fijngeslepen, lang en smal
breekbeiteltje te voorschijn.

En plat op zijn buik liggende, langzaam en als een slangachtig wezen


over den gladden vloer kruipende, onderzocht hij, met het
vergrootglas gewapend, elk houtblokje afzonderlijk.

Telkens weer trachtte hij het vlijmscherpe beiteltje in de uiterst smalle


naden tusschen de stukjes hout te werken, doch telkens weer kwam
hij tot de overtuiging, dat hij nog niet had gevonden, wat hij zocht.

Langzaam, heel langzaam bewoog zich de zwarte gestalte over den


vloer.

Raffles was nu de plaats genaderd, waar zooeven de breede kop van


de witte berehuid had gelegen, toen hij plotseling zacht, bijna
onhoorbaar floot.

De oogen van den gentleman-dief schitterden en zijn gelaat


vertoonde, voor zoover het niet achter den rossigen baard en knevel
verborgen was, een uitdrukking van spanning.

Weer werd het dunne beiteltje tusschen de voegen van twee


houtblokjes gestoken en.….. zonder eenige moeite lichtte Raffles het
blokje uit den vloer.

Een trek van groote voldoening verscheen op zijn gelaat, nu hij in de


rechthoekige opening, welke er was ontstaan, een precies daarin
passend doosje ontdekte.

Ook dit verwijderde hij van zijn plaats en nu zag hij, dat het losse
blokje slechts half zoo dik was als de andere, die, stevig aan elkaar
sluitend, den bodem bedekten.

Lord Lister stond op uit zijn liggende houding en, met het wit
cartonnen doosje in de hand, nam hij plaats in den fauteuil, die
tegenover het bed stond.

Raffles opende het doosje, dat bijna geen gewicht scheen te bevatten
en haalde er een blauw papieren zakje en een in vieren gevouwen
stuk papier uit te voorschijn.

Eerst bekeek hij het zakje.

Op een klein, ovaal etiquet, dat erop geplakt was, las hij den naam
van een apotheker en diens adres in New-York en daaronder het
woord „morphine.”

„Ik dacht het!” mompelde de Groote Onbekende, „dus toch …”

Toen vouwde hij het papier, dat onder in de doos had gelegen, open
en al dadelijk bemerkte hij, dat het een velletje postpapier van den
overleden hertog was.
In den linkerbovenhoek waren diens initialen aangebracht met
daarboven het hertogelijke kroontje. [28]

En gemakkelijk achterover geleund in den stoel van Bertie Silverton,


las Raffles het volgende:

„Ik hoop, dat dit eerst gevonden zal worden lang na den dood van mij en
mijn echtgenoote, want ik wensch, dat op haar de verdenking zal rusten
van het misdrijf, waaraan ik mijzelf straks zal schuldig maken.

Een misdrijf, dat erfelijk is in mijn familie, dat van geslacht op geslacht is
overgegaan en … dat ook een eind aan mijn leven zal maken.

Reeds jaren geleden had ik het vaste voornemen om, zoodra ik mijzelf
totaal geruïneerd zou hebben, het voorbeeld van mijn familieleden te
volgen.

Door mijn huwelijk echter met Lily Ansberg, de schatrijke Amerikaansche,


meende ik, voor mijn verdere leven gevrijwaard te zullen zijn voor
geldzorgen.

Maar ik had geen rekening gehouden met die tweede duivel, die in mijn
familie van het eene geslacht op het andere overgaat en die zijn
slachtoffers langzaam, maar zeker, in het verderf sleept.

De speelduivel!

Hem heb ik niet kunnen ontkomen,—trouwens, ik heb er ook nooit veel


moeite voor gedaan!

Ik heb gespeeld, telkens weer opnieuw, onophoudelijk groote sommen


verloren; een aanzienlijk deel van de millioenen, die mijn vrouw mee ten
huwelijk bracht, aan de groene tafel verdobbeld.

Steeds weer opnieuw verschafte Lily mij de middelen om mij over te geven
aan dien hartstocht, maar ik wensch haar verwijten, haar terechtwijzingen
niet meer te hooren. Ik wensch mij niet te vernederen voor haar, die, door
mij tot hertogin verheven, in mijn oogen toch altijd is gebleven de juffrouw,
die kamers verhuurde in een burgerlijk pension in Londen!

Zij is mooi, mijn vrouw, dat weet ik en men zegt, dat zij goed is en lief.
Maar ik haat haar!

Haar vertrouwelijke gesprekken met oude vrienden en kennissen hebben


mijn jaloezie steeds weer geprikkeld en haar groote kalmte en
zelfbeheersching bij de scènes, die ik haar maakte, hebben mij tot het
uiterste gedreven.

Nu ga ik een eind maken aan mijn verloren leven, maar tevens ga ik mij
wreken op de vrouw, die ik bij mijn leven niet heb kunnen treffen.

Ik zal een gedeelte van de morphine, die ik reeds in Amerika in mijn bezit
had, aanwenden om een eind aan mijn bestaan te maken, doch een ander
deel zal dienen om op haar, die mij gedurende mijn ziekte verpleegt, de
verdenking te laten vallen van moord.

In het drinkwater en het voedsel, dat zich in mijn slaapkamer bevindt, zal ik
morphine mengen en ook in het juweelkistje van mijn vrouw zal na mijn
dood een voorraad morphine worden gevonden.

Zoo zal ik mij wreken op Lily Baker, de kamerverhuurster van Clandon


Street.

BERTIE hertog SILVERTON.”

Eenige oogenblikken keek de Groote Onbekende met starenden blik


voor zich uit.

Toen kwam de energieke uitdrukking weer in zijn groote donkere


oogen terug en als met een ruk stond hij op uit den stoel.

Hij scheen reeds volkomen met zichzelf eens te zijn, hoe hij verder
zou handelen, want zonder een oogenblik te aarzelen vouwde hij de
nagelaten bekentenis van Bertie Silverton weer dicht, borg het papier
en het zakje met de overblijfselen der morphine weer in het
cartonnen doosje en bracht dit terug naar het schuilhoekje onder den
houten parketvloer.
„Dat hadt je niet vermoed, hertog,” mompelde hij achter zijn roode
snor, terwijl hij het losse blokje weer kunstig op zijn oude plaats
terugbracht, „dat reeds nu, terwijl hier beneden nog wordt gewaakt bij
je lijk, je geheim is ontmaskerd.

„Jij hadt gehoopt, dat er vele jaren zouden voorbijgaan, voordat, de


smaad werd weggenomen van je vrouw, die rein en onschuldig is als
een engel.”

De slanke man in zijn zwarte kleeding bracht zorgvuldig alles in de


sterfkamer weer in den toestand terug, waarin hij het had gevonden,
toen schoof hij den grendel terug van de deur, draaide het electrische
licht uit en verliet het vertrek door de glazen deuren, die op het zinken
terras uitkwamen.

Geen vijf minuten later hoorde Hoper, die nog steeds in zijn donker
schuilhoekje de wacht hield, een zacht en kort gefluit, het
afgesproken teeken tusschen hem en den „graaf.”

Hij keek naar boven en begreep uit een sein met de hand, dat de
ander hem gaf, dat hij weer terug kon komen.

In een oogwenk had hij zich handig naar boven gewerkt [29]en keek
zwijgend zijn voornamen makker aan.

„Kom mee!” was alles, wat deze hem toefluisterde, terwijl hij zich
weer in zijn „dievenjas” hulde.

Als twee zwarte schaduwen liepen zij over het platform, totdat zij het
venster weer hadden bereikt, waar de vriendin van Arthur Hoper op
hen wachtte.

„Alles veilig?” vroeg Hoper haar en op haar bevestigend antwoord


vervolgde hij:
„Ga jij eerst naar beneden Kate en kijk uit of ze nog niet komen.”

„Zoo vroeg komen ze nooit,” klonk het terug, „maar ik zal


vooruitgaan.”

Inderdaad bleek het terrein volkomen veilig en geen minuut daarna


had de kamenier de huisdeur gesloten achter de beide
geheimzinnige bezoekers.

Glimlachend borg zij ook het tweede goudstuk, dat de lange heer in
de wijde overjas haar had gegeven weg in haar zilveren beursje.

„Ik heb je hulp niet meer noodig, Hoper,” sprak Raffles tot den „chef
van het vak”.

„Dat was geen zwaar werk voor mij dezen keer,” klonk het terug.

„Ga jij je eigen weg, ik rijd alleen terug,” vervolgde de Groote


Onbekende.

Toen bleef hij even stilstaan en overhandigde den ander een


banknoot van vijftig pond.

„Adieu Hoper, tot een volgenden keer!”

„Dank u wel, graaf! U kunt altijd op mij rekenen! Als meneer de graaf
weer eens een zaakje voor me heeft …”

En beleefd aan zijn pet tikkend, sloeg Hoper de zijstraat in, terwijl
Raffles doorliep naar den hoek van Onslow Gardens en Parklane.

In de donkere schaduw van den hoogen muur wachtte nog steeds de


kleine, zwarte auto.

De chauffeur, gekleed in een zwarte jas, de donkere pet op het hoofd,


had zooeven een versche pruim genomen. Dit was de eenige
afleiding, die hij had op dezen nachtelijken tocht, want het rooken
was hem op dergelijke uitstapjes ten strengste verboden en hij mocht
zelfs niet, om den tijd wat te bekorten, in de buurt van de auto heen
en weer loopen.

Eindelijk zag hij op korten afstand een persoon met vlugge schreden
naderen en reeds had hij in dezen heer den eigenaar van de zwarte
auto herkend.

„Terug naar Regent Park!” beval lord Lister en geruischloos gleed de


„Camera Obscura” voort door de Londensche straten.

Charly Brand was zooeven thuisgekomen. Het feeënballet in Empire


Theatre was hem toch niet meegevallen.

Neen, dat hadden Edward en hij beter gezien in Parijs. Hoe lang was
dat nu al weer geleden? Zeker al drie jaar, het was geweest op hun
doorreis naar Algiers; waarheen Charly zijn vriend had vergezeld en
aan welke reis voor hem tal van aangename herinneringen waren
verbonden.

Nu lag Charly languit op den breeden divan, die met een zwaar
Perzisch kleed bedekt was en rookte zijn fijne havanna.

Plotseling werd de deur van de studeerkamer geopend en een man


met een allerongunstigst uiterlijk stond op den drempel. En heel
beleefd scheen de onverwachte bezoeker ook niet te zijn, tenminste
hij hield zijn pet op het hoofd en groette niet eens.

Charly had onmiddellijk de „dievenjas”, die de lange gestalte van den


binnenkomende omsloot herkend en sprak lachend, zich halverwege
uit zijn luie houding oprichtende:
„Kun je niet eerst behoorlijk kloppen, voordat je binnenkomt?”

Het gelaat van den roodharige vertrok zich tot een breeden grijns. Hij
sloot de deur achter zich dicht, ontdeed zich van zijn breedgerande
pet en wijde overjas en stond nu voor zijn jongen vriend in het
nauwsluitende zwarte tricot.

„Mijn hemel Edward, wat zie je er potsierlijk uit! Waar ben jij
geweest?” riep Charly uit en met de elleboog weer geleund in de
zijden kussens van den divan keek hij er naar, hoe lord Lister zijn
rossigen krullenpruik, baard en snor losmaakte en op een klein
tafeltje aan zijn rechterhand legde. „Het lijkt wel of je van een
gemaskerd bal komt! Werd er mooi gedanst?”

En met meer ernst in de stem dan Charly had verwacht, antwoordde


de Groote Onbekende:

„Ja mijn jongen! Den „Danse macabre!” Den doodendans!”

Toen belde hij James en liet zich door dezen een sterke kop koffie
brengen. [30]

[Inhoud]
ACHTSTE HOOFDSTUK.

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