How to Identify a Charismatic Leader

The anatomy of Charismatic Leadership

Charisma is a Greek word that means a “divinely inspired gift”. Almost describing the ability to perform miracles or predict future events.

“Charisma is a sparkle in people that money can’t buy. It’s an invisible energy with visible effects.” — Marianne Williamson

This article is delivered using simple bullet points and key features so readers can easily digest to recognize Charismatic Leadership in action.

Features of Charismatic Leadership

There are four obvious features to spot a Charismatic Leader in his/her natural habitat. They are:

1. Command and exhibit trust
2. Always promote teamwork
3. They involve all followers in their mission
4. Tend to work in an achievement-oriented culture

While these four features can apply to many leadership styles, all four are highly evident in Charismatic Leaders.

Methods of Influence

The methods that Charismatic Leaders employ to influence stakeholders are:

• Highly articulate to sell their vision
• Use powerful, expressive communication when articulating their vision
• They take personal risks and make self-sacrifices to attain their vision
• Communicate high expectations across their organization
• They express confidence in their followers

Compared to Ideological and Pragmatic Leaders

This trifecta of Leadership emerges in various situations that involve a crisis, a period of turbulence or high uncertainty. But they’re different, here’s how:

1. Charismatic and ideological leaders are more effective in situations where there is a high level of political and ideological conflict.
2. Charismatic leaders appeal to emotions by articulating their vision and build confidence in their followers in doing so.
3. Ideological leaders are likely to emerge when there’s a strong culture with shared values. They articulate a vision that encapsulates these values.
4. Pragmatic leaders are more effective where low political conflict exists, with emphasis on problem-solving. They emerge when followers perceive them to have expertise and commitment to lead a process.

Potential Implications for Organizations

Charismatic leadership can be a perfect fit to work through the problems of large organizations.

That said, critics do point out several flaws as to why they may not be an ideal appointment. Here are some examples of these flaws:

1. High confidence can blind Charismatic leaders to real dangers
2. Denial of problems and failures reduces organizational learning
3. High-risk projects are more likely to fail
4. Succession planning weaknesses can lead to a future leadership crisis

Below is a list of famous Charismatic leaders, both good and bad.

Transformational leadership

The concept of Transformational Leadership was influenced by James McGregor Burns. Burns, a best-selling author on leadership, compared Transformational Leadership to Transactional Leadership.

Transformational Leadership “appeals to the moral values” of their followers to “raise the perception of ethical issues” to mobilize energy, focus, and resources in order to reform organizations with gusto (Burns, 2010).

Typical Transformational Leadership behaviours

1. Intellectual stimulation
2. Individual consideration
3. Inspiring motivation
4. Idealized influence

Charismatic versus Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders empower followers, making them less dependent by:

1. Delegating authority to individuals or teams
2. Developing followers skills and self-confidence
3. Building a strong culture to support the empowerment of others
4. Providing direct access to sensitive information

According to Bass (1996), Transformational leaders can be “found in any organization at any level” (Yukl, 2013).

A Contrast of Charismatic and Transformational Leadership

Charismatic leaders foster and convey an image of extraordinary competence of their leadership prowess, which increases:

1. Subordinate dependence
2. Unconventional behaviour
3. Information restriction
4. Personal risk-taking

According to Bass (1996), “Charismatic leaders are infrequent and their emergence appears to be more dependent” when unusual conditions enable their ascension (Yukl, 2013).

Good and Bad

History has given us a wealth of Charismatic leaders to study and critique, some are obvious with one or two surprises. Here are four good and bad:

The Bad

1. Jim Jones — Influenced 900 people to commit mass-suicide.
2. Adolf Hitler — Known throughout the world, enough said.
3. Fidel Castro — Lead the Cuban revolution and stirred up the cold-war.
4. Charles Manson — Manipulated others to commit horrific crimes.

The Good

1. Winston Churchill — British Prime Minister during WW2.
2. Mahatme Gandhi — Left a legacy of peace.
3. Martin Luther King — Made the ultimate sacrifice for others.
4. Bono — The lead singer from the rock band U2.

As you can see, Charismatic leaders come from every walk of life, from all over the world and arrive in many forms.

Final Thoughts

Charismatic leaders arouse enthusiasm and commitment in followers by articulating a compelling vision. They build up their follower’s confidence by recognizing their achievements, efforts, and progress.

So to recap, here’s a four-point contrast summary:

1. Charismatic leaders — They implement an interactive process between the leader, followers, and the situation.
2. Transformational Leaders — Make followers more aware of the importance and value of their work. They also induce followers to exceed their potential and independence for the sake of the organization.
3. Charismatic leaders — Both good and bad, depending on the situation.
4. Transformational Leaders— Can be a motivator and charismatic.

Remember, Charismatic leaders have that appealing allure, the human attribute that we’re drawn to— Charisma— but be careful who you trust, and watch out for those “Snakes in suits’ (Babiak, 2019).

“The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born” — Warren Bennis

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References

• Babiak, P. (2019). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. HarperCollins Publishers.
• Burns, J. (2010). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
• Denning, S. (2011). Leadership: Where Does Charisma Come From?. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: http://www.forbes.com [Accessed 18 Feb. 2020].
• Gritz, J. (2011). Drinking the Kool-Aid: A Survivor Remembers Jim Jones. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com [Accessed 18 Feb. 2020].
• Ling, P. (2003). BBC — History — Martin Luther King’s Style of Leadership. [online] Bbc.co.uk. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk[Accessed 18 Feb. 2020].
• Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations by Gary Yukl. Boston: Pearson.