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Charisma is often used to describe an elusive, even undefinable personality trait that includes the seemingly ‘supernatural’ or uncanny ability to lead, charm, persuade, inspire, and/or influence people who easily draw the attention and admiration of others due to a ‘magnetic’ quality of personality and/or appearance.
Despite the strong emotions they so often induce in others, charismatic individuals generally project unusual calmness, positive energy, extreme charm, personal magnetism, confidence, assertiveness, dominance, authenticity, focus, and almost always possess superb communication and oratorical skills.
Usually many of these specific qualities must be present with a single individual for the person to be considered highly charismatic by the public and their peers. Among others, historically charisma has been predominantly aligned with following attributes.
High self-esteem - Charismatic leaders have high self-esteem - this conveys confidence and authenticity. A leader with high self-esteem is relaxed and comfortable in exposing his/her true self. Levels of self-esteem can vary with the situation and the environment, so self-esteem is one of several which are contextual.
A driving force - Charismatic leaders have an underlying sense of purpose, a set of values - principles important to them - which drives their decisions and actions and motivate their behavior consistently and strongly. A strong driving force can also be contextual. Those who are strongly driven and charismatic in a certain direction or field may not be in others.
Sensory awareness - Charismatic leaders are aware of their own feelings as well as the feelings of others. They are in touch with their emotions and are uninhibited about showing them. This makes them expressive and compelling in the way they communicate and engage with others.
Visionary - Charismatic leaders have a strong vision of what they want. This is different to driving force or purpose. The point here is the mental vision of the purpose. To imagine and believe the aim - to see it happening in their mind. This creates a strong energy of intent that others can feel, and often see and hear too. Positive attitudes help produce results. Having a strong mental picture of leader’s aims tends to reinforce his own actions and the responses and actions of others towards a common vision.
High energy - Exhibiting high personal positive energy builds and maintains a positive energetic response in others. Positive energy makes others feel good. They become energized, feel valued and productive, and respond even more strongly to the source - the charismatic leader.
Charismatic leaders can sense the gap that exists between what an organization is delivering to its stake holders, and what the stake holders need from the organization. This allows the leader to create a vision or a future state that everyone believes will be better than today’s environment. The charismatic leader often articulates this vision using metaphors and stories in such a way that everyone can understand the vision. The followers see the leader as the one that possesses the ability to visualize the future with clarity. The followers are also able to see how they fit into this future state, and believe it will be better than today. Since followers can see themselves in this future vision, they support the goals of the organization and the leaders more readily.
Charismatic leadership is a double edged sword and can be a blessing or a curse on the society. Charisma can be used for the good of a company or a nation, but also for less-than-honorable reasons too.
Since their self-belief is so high, charismatic leaders can easily believe that they are infallible, and hence lead their followers into an abyss. They may also be intolerant of challenges and their irreplaceability (intentional or otherwise) can mean that there are no successors when they leave. Three broad categories of misusing charisma could be;
1. Leaders can become addicted to charisma
“Any strength overused can be a weakness” - A leader who uses too much charisma will rely on this ability as an end unto itself .
A leader who can inspire a group, or promote a vision, or simply want to walk into a room as the center of attention, all with seemingly little effort can be inclined to capture these reactions first rather than facing situations that are more challenging or unpopular. Leaders can avoid this quagmire by making sure they don’t take their charismatic capabilities for granted, or treat them lightly.
Authentic leaders understand (and continually calibrate) the influence and authority they have by virtue of their position and personal attributes. They learn to be better leaders over time by focusing not on what makes them compelling personally, but on what makes their organizations compelling as a whole.
2. Organizations can become addicted to the charismatic leader
Just as leaders are susceptible to their own charisma, organizations can also become addicted, too. An overly-charismatic leader draws focus from the rest of the organization by demanding (subtly or dramatically) attention for him or herself. When the focus shifts to the personal characteristics of the leader, accountability is diminished. The followers can become overly dependent on the leader for all large and small directions and decisions. Then the enterprise loses the ability to be resilient in the face of changing realities. It’s too busy waiting for the leader to decide what to do, and believing that the leader knows best.
3. Charisma grows for its own sake and forgets its purpose
This is what happens when both the leader and the organization are addicted to charisma. Typically, organizations with big visions are led by people who display significant charisma in order to keep the vision moving forward. In many cases, the bigger the vision, the more the organization tilts towards the “visionary,” thus increasing the risk of charismatic addiction and organizational dependency.
The challenge expands when the organization grows, because followers tend to believe that the leader is responsible for any success. Hence the leader need to supply more charisma to keep the dynamics humming; the need shifts to growing charisma, not developing organizational capabilities to face and respond to the challenges of the future.
Hence it is important that leaders recognize “Charisma is a Capability, not an Answer”. If the leader is charismatic, everyone knows it, and there is no need to overplay the role. It may be prudent to tread lightly, and wear charisma gently. Have the courage to see charisma as an attribute, one of many, and strive for more graceful leadership qualities that require to fulfil higher needs of the organization, and not just the leader. Those leaders who focus on leading with the greatest regard for their responsibilities and highest esteem for the followers, it is less likely that the leader or the organization will be undone by leader’s own charm.
(This is the 12th article of the leadership series.
The writer Gamini Nanda Gunawardana
B.Sc. Eng. (Hons.); M.B.A.; C.Eng.; F.I.E. (SL); M.C.S. (SL); M.I.D.P.M. (UK); F.I.A.P. (UK); M.B.C.S. (UK)
Management, HR, is a OD & ICT Consultant, Corporate Trainer, Executive Coach Consultant – HRD- Goodhope Asia Holdings Ltd. E Mail : [email protected]. Skype : gamini7147)
