Chapter 3: Charismatic and Transformational Leadership

Chapter 3: Charismatic and Transformational Leadership

KnowledgeBank, p. 83

Definitions of Charisma and Charismatic Leadership

1. / A certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he or she is set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities (sexist language changed)
2. / A devotion to the specific and exceptional sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns revealed or ordained by that person
3. / Endowment with the gift of divine grace
4. / The process of influencing major changes in the attitudes and assumptions of organization members, and building commitment for the organization’s objectives
5. / Leadership that has a magnetic effect on people
6. / In combination with individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational leadership, a component of transformational leadership

Source: (1) Max Weber, The Theory of Social and Economic Organization (New York: The Free Press, 1947), p. 358. (Original work published in 1924.); (2) Max Weber, cited in S. N. Eisenstadt, Max Weber: On Charisma and Institution Building (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968); (3) Bernard M. Bass, “Evolving Perspectives on Charismatic Leadership,” in Charismatic Leaders, eds. Jay A. Conger, Rabindra N. Kanungo, et al. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988), p. 40; (4) Gary A. Yukl, Leadership in Organizations, 3rd ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994), p. 207; (5) James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987), p. 123; (6) Bernard M. Bass, cited in Kenneth E. Clark and Miriam B. Clark (eds.), Measures of Leadership, A Center for Creative Leadership Book (West Orange, N.J.: Leadership Library of America, 1990).

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Here are a few highlights from a study about whether certain aspects of charisma can be taught and learned.

Trained and Untrained Behaviors in the Study about Charisma Training

Items for Which Training Made a Difference (Aspects of Making Inspirational Appeals)

Gestures*

Variation of speed*

Orientation toward audience*

Repetition*

Value appeal*

Increase of group self-efficacy*

Use of “we” form*

Use of metaphors*

Emotional appeal*

Positive statements*

Explaining significance of vision*

Untrained Items (Related to Public Speaking)

Good structure of the speech

Good framework: Beginning and end well connected

Use of rhetoric questions

Simple and easy sentences*

Refraining from the use of nonlexical utterances*

Clear pronunciation*

Relaxed posture*

Artificial pauses

Note: Comparisons are made before and after training.

* Indicates improved with training

SOURCE: Michael Frese, Susanne Beimel, and Sandra Schoenborn, “Action Training for Charismatic Leadership: Two Evaluations of a Commercial Training Module on Inspirational Communication of a Vision,” Personnel Psychology, Autumn 2003, p. 685.