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Charismatic Leadership: The Hidden Controversy

March 30, 2001

"Managers are being told they need charisma to be a successful leader in visionary companies; students are being taught the pathway to certain organizational success is through the use of charismatic leadership.  Buried in the literature, however, are at least three areas of controversy.  First, is charismatic leadership always a good thing?   Do world class companies need charismatic leaders?  Assuming charisma is a good thing, are we doomed by nature to either be charismatic or not?  Is there a way to learn to be charismatic?  Is charisma an ethical construct or does the use of charisma all too often result in manipulative behavior on the part of the leader and blind obedience on the part of the follower? 

Leadership texts and articles often describe charismatic leaders as ones who describe goals by painting word pictures, have an exceptional ability to win the devotion and support of followers, have no fear of presenting their ideas to anyone who may be able to help them, and are reputed to possess excellent persuasion and negotiation skills.  Their followers want to identify with them and emulate the, they develop intense feelings about the, and above all they have unrelenting trust and confidence in them.

A survey was designed to assess popular opinion regarding charismatics.  The main purpose was to determine whether 23 well-known personalities had charisma or not.  The personalities chosen were all high-profile figures in politics, the military, the corporate world, religion, sports, and entertainment. 

Is charismatic leadership always a good thing?  Taken literally history has proven the answer is no.  One need only recall the Hitlers and Mussolinis of the world to realize the potentially negative powers of charisma. 

Charismatic leadership when coupled with dedication to corporate objectives seems like a winning combination.  Its effectiveness is sometimes short-term especially when the leader is responsible for getting the organization out of crisis.  Charismatic leadership is not a necessity for today's visionary company.  Charismatic leaders make life more exciting, but in actuality most American CEOs register low in the charisma meter.

Many feel that charisma can be learned and taught.  The number of books on the subject alone indicate that many people feel this is a worthwhile skill to acquire.  The authors feel that charisma is very much a personality construct and as such it is not easy to acquire in a meaningful way after reaching adulthood.

The primary difference between ethical and unethical charisma can be seen in the motive of the leader.  The ethical charismatic wants what is good for the organization and the employees; the unethical counterpart is motivated by personal power and achievement and pursues anything, which makes him or her look better and stronger.  While ethical charismatics seek to develop their followers through empowerment, unethicals hold power close and strive to control employees. 

It seems that charisma, like authority, depends in great measure on the perception of the followers.  If followers perceive the leader as being charismatic and inspirational, then that person undoubtedly has charisma vis-à-vis that particular follower. 

There is no way to conclude that charismatic leadership is always a good thing or that it is always needed in visionary organizations.  It seems to be a good thing only when and if conditions are right and the intentions or the leader are in the best interests of the company and employees.  Because of its emotional overtones and its ability to create fierce loyalty, charisma remains a dangerous construct -- as capable of working evil as good.  Evidence has been noted that suggests that charismatic leadership, while exciting when it happens may not be necessary for the sustained growth and health of excellent companies. 

If you are being led by a charismatic, your organization is in for an exciting, emotional time.  Effective followers will withhold instant allegiance to the charismatic and take a fair look at the person's intentions and actions (Gibson, Hannon & Blackwell, 1998)."

Reference:  Gibson, J.W., Hannon, J.C., & Blackwell, C.W. (1998).  Charismatic leadership: the hidden controversy.  The Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(4).

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Created: 2007-11-09, Updated: 2009-02-18