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Bligh's Charisma Summary

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• Bligh, M.C. & Kohles, J.C. (2009). The enduring allure of charisma: How Barack Obama won the historic 2008 presidential election. The Leadership Quarterly, 20, 483-492.
This article focuses on the charismatic leadership theory in terms of Obama’s presidency. It made a lot of sense when Bligh and Kohles asserted that charm is mostly used between leaders and followers of large social distances. In another context, I see how celebrities, K-pop stars, and other media figures use charisma to build their fandom. In these cases where the social distance is created from fame, I think that a person’s overall image as portrayed by media is crucial for one’s reputation. If we look specifically at Barack Obama, I believe his charisma was developed by …show more content…

The last three qualities are also what creates one’s character. I think that followers generally look for leaders who are self-motivated with the desire to create change or achieve. Self-worth is exhibited through confidence and self-esteem, but I believe it can be difficult for some people to appropriately maneuver between the boundaries of excessively low and high self-esteem. Low self-esteem can give followers uncertainty, anxiety, and thus a reason to doubt the leader. On the other hand, extremely high self-esteem is associated with inflated ego, narrow-mindedness, and corruption. A leader who doesn’t listen to nor try to understand other can ruin the leader-follower relationship. Good presidents maintain good relationships with their advisors, staff, and their people. This promotes a sense of connectedness between the president and his people. I think can act as a check on leader’s humility and prevent …show more content…

For example, when organizing their team of advisors, some presidents chose to surround themselves with like-minded people while other presidents sought for more diversity and embraced healthy conflict. Although there are different ways to lead, not every way is a form of good leadership. Expanding on this example, in our previous readings, we read how President Bush built a team of people who always agreed with him or the top advisors and rarely voiced their own opinions/concerns. This is not a conducive environment or relationship for advancement and progress. FDR and Obama, from our previous reading, show better organization capacity by building a diverse team and an open culture. I believe that a leader must have emotional intelligence to promote a culture open to discussion, constructive criticism, and professional

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