Charisma and Political Communication Essay

Music has a dynamic ability of influencing emotions, from mood regulation to rumination and self-expression. The presence of political and social messages in popular music is frequently seen across cultures, in particular focusing on social issues and racism (Back, 2000, 127). This paper attempted to explore the political and social messages in popular music, more specifically it investigated the relationship between Soul music and civil rights movements in the United States.

Charisma is just a trait and means to have a vibrant persona. The difference between a charismatic leader and a normal leader is that a charismatic leader is more charming and is usually more persuasive than a regular leader.

Throughout history, certain leaders were described as having exceptional qualities, such as charisma, that enabled them to motivate followers to achieve outstanding performances. Used wisely, it’s certainly a blessing; indulged, it can be a curse and therefore, these leaders can lead people ahead or astray. Famous leaders such as Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Roosevelt all shared a similar quality, charisma, which helped them rise in power and become leaders for their countries. This rise in leadership is a cause of crisis situations, distress in people, and inspirational and charismatic leaders who give promising deliverances. At the time, many leaders were struggling to rebuild their nations and as a cause, many totalitarian dictators such

When I consider those leaders who have used charisma to negative ends, a few examples immediately come to mind. David Koresh, Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and Osama bin Laden are all men who used their charismatic style of leadership in order to convey a specific ideology and persuade many to commit horrific acts to themselves and others. Although each of these provides ample fodder for analysis, the leader I have chosen for this analysis is Marshall Applewhite, the former head of the cult known as Heaven’s Gate.

Stories often crop up in the news about people following some crazy leader, usually concerning groups like cults, fanatics, or even fan bases that appear to blindly shadow and support their idol or superior. A casual observer will most likely look down on these groups, assuming that they could never be swayed like those people; but can one really resist so charismatic a leader? History has proven that the right person with a gift for persuasion can convince anyone to do something against their normal values. In Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, monomaniac Captain Ahab cajoles the crew of the Pequod into supporting his mission to through his incredible powers of persuasion. Obsessed with Moby Dick, a white sperm

Charismatic is defined as exercising a compelling charm that inspires devotion in others. It is a very powerful characteristic to have. What really matters is how a charismatic person uses that power. Charismatic people walk the fine line of charm and manipulation. Jim Jones, leader of the People’s Temple, will forever be remembered as someone who turned his charm into manipulation and orchestrated one of America’s largest mass suicides. David M. Matthews of CNN says, “The key to understanding the tragedy that was Jonestown lies in the oratory skills of the People’s Temple founder, Jim Jones.” The tragedy of the People’s Temple displays how easily people let others into their minds not knowing what they will do once inside.

This forms of leadership highlights a key personality which determines the course of action resulting in charisma to be defined as “a quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional qualities.”(Patricia) Undoubtedly, this gives the center figure the ultimate power over all the decision-making process in comparison to all the other stakeholders involved in the movement. Unlike dictatorship this position of power for a central figure is attributed to be a place of trust where this central figure is trusted by most, if not all members in terms of his skills and is considered to be the best decision-maker for the particular socio-political

The object of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of interpersonal communication. The paper will discuss how human service professionals can help by learning the standards of clients of a different culture. This paper will demonstrate some barriers that counselors may endure when assisting clients. Emotions can influence whether a client discuss circumstances to the interviewer and recognizing nonverbal and verbal cues. The authors have established the importance of counselors and their ability to communicate in their daily and professional lives. Many problems can happen when there is a lack of communication but knowing oneself is necessary to support others.

Antonakis, J., Fenley, M., & Liechti, S. (2011). Can Charisma Be Taught? Tests of Two Interventions. Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 10(3), 374-396. Antonakis et al starts off research by posing a question. “Can leadership, and in particular charisma, be taught? The authors set out to prove in fact that training can training managers a specific set of charismatic leadership tactics not only improves their charisma, but their effectiveness as leaders. Charismatic leadership is defined as by Antonakis et al as being a sub element of transformational leadership. In the first study researchers assigned 34 middle managers from a Swiss company into two groups randomly. One group received training in charisma and the others received no training. The group receiving training were trained in principles on charismatic leadership. In the second study focused on 41 MBA students enrolled in a leadership course at a Swiss public university monitor charismatic leadership. The students were videotaped giving a 4 minute speech addressing problems within the company while also giving a plan of action to staff. After, speech was done, each participant received training in charismatic leadership and was asked to deliver the same speech 6 weeks later by videotape. Results reveal that improvement and effectiveness as a leader were made in both research groups. This study concluded that feedback is important to the growth and development of leaders and must be provided to

Many great leaders have one thing in common and that is charisma. Charismatic leaders are those that have the capability to inspire and encourage people to do more than they would normally do, despite obstacles and personal sacrifice. (Daft, R.L, pg. 364) Charisma is what provokes energy and commitment out of its followers. These leaders possess the power to motivate their followers to do almost anything. They create an atmosphere of change and express an ideal vision of a better future. The most common characteristics of the charismatic leader involve maturity, communication, humility, and inspiration. These unique qualities impact their followers and conduct themselves in such a way that allows for remarkable results. Then

Weber’s second type of influence is charismatic authority. Charismatic authority is characterized by a leader with rare personal features that attract others to them. Charismatic leaders have qualities that are powerful and challenging

Finally, charismatic authority arises in periods of social unrest and change and thus depends not only on the existence of this `exceptional' individual but a social context which produces large numbers of individuals who are `disenchanted' with the present social institutions. Charisma, is in Weber's view ` a great revolutionary force' for social change. Charismatic movements always seek to dismantle or overthrow existing/traditional forms of authority and power. Finally, Weber suggests charismatic authority as inherently unstable since it is usually based upon a `personality cult' of the leader. When the leader dies then the movement will `die' with him/her or ossify and institutionalise itself into what Weber refers to as `the charisma of office': bureaucracy! Look at Fig. 1, (at the bottom of page 2 of this document) which I have taken and adapted from Bryan Turner's book. To understand the historical process we will need to begin with the `magician' and move `clockwise' towards `secular man'.

Charisma theory is described as a “gift”, or a unique superiority of an individual character. This is set by an advantage of which the individual is set apart from the common man and treated as a gem with supremacies (Charismatic vs. Transformational, 2011). Whereas the transformational theory is defined as leaders who enthuse followers to use their own egocentricities to benefit the organization (Charismatic vs. Transformational, 2011). These leaders also possess a gift of having a great impact on their followers (Charismatic vs. Transformational, 2011). Theories are apprehended around the world and almost every aspect of life possesses a theory behind them, whether there is action or unfolding someone’s personality. There are two leadership theories that will be conveyed, Charismatic Leadership and Transformational Leadership. Behind each theory is a founder that explains these concepts, James MacGregor Burns the founder of Transformational leadership (Conger, n.d.) and Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber the founder of Charismatic leadership ("Transformational," n.d.). Over the course of time, movies have been made, demonstrating these theories, for example an old classic “The Lion King” ("Leadership Movies," 2008). This movie coveys both MacGregor Burns and Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber’s theories.

The Political scientist George Mac Gregor Burns, has been one of the first one to take the challenge for a throughout analysis of this topic. He has developed Max Webber’s thinking on the sources of authority and charisma by bringing a distinction between transactional and transformational leadership.

Charisma has been associated with leaders and leader attributes since time immemorial. Webster’s dictionary defines one meaning of charisma as a divinely inspired gift, grace, or talent, as for prophesying, healing, and etc. As the definition suggests, the attribute of charisma has long been associated with religious leaders. Charisma was not formally associated with secular leaders or a secular charismatic theory of leadership until Max Weber—a German sociologist—wrote of it in that context in 1947 (Bryman, Collinson, Grint, Jackson, & Uhl-Bien, 2011, p. 86).