What Are Charismatic Leadership?

Leadership is a facet of management. It is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. The main aim of a manager is to maximize the output of the organization through administrative implementation. To achieve this managers must undertake the four functions of management: planning, organization, leading and controlling. In some cases leadership is just one important component of the leading function. Predpall (1994) said, "Leaders must let vision, strategies, goals, and values be the guide-post for action and behavior rather than attempting to control others". In some circumstances, leadership is not required. For example, self-motivated groups may not require a single leader and may find leaders dominating. The fact that a leader is not always required proves that leadership is just an asset and is not essential.

“Charismatic leaders act in unique ways that have specific charismatic effects on their followers” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 188). Charismatic leaders are strong role models for the beliefs and values they aspire their followers to adopt. They are identified to be dominant and have a strong desire to influence others. They also are self-confident and have a strong sense of one’s own moral values.

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.

"There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust." Klaus Balkenhol

Much has been written about the difference between management and leadership. In the past, competent management staffs ran effective companies. In light of our ever-changing world, however, most companies have come to realize that it is much more important to lead than to manage. In today's world the old ways of management no longer work. One reason is that the degree of environmental and competitive change we are experiencing is extreme. Although exciting, the world is also very unstable and confused. In an article entitled What’s the Difference between Your Hospital and the Other? Gary Campbell states that the difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager “finds himself quite willing to

There are many qualities a person would want in order to be a leader, but the most important qualities are the ones the person needs the most. Many citizens will agree that being charismatic and to have respect are the keys to be a good leader. To others, intelligence is the winning aspect of being not just a good leader, but a great one. Being charismatic doesn’t necessarily mean being attractive or charmful, but it also implies being persuasive and encouraging to others. With this quality the leader will be able to persuade others to do one’s bidding.

Charismatic leaders are able to inspire emotion and passion in their followers by being optimistic and enthusiastic. Without passionate and emotional employees, an organization will be crippled and unable to face

In accordance with an adaptation from The Wall Street Journal Guide to Management by Alan Murray, published by Harper Business, although leadership and management must function collectively, they are not identical, however they are unavoidably connected and corresponding; any attempt to disconnect the two is liable to initiate more complications than it resolves. Nevertheless, considerable effort has been consumed outlining the dissimilarities. The manager’s responsibility is to strategize and coordinate, whereas the leader’s responsibility is to encourage and motivate. (Murray, A., 2009)

Leadership is just one important component of the directing function. A manager cannot just be a leader, he also needs formal authority to be effective. ?For any quality initiative to take hold, senior management must be involved and act as a role model. This involvement cannot be delegated.?

Bryman, A., 1993, ‘Charismatic leadership in business organisations: some neglected issues’, Leadership Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 289-304.

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

“Leadership is the ability to take an average team of individuals and transform them into superstars. The best leader is the one who inspires his workers to achieve greatness each and every day”.

Charismatic leaders have been the boon and the bane of humanity for as long as recorded human history illustrates.

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.

Researchers have proposed several characteristics of leaders described as ‘charismatic’. The widely accepted characteristics of charismatic leaders are (Bryman et al., 2011, p. 90-91):