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- We're going to talk about the theory
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behind charismatic leadership.
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Are some people born with charisma?
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Or can you personally learn
to be more charismatic?
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And is this even a make or
break leadership quality
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to begin with?
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Let's take a look at the details.
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(upbeat music)
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Charisma is at the intersection
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of leadership and communication
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and that's what this channel is all about.
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I have some related videos on
transformational leadership,
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transactional leadership, the
traits approach to leadership,
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and I'll put links to all of those
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in the description below this video.
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But we're not so much
going to teach you here
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how to turn on your charisma.
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We're going to unpack
what this concept means,
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and look at the positives
and look at the dark side.
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And then I'll give you my point of view
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on whether or not charisma is learnable.
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The more definitions you look up,
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the more you'll see three common aspects
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that capture the word charisma.
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It means number one, appeal.
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Charismatic people have
an attractiveness, charm,
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a special kind of magnetism.
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Number two, gift.
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We think of charisma
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as a divine magical
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or supernatural gift
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and power that sets them apart
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from ordinary people.
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And number three, charismatic
leaders have loyal followers.
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They inspire, and excite, and
enthusiastic and loyal crowd.
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They usually have an influence
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over a large group of followers.
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Many writers start with
Max Weber's explanation
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of charisma from 1922.
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"A certain quality of an
individual personality
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by virtue of which he is
set apart from ordinary men
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and treated as endowed with
supernatural, superhuman
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or at least specifically
exceptional powers or qualities."
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Robert House use Weber's work
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when he wrote his article on
charismatic leadership in 1976.
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He said, "Transcendence
is attributed implicitly
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to both the qualities of a leader
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and the content of his mission."
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There's something about
charismatic leaders
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and their mission
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that goes above and beyond
what we're used to seeing.
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To me some quick examples
of charismatic leaders
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are Arnold Schwarzenegger,
the late princess Diana
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and Will Smith.
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They're all different,
but there's a special,
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almost undefinable spark
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that sets them apart from the crowd.
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For all their individual uniqueness,
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Peter Northouse wrote
about the commonalities
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that charismatic leaders
shared in his book.
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He spells out the five qualities
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or typical behaviors we see
in good charismatic leaders.
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First, they are strong
role models for the beliefs
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and values they want
their followers to adopt.
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Gandhi was a great role model
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for the non-violent, civil disobedience
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that he was advocating for.
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He walked the talk, in other words.
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Second, charismatic leaders
demonstrate competence
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to their followers.
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They at least appear as if
they know what they're doing.
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Third, they communicate goals.
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These goals are usually driven
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by a clear, ideological or moral position.
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Martin Luther King, Jr., for example,
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drove his message with a
clear and moral position.
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Four, they communicate high expectations
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for their followers and
believe their followers'
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ability to meet those expectations.
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This gives followers the
confidence that they can succeed.
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And fifth, charismatic
leaders arouse the motives
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of followers.
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We can see this in JFK's famous quotation,
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"Ask not what your country can do for you,
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ask what you can do for your country.
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He aroused the motive of service
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that he wanted his followers
to translate into action.
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You'll notice that strong theme
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running through these five behaviors
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is the way leaders engage their followers.
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If they don't get their
followers engaged, excited
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and motivated in a special way,
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then leaders may not
qualify as charismatic.
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Another key issue is the role of context.
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Writers who study charisma point out
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that these leaders are
more likely to find a place
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to lead followers when the situation
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or the context is putting
pressure or stress on followers,
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in some way.
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Sometimes there is a
felt need and exigence
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for a powerful leader to come in
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and show followers the way.
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There are some problems, some unmet need
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in the followers' lives,
and the charismatic leader
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comes along and offers a
compelling the solution.
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So far, we've talked about
positive examples of charisma,
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but there is a dark side too.
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One key criticism is that
many charismatic leaders
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throughout history, have
used their influence
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for their own benefit.
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Not for the benefit of their followers.
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Some charismatic leaders use the power
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of their influence to
essentially gain more power
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and control for themselves,
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but ultimately they have a
destructive influence on society,
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and even on the followers
who support them.
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Typical unethical examples
are Hitler, Charles Manson,
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Osama bin Laden and numerous cult leaders.
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In corporate America, we see examples
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like Enron's CEO, Jeff Skilling
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and Theranos CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
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and the movie "Wonder Woman
1984," the bad guy Max Lord,
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is an example of a charismatic
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but ultimately unethical leader.
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Charisma and ethics do
not come in a package.
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I also want to talk about a less obvious
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and less serious problem that I have seen
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in everyday life on campus
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and in professional settings,
but it still matters.
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And I'll call it the
leadership skill deficiency.
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Sometimes I will see individuals
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with fairly charismatic personalities
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who can get by on it.
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At least in the short run.
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They're outgoing and they stand out
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and they project a certain
amount of confidence.
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Many people view charisma
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as one in the same with leadership,
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but really it's not necessary at all
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to have charisma to be effective.
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In fact, some people turn up the volume
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on their charisma to cover over,
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a lack of actual leadership skills.
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Some people might light up
a room, command attention
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but then they'll have trouble
meeting simple deadlines
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or following through on their own work.
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Not everybody who has that
special spark of charisma
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can back it up with actual competence.
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The downside of that is
that, if these individuals
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are given too much leadership too fast,
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it will begin to expose
their lack of competence
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in key areas and set them up for failure.
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Given that, let's talk about the issue
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that many people ask about.
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Are people really born
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with a special set of gifts and talents
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that sets them apart from ordinary people?
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Or is charisma learnable over time?
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And I believe that the answer
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is both can be true, with one exception.
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So on the one hand there's no denying
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that people like Elon Musk,
Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey
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really do seem to stand apart.
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To me, certain people
really do appear to be born
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with charisma.
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At the same time many of the qualities
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that we talked about can be learned
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and improved with practice.
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Almost anybody, for example,
can become a strong role model
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or communicate high expectations
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if they set their mind to it.
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So while we may not all be born
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with that special ingredient,
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that gift charisma,
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we can all certainly learn
to develop it to some extent.
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For example, there's an area of research
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about our willingness
to communicate, or WTC.
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And it shows that simply by
communicating a little more
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than usual with the people around us.
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Other people will almost instantly see us
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as more attractive, more credible.
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And they're more likely to
see us as opinion leaders.
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I know many people who grew
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into compelling charismatic
leaders over time
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by working at it.
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So the short answer is that people
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can be both born that way, I suppose,
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and also learn to be more charismatic.
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But there's one exception,
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one complication to that answer.
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And that is the issue of followers.
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For whatever reason, even people
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with the strongest collection
of leadership skills
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do not rise to the of
exciting loyal followers.
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Some people can do all of the behaviors
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and still seem to be
missing that special spark.
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So just acting more
charismatically does not mean
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that people will respond
to you in that way.
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Now, the good news is there are many ways
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to be an effective leader
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that have nothing to do with charisma.
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In fact, many leaders have
accomplished incredible things
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and we would not describe
them at all as charismatic.
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Bill Belichick, for example,
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is the coach of the New England Patriots.
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And he's won six Super Bowls.
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He's incredibly effective
at getting results.
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But few people would describe
him as having charisma.
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He's almost completely unlikable
even among his own players.
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So having charisma does
not automatically mean
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leaders will be effective.
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It doesn't mean they are good and moral.
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Charisma is not in any way,
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a precondition for successful leadership.
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In other words, it might be helpful
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but it's not a make or
break leadership quality.
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Not even close.
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Effective leaders come in
all shapes, sizes and styles.
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Before I go, I have three
related leadership videos
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on transformational leadership,
transactional leadership
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and the traits approach to leadership.
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And I will put links to that
in the description below
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as well as a link to my
Communication Coach Academy,
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where I offer classes.
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So until next time, thanks, God bless.
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And I will see you soon.
