Charisma
Charisma, as an attribute of leaders, is often defined as “a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people” (Random House). The ambiguous nature of charisma stems from its roots in the emotional bonding or social attraction between charismatic leaders and their followers.
Although many have tried to componentized charisma as either a collection of personal traits, or as a group of specific behaviors, charisma is more dynamic than either of those individually, and more complex than just a combination of the two.
Charisma is a multidimensional phenomenon that occurs with the right combination of attributes and behaviors of the leader, emotional investment of the followers, and the context of the leader-follower interactions (Klein & House 1995).
The survey conducted for this paper, however, has dealt only with one component: attributes and behaviors of the leader. In the brief survey, respondents described a person they perceived as charismatic by ranking the applicability of 17 personal traits and behaviors. Respondents scored the person they perceived as charismatic on a five point scale to indicate the intensity of the personal trait or the frequency of the personal behavior. The respondents also scored a person whom they did not consider charismatic.
| Respondent’s verbatim definitions of Charisma: · “When someone is really good at public speaking and is persuasive.” · “Being able to talk in a way that people listen to you.” · “Getting people to do what you want by talking to them and getting them on your side.” · “Effective leadership, highly verbal.” · “Very likable people who can sell ice to Eskimos and everyone loves them.” · “Someone who’s gifted; like in speaking and leading people” · “It means grace. For what you’re doing, I guess it means someone who is really talented and everyone knows they’re a great leader.” · “When everyone wants to give it all because the coach made a great speech.” · “It means that a person is able to get others to believe as strongly about things as he does – and gets them to join his cause.” · “Being super good at talking people into things and getting them all fired up.” |
Before completing the instrument, each respondent was verbally asked if they understood what charisma is. Their verbatim comments reveal a commonly held perception: charisma is equivalent to persuasive and competent communication. (Table 1)
Not surprisingly then, the top two attributes, as measured by the gap between the average scores of charismatic vs. non-charismatic leaders, specifically dealt with the person’s verbal ability and motivational skills.
Areas of high distinction
The three attributes that seem to sharply distinguish the perceived charismatics in the survey are:
- Inspires people to work beyond expectations; to “give 110%”
- Highly verbal
- Emphasizes what getting the job done will “mean” not just on “doing it”
The first of these refers to motivation, which Klein and House cite as one of the key attributes of the charismatic relationship between leader and follower. Followers are highly motivated in such relationships and are willing to make personal sacrifices to fulfill the leader’s vision. (Klein & House 1996)
McCroskey & Richmond indicate that highly verbal people are often perceived as making high contributions, are more likely to achieve leadership positions, and generally have a higher social attraction. That “highly verbal” would be among the most distinguished characteristics of charisma is consistent with the verbatim comments linking charisma to persuasive speech.
The third highly distinctive attribute, emphasizing the symbolic meaning rather than the task itself, reflects the visionary nature of charisma. Political leaders who are often thought of as charismatic, such as Ronald Reagan, have often relied upon others to manage the execution of the tasks. Interestingly, the attribute reflecting knowledge of the task was one where there was little difference between the average ranking for charismatic leaders vs. non-charismatic leaders.
Attributes that are not highly distinguished
All three of the attributes that were lowest, in terms of difference between charismatic and non-charismatic, are attributes that reflect the peripheral or contextual abilities of the leader:
- Understands the context in which he/she operates (social, cultural, political)
- Concerned about the moral exercise of power
- Has knowledge of the task
There are several potential reasons why these three may have ended up at the bottom of the list. First, the persons taking the survey may not have fully understood them. Of the 10 respondents, eight were college and high school students. They may have had in mind persons whom they did think of in terms of power or social context. For example, several students had in mind athletic coaches.
Another reason may be that charismatic leaders may not often communicate task knowledge, but leave that to others within the group. If the leaders considered by the respondents are not facing a social or moral conflict, they may not give much outward attention to the moral exercise of power.
Social attraction and perception of charisma
What isn’t clear form this survey is if the respondents attributed charisma, a positive trait, to leaders whom they liked, and “not charismatic” to leaders they didn’t like. Only three of the attributes of charismatic leaders were highly distinct from non-charismatic leaders. Most of the attributes showed only moderate distinction. Verbal comments from the respondents indicated that for their “non-charismatic” profiles, they chose individuals for whom they had less than high regard. A larger sample size may have produced a sharper distinction on more elements.
What this survey doesn’t reveal is the level of social attraction to the identified charismatic leaders, or the level of commitment to that leader’s visionary focus. In other words, the respondents do not necessarily have a charismatic relationship with the person that they describe as charismatic.
The importance of context
Beyond the scope of the survey is the context of the leader-follower relationship (Klein & House 1996). Perhaps the most igniting context for charismatic relationships to emerge is crisis. Charismatic leaders are often viewed as heroic, even though the crises that give context for their charismatic leadership result in acts motivated by survival and desperation rather than a visionary blueprint for a better future.
Conclusion
Charisma is a multi-faceted dynamic that comprises personal attributes and behaviors, a context for leadership, and unique relational bonds between leaders and followers. This small survey identified only three greatly distinctive characteristics of those perceived to be charismatic: highly verbal, highly motivational, and highly focused on meaning rather than doing.
Works Cited
Berger, C. (2002) Goals and knowledge structures in social interaction. In Knapp, M. L., & Daly, J. A., (Eds.). Handbook of interpersonal communication (3rd ed.).
Klein, K. J., & House, R. J. (1995) On fire: charismatic leadership and levels of analysis. Leadership Quarterly. 6 (2).
McCroskey, J. C., &
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