CHARISMA IN LEADERSHIP

According to many scholars, charismatic and transformational leadership represents a new paradigm of leadership that may be capable of steering organizations through the chaos of the 21st century. Charismatic and transformational theories return our focus to the leader. These theories shine a light on exemplary leaders who have extraordinary effects on their people and ultimately on entire social and economic systems. According to the theories, such leaders transform the needs, aspirations, and values of their followers from a focus on self-interest to a focus on collective interest. They practice trust-building to create strong commitment to a common mission. They generate emotion, energy, and excitement that cause followers to make significant personal sacrifices in the interest of the missions to perform above and beyond the call of duty.

Purpose Leadership is a leadership theory that substitutes purpose, process, and people thinking for strategy, organization, and systems thinking. Charismatic leaders are regarded as meaning creators, whereas personal meaning is defined as the extent to which people’s lives make emotional sense and are regarded as deserving of energy and dedication. According to research, the depth and nature of psychological significance are important determinants of motivation, particularly for people confronting challenges.

The search for meaning involves finding opportunities to express the aspects of one’s self that motivate subsequent behavior. The charismatic leader is a person who has overcome an inner conflict to realize their full potential and developed a strong belief in themselves. The resolution of this conflict serves as a stimulus. Legacy is the ability to leave behind something of enduring value after one’s death. It allows an individual’s accomplishments to live in the ideals, actions and creations of their followers long after their death. Gandhi’s legacy has influenced many social activities and leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.

Leaders with an unselfish attitude prioritize the welfare of others over their own needs. Charismatic leaders use political and social causes to influence change and provide a better life for their followers. They have a greater sensitivity to political, societal, and organization situations that are ripe for change and encourage activism to create a climate of dissatisfaction. Value is a set of beliefs/behaviors that are considered by an individual/group to be important. Charismatic Leadership is a form of value-based leadership that aligns values with those of followers and appeals to their subconscious motives to derive personal meaning from their actions.

Charismatic leadership is the result of the situation/social climate facing the leader, the leader’s extraordinary qualities, and the interaction of the situation and leader’s qualities. Proponents of the view argue that before an individual with extraordinary qualities can be perceived as a charismatic leader, the social situation must be such that followers recognize the need for their qualities. Charisma is the ability of charismatic leaders to express sentiments that are different from the established order and deeply felt by followers. Proponents of this view argue that neither Martin Luther King Jr nor Gandhi would have emerged as charismatic leaders without the prevailing social crises in their respective countries. Others argue that charisma is primarily the result of leader attributes such as vision, strong conviction, high self-confidence and intelligence.

The relationship between charismatic leaders and followers is often described as emotional, with feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction derived from the pursuit of worthwhile activities and goals. It is similar to that of a disciple to a master, as the charismatic is believed to have the power to effect radical change by virtue of a transcendent vision. Charismatic leaders are seen as generally more positive in their personality than non-charismatic leaders. According to A. Judge (2004), on positiveness as a personality trait has found that people enhance their own feeling of well-being by sharing positive experiences with others and as a consequence?, treat other more positively because they themselves are in a positive mood. Charismatic leaders generally posses this type of positive and have the capacity to spread it. When this happens, a positive atmosphere permeates the organization and fuels excitement and energy for the leader’s cause.

Charismatic leadership can be effective in encouraging followers to buy into the future vision and positive change in an organization. By observing the leader display self-confidence, followers develop self-confidence as well. The leader’s character has an effect on followers, when the character is grounded on core values such as integrity, trust, respect and truth, it influences the leader’s vision, ethics and behavior. Character more than charisma is seen as the basis for leadership excellence. Focus on the effect of charismatic leadership on external support for an organization. Charismatic leadership can be effective in encouraging followers to buy into the future vision and positive change in an organization. Character more than charisma is seen as the basis for leadership excellence, and it has an effect on external support for an organization.

Charismatic Leaders articulate a transcendent vision that becomes the rallying cry of a movement. They are future oriented and recognize discrepancies between status quo and the way things can be. Vision is the ability to imagine different and better conditions and the ways to achieve them. Charismatic Leadership formulate their vision by synthesizing disparate issues, values and problems from many sources of the organization. Charismatic Leaders use their superior communication skills to communicate complex ideas and goals in clear, compelling ways. Their eloquent, imaginative, and passionate manner heightens followers’ emotional levels and inspires them to embrace their vision. They use rhetorical techniques like metaphors, analogy, and stories to drive home their points, such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, Adolf Hitler’s ‘Thousand-Year Reich’ and Gandhi’s vision for a new India.

Charismatic Leadership relies on self-confidence, faith, optimism, and strong moral conviction to inspire hope and faith in their followers. Self-confidence is essential for success, as it increases one’s level performance. Optimism is an essential component of charismatic leadership, as followers feel connected to leaders who are optimistic and positive about their mission. Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrated this in his speech, “I have a dream”.

Charismatic leaders build support and trust by modeling desired behavior and projecting an image of being likable and knowledge. They also ‘role model’ a value system that is congruent with the articulated vision for the followers, such as Gandhi’s self-sacrifice, brotherly love, and non-violent resistance to British rule. These qualities inspire followers and often result in greater cooperation between a leader and followers. Charismatic leaders earn trust by being willing to take risks, which is seen as a sign of courage and self-advocacy. Martin Luther King Jr. faced death threats but persisted with his mission until his assassination.

Charisma is inborn and cannot be trained into someone, but researchers believe it can be developed and enhanced by P.Kampert (2007). Through practice and self-discipline, one can develop visionary skills by creating a vision and being candid. They can also develop a warm, positive, and humanistic attitude toward people, as well as an enthusiastic, optimistic, and energetic personality. A major behavior pattern of Charismatic people is their combination of enthusiasm, optimism and a high energy level.

Valuation theory proposes that two opposing but complementary basic motives drive an individual’s behavior (Self-glorification and self-transcendence). Socialized Charismatic Leadership is characterized by an egalitarian, self-transformative and empowering personality, while Personalized is characterized by a dominant, Machiavellian and narcissistic personality. Rewards are used to reinforce behavior that is consistent with the vision and mission of the organization, rewards and punishment are used to manipulate and control followers, and information is restricted to preserve the image of the leader infallibility. There are two types of charismatic leadership: socialized and positive. Socialized pursue organization driven goals and promote empowerment, personal growth and equal participation in followers while Personalized pursue leader-driven goals and promote feelings of obedience.

In a summary, charismatic leadership is a leadership theory that stresses the leader’s exceptional traits as well as the leader’s involvement with the situation. Charismatic leaders are meaning makers who shift their followers’ wants, ambitions, and ideals from self-interest to collective interest. They use their superior communication skills to convey complicated ideas and goals in clear, engaging ways, and their articulate, creative, and impassioned style raises the emotional levels of their followers and encourages them to accept their vision. This can be successful in persuading followers to believe in an organization’s future goal and good change.