The New Leadership Model
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Charismatic Leadership can be found at several levels of an organization, but usually at the top. These leaders, as the name suggests, are very charismatic.
This means that they are able to ‘weave a spell’ to their team, stakeholders and whoever else, inducing more belief in them than otherwise.
This leadership style is important and probably works best in times of uncertainty; when the economy cannot be trusted, when events are uncertain, people tend to look for people whom they can trust.
The Characteristics
of Charisma
These leaders are usually defined by:
• People who have an ability to inspire by their words
• Attractive personality
• Good-looking and well-built
• Big, exciting visions
Inspiration by Words
Rudyard Kupling said,” Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
And these leaders know it well. They know the power of words, either in writing or in speech, to electrify the atmosphere and to move the hearts of men.
Now I must qualify that, leaders who are charismatic can be evil too, like Adolf Hitler. He inspired the German people to kill other races because he taught them to believe it was about the survival of the fittest.
Attractive Personality
They have attractive personalities. They are people with high relationship intelligence. They know how to approach another person and win them over to his cause.
Good-looking
They are generally physically good looking people. Hence they are able to attract their followers on all levels; body, soul and spirit.
Big, exciting Visions
Not all of them have the qualities like being good-looking and having an attractive personality, but they can win people over nonetheless with a beautifully painted picture of what their future could be.
Using the same example, Adolf Hitler was not a good looking man, but he won over the whole of Germany by a vision of a great Germany dominating the world.
Charisma is generally something that you acquire in your youth.
When you are somebody who participates a lot in team activities and events, you’ll naturally develop a likeable personality.
But even if you aren’t, charisma is not something people are born with. Charisma can be nurtured through time and effort as you make a decision to adjust your personality!
The New
Leadership Model
The new leadership consisted of new words describing leadership like visionary, charismatic and transformational, and it was developed by Burns in 1978. He contrasted the transactional leadership style to the transformational leadership style.» Transactional leadership
Transactional Leaders practice what you would call management-by-exception and contingent reward. They set performance standards and do performance reviews for their followers.
» Transformational leadership
Transformational leaders have the ability to inspire and motivate their followers beyond their job description. They seek to bring change in their environment or community by improving on the current situation, whatever it may be. They tend to anticipate problems before they come and act accordingly.
» Charismatic leadership
Charismatic leaders have a natural ability to attract people and inspire commitment to their cause.
» Visionary leadership
Visionary leaders have the ability to see what things could be in the future, rather than what things are. Through the attractive visions that they give, they are able to draw followers to themselves.
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