Aura of Charismatic Leadership

Abstract

Human beings are social beings and this social behaviour is crucial for all the outcomes they achieve in organizations. Formations of groups & sub groups are always a natural phenomenon but more important than mere formation of groups & teams is their performance. Moreover this performance is proportional to the ability of those who lead these groups & teams or in other words the leaders.
This article focusses on those certain qualities of personality that sets some individuals different from others and gives them that aura of leadership. This article reveals the importance of charismatic leadership style. Charismatic leaders rely on their personality, their skills of charm, passion, persuasion & inspirational and ultimately make their followers go follow these leaders.
Research has also suggested that during uncertain and turbulent times, charismatic leaders are especially important because in such times, followers are uncertain about their own survival and prosperity, and they experience anxiety and panic as a result, it is in these circumstances that charismatic leaders can lead organizations into new areas, inspire followers, and sometimes obtain extraordinary performance and results from an organization. Among the different forms of leadership first described by Max Weber in 1947 charismatic leadership was one of three leadership styles. Also, apart from the attainment of leadership as a result of formal authority, it is the capability of attaining psychological bonding with the followers that make charismatic leaders.

Full text

AURA OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP
Abstract
Human beings are social beings and this social behaviour is crucial for all the outcomes they
achieve in organizations. Formations of groups & sub groups are always a natural phenomenon
but more important than mere formation of groups & teams is their performance. Moreover
this performance is proportional to the ability of those who lead these groups & teams or in
other words the leaders.
This paper focuses on those certain qualities of personality that sets some individuals different
from others and gives them that aura of leadership. This paper reveals the importance of
charismatic leadership style. Charismatic leaders rely on their personality, their skills of charm,
passion, persuasion & inspirational and ultimately make their followers go follow these leaders.
Charismatic leaders have vision, often brings up ideas about possibilities for the future.
Charismatic leaders take high personal risk for the sake of organization. Research has also
suggested that during uncertain and turbulent times, charismatic leaders are especially
important because at times followers are uncertain about their own survival and prosperity, and
they experience anxiety and panic as a result, it is in these circumstances that charismatic
leaders can lead organizations into new areas, inspire followers, and sometimes obtain
extraordinary performance and results from an organization. It is the capability of attaining
psychological bonding with the followers that make charismatic leaders.
AURA OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP
Introduction & Need of Charismatic Leaders
There is always a defined way how the followers want the leaders to behave, similarly the
success of any leader depends on the extent to which they understand their followers and their
expectations. Histories have also witnessed the change in expectations of the followers and
eventually fall of leaders once the goals for which leaders are chosen are met. Moreover, on
the other hand leaders also expect their followers to act & react in a certain way and it is this
ability of the leader to mould the behaviour of the followers that determine the extent of their
success or failure. This thin line of mutual expectations is further governed by the situations in
which the leader & led exist. Where the norms and expectations may be outcome of formal
hierarchy in a system, there the same expectations of behaviour may originate from
conventional beliefs and practices followed from the past. But the times change and this sudden
twist in the situations that exist may abandon the leadership style of conventions and structure.
The dynamic environment may lead to obsoleting, degeneration and fading away of leadership
and create an atmosphere of uncertainty where the followers are surrounded with lack of trust,

absence of compassion, low confidence in their present and uncertainty for the future. The
situations also may so arise where the challenges ahead are unforeseen & never experienced
before and leave the followers in search of a new leader who can promise them certainty,
stability and hope and someone who can lead them into positivity and optimism.
To run an organization effectively, leaders must be able to strategize, set visions and priorities,
build relationships, influence others, and make things happen. But if we ask followers what
they need from leaders, the clear answer is trust, compassion, stability, and hope. When people
believe that a person has special gifts or power to lead them out of a crisis, the potential for
charismatic leadership is present. Moreover, traditional Style of leadership where conventional
leadership is practiced is not attractive to modern followers, rational leadership where the
bureaucracy govern the leader-follower relationship may not perceived as source of stability
and hope in those volatile circumstances as experienced by world in recent times in form of
global financial crises.
It is in these peculiar circumstances that new leader are born and unlike the structure or
convention, it is their charisma that makes them a source of hope for their followers and
charismatic leaders are born.
Traits of Charismatic Leaders
Much different from the other type of leaders, charismatic leaders are known for the charisma
they possess and this charisma is over and above the other qualities of leadership that elevate
them in the eyes of their followers.
According to Weber, Charisma is “a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of
which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman,
or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.” These qualities are such as not
accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary and on
the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader.
It is further believed that the legitimacy of charisma is based on two major conditions, first is
a need, aspiration, or goal among followers that remained unfulfilled by an existing social order
or in other words niche with unmet desires;second major condition that legitimises charisma is
presence of a leader to whom followers would submit based on their belief in his or her
possession of charisma—qualities that fulfilled their expectations. It may therefore be believed
that charismatic leaders are result of capability of their special powers to instil hope and

promise of a better future among the followers who are perplexed in their present circumstances
and anticipate to be led into a brighter tomorrow.
Subsequent to the presence of uncertainty what further becomes more important are those traits
of the charismatic leaders that make them to be perceived as panacea among the followers. It
is these unique abilities that makes them exceptional and extraordinary in the prevailing
situations and motivates the followers to accept them as leaders who are perceived to be sent
by divine itself.
Source of Aura
These abilities can be understood from a three point perspective i.e. Follower Centric, Situation
Centric and Internal Centric. Each of these points focuses on specific traits of charismatic
leaders on the basis of their impact on followers, situation or leaders themselves.
Follower centric is the knack of understanding the followers’ self-interests and their aspirations
and to infuse among them sense of support, stability and hope of healthier future and meet their
self -interests. It comprises of the abilities to inspire, ability to understand & relate with
followers, compassion, empathy, generosity, guidance & coaching and image of panacea by
nurturing hope among the followers. This also includes the capacity to recognizethe led and
develop in them sense of significance. Follower centric traits develop trust and psychological
bonding between the leader and the followers. Charismatic leaders are intellectual in
appreciating WIIFM (whats in it for me) of followers and are therefore perceived as
compassionate which endows them to direct the followers for extraordinary results.
Follower Centric
•Ability to inspire
•Ability to understand &
relate with followers
•Compassion & empathy
•Generosity
•Guidance & coaching and
image of panacea
•Hope
•Recognition & significance
•Relationship
•Trust
•WIIFM (Whats in it for me)
Situation Centric
•Ability to make difference
to individual’s life
•Challenges the status quo
•Common sense of purpose
•Create positive work
environment
•Engagement
•Openness to change or
flexibility
•Proactive
•Stability to followers
Internal Centric
•Communications, listening
& interactions
•Energetic & Enthusiastic
•Flexible
•Personality
•Proactive
•Self-confidence
•Selflessness
•self-monitoring
•Values
•Vision

Situation Centric refers to the ability to interpret, decode and grasp the present conditions which
are source of insecurity and volatility and the aptitude to challenge the status quo with
interventions that promise panacea. The aura of charismatic leaders is that of ability to make
difference to individual’s life as they challenges the status quo, they develop cohesiveness by
generating common sense of purpose and further create positive work environment by
enhancing engagement of followers to the task in hand. Their ability to take charge of situation
or circumstances is also defined by their openness to change or being flexible in dynamic
situations for the benefit of the followers. They are proactive and capable of developing an
environment that ensures stability to followers.
Internal Centric is not ego centric or self-centred, but these are the individuals who have an
internal locus of control. They believe that everything in the world has to do with them in a
way that they can control events that affect them; individuals with a high internal locus of
control believe that events in their life derive primarily from their own actions. Skills of
effective communications, listening & interactions, personality which is energetic
&enthusiastic, wisdom of flexibility and effective personality contributes further to their
charisma. They are proactive and not reactive and possess self-confidence, selflessness, self-
monitoring, values, vision and optimistic which make them exemplary in the eyes of their
followers.
This aura of charismatic leaders is thus an amalgamation of their traits of understanding the
followers, situations and abilities to monitor themselves that build that charisma of superhuman
and image of panacea in them.
Conclusion
Charismatic leaders therefore can be perceived as that cult of leaders who are source of trust,
compassion, stability &hope and believed to possess extraordinary abilities to provide remedy
in a distressful situation. However, it is important that this charisma is used for functional
outcomes and not unconstructive for which numerous examples are available in the annals of
history. When people believe that a person has special gifts or power to lead them out of a
crisis, the potential for charismatic leadership is present and it is this magical quality of relating
with followers and engaging them to move from uncertainty to certainty which separates them
from other leaders creating around them an aura of charismatic leadership.

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Paper was presented in International Conference on contemporary issues in leadership
and management at Jalandhar, Punjab, 18-19 January 2014
Authors
Kuldeep Chand Rojhe, Associate Professor, School of Business Management, Shoolini
University.
Email: kcrojhe@gmail.com
Address: School of Business Management, ShooliniUniversity, Anand Campus, The Mall
Solan. Himachal Pradesh India. PIN 173212.
Dr. Sulochna, Assistant Professor, School of Management, Bahra University.
Email: sulochnas@gmail.com
Address: School of Management, Bahra University, waknaghat Distt Solan. Himachal
Pradesh India. PIN173215