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Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Successful leaders
can draw upon different
types of charismaSuccessful executives are often asked about the traits of effective leaders. Along with honesty and integrity, executives often point to charisma as a desirable trait. Often, however, the term is not fully explained and so many people do not have a clear understanding of charismatic leadership.
There are three uses of the term "charisma." The first, and probably the most common, refers to exciting personalities who seem to fill the room once they come in the door. Many charismatic leaders have the talent of making any one individual feel as if he or she is the center of the world. Further, charismatic leaders generate enthusiasm for their work, and others adopt this positive attitude. Positive attention from charismatic leaders is a reward, and so people put forth their best efforts to please the leaders.
A second type of charisma refers to leaders who are successful in communicating a vision about the future. They are successful when telling others that if they invest their resources and support the leader's vision, everyone will benefit. Charismatic leaders of this second type are not necessarily exciting and vibrant people. Instead of these qualities, they often communicate a quiet confidence about their abilities and also demonstrate competencies necessary to achieve their goals. The classic example of this type of leadership is Bill Gates. He may not have an exciting and effervescent personality, but people who invested in his early vision about the potential of personal computers are now very wealthy.
Some leaders combine these two types of charisma: They are awe-inspiring people who are "larger than life," and they communicate a clear vision of what the future holds if their leadership is accepted. My father served under Gen. George Patton during World War II. Gen. Patton was certainly a colorful and domineering personality, but he also could persuade others to accept his vision. He was able to communicate to soldiers that if they followed him, they would return to their families as victors.
A third type of charisma refers to leaders who are very successful at meeting expectations of followers. In a nonprofit organization, people often feel that leaders should be good public speakers, should have many community contacts, and be good at fund raising. If leaders meet these expectations through effective work in their day-to-day behaviors, then they possess this third type of charisma. Different cultures have different expectations of leaders, and so a charismatic leader in one country may not have this reputation in another. In many Asian countries, leaders are expected to be very paternalistic and to take a personal interest in the lives of their employees. For example, if employees are unmarried, leaders can introduce people to potential romantic partners. This happens infrequently in the United States where expectations about leaders do not include this level of involvement in employees' personal lives.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of
human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount
of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and
it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as
people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration,
University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the
College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu