The interactive effects of belongingness and charisma on helping and compliance

This study tests the main and interactive effects of belongingness and perceived charismatic leadership on 2 forms of organizational citizenship behavior (helping and compliance). In line with expectations, a study of 115 manager-subordinate dyads demonstrates that employees show more helping (manager rated) when they have a stronger sense of belongingness at work and more helping as well as compliance when they perceive their leader to be more charismatic (subordinate rated). Belongingness partially mediates the relationship between charisma and helping. Also, as hypothesized, belongingness and charisma have interactive effects on employees' helping and compliance. The impact of perceived charisma on these behaviors is stronger for employees with a low sense of belongingness at work than for individuals with a higher sense of belongingness.     

Centrality and charisma: comparing how leader networks and attributions affect team performance

When leaders interact in teams with their subordinates, they build social capital that can have positive effects on team performance. Does this social capital affect team performance because subordinates come to see the leader as charismatic? We answered this question by examining 2 models. First, we tested the charisma-to-centrality model according to which the leader's charisma facilitates the occupation of a central position in the informal advice network. From this central position, the leader positively influences team performance. Second, we examined the centrality-to-charisma model according to which charisma is attributed to those leaders who are socially active in terms of giving and receiving advice. Attributed charisma facilitates increased team performance. We tested these 2 models in 2 different studies. In the first study, based on time-separated, multisource data emanating from members of 56 work teams, we found support for the centrality-to-charisma model. Formal leaders who were central within team advice networks were seen as charismatic by subordinates, and this charisma was associated with high team performance. To clarify how leader network centrality affected the emergence of charismatic leadership, we designed Study 2 in which, for 79 student teams, we measured leader networking activity and leader charisma at 2 different points in time and related these variables to team performance measured at a third point in time. On the basis of this temporally separated data set, we again found support for the centrality-to-charisma model.     

Charismatic Leadership and Cooperation in Social Dilemmas: A Matter of Transforming Motives?1

The present experiment examined whether leaders high in charisma are able to motivate decision‐makers to cooperate more in a public goods dilemma. On the basis of charismatic leadership theories, it was expected that a charismatic leader would be able to transform people's motives beyond self‐interest, consequently increasing cooperation. This transformation effect was expected to occur among individuals aimed at maximizing their own self‐interest (i.e., pro‐selfs), but not among those aimed at maximizing joint or collective outcomes (i.e., pro‐socials). Furthermore, leader's charisma was experimentally manipulated by means of describing the leader as either self‐sacrificing or benefiting. The results revealed that self‐sacrificing leaders, contrary to benefiting leaders, were perceived as more charismatic and were able to motivate decision‐makers to cooperate more. The latter effect appeared to be more pronounced among pro‐selfs rather than pro‐socials, as such supporting the transformational idea of charismatic leaders. Further results showed that this behavioral effect was mediated by perceptions of legitimacy. The meaning and conception of charismatic leadership in decision‐making situations are discussed by using insights from the social dilemma and charismatic leadership literature.     

VISIONARY COMMUNICATION QUALITIES AS MEDIATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND ATTRIBUTIONS OF LEADER CHARISMA

This study seeks to answer questions that have been raised regarding the precise nature of the relationship between narcissism and charismatic leadership. Specifically, we test a model that portrays the roles of socialized vision and visionary boldness as mediators in the relationship between narcissism and attributions of leader charisma. Our findings suggest that narcissism is positively related to vision boldness but negatively related to socialized vision. In turn, both aspects of vision are positively associated with attributions of leader charisma. These results add clarity to the literature regarding the personal basis of charismatic leadership by providing insight into how aspects of visionary communication may mediate the indirect relationship between narcissism and attributions of charismatic leadership.     

The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry by Harry Stack Sullivan

Charismatic relationships occur frequently in treatment of substance abusers because patients are regressed and have temporary needs for inspiration and guidance. The therapist who assesses patients' needs for charisma in the pregroup evaluation can avoid the twin pitfalls of placing patients in groups with insufficient or excessive charismatic leadership. Too little charismatic leadership is ineffective; patients remain regressed and the group does not come together. Too much charismatic leadership stifles patients' growth. As patients develop control over their addictive behavior, the need for charisma diminishes. A sensitive leader can recognize this from changes in patients' attitudes toward their addictions and from indicators of autonomy in the group process. The leader can then accept the need for adjustments in leadership style to avoid hindering patients' growth.     

The effect of leader outcomes on influence, attributions, and perceptions of charisma.

This study addressed how various outcomes to a leader might influence not only how that leader is perceived but also the degree of influence that leader might subsequently obtain. On the basis of recent charismatic leadership theories, it was expected that leaders who appeared willing to endure hardship for the expression of their beliefs would be perceived differently than leaders who appeared to benefit in some way. The relationship between outcomes and subsequent leader influence was confirmed. Sacrificing resulted in greater influence, whereas benefiting reduced it. This relationship was mediated by attributions made about leader motives. The relationship between outcomes and influence was also mediated by perceptions of charisma.     

Charisma attribution during organizational change: the importance of followers' emotions and concern for well‐being

Taking a follower‐centric perspective, we examined how charisma attribution to a change leader was influenced by the well‐being concerns and emotions of organizational members. We conducted three studies to examine how college business students and Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) students responded to a grading policy reform aimed at reducing grade inflation. We found that emotions and well‐being concerns such as school year and grade point average influenced charisma attribution by the undergraduate students and that there was a greater divergence of emotional reactions and charisma attribution among undergraduate students than among the executive MBAs. Future directions for follower‐centric leadership research on charismatic leadership are discussed.     

Attribution of Influence and Charisma to the Leader: The Romance of Leadership Revisited1

This study examined the impact of performance outcomes, leadership type, leader behaviors, and observers' general belief in the importance of leadership on attributions of influence and charisma to a leader. Subjects (N= 549) read 24 versions of an organizational vignette representing all possible combinations of two performance levels, two leadership roles, and six leader behavior conditions, and were asked to evaluate the leader's level of causal influence and charisma. Results supported and extended Meindl's (1990) claim that observers' tendency to romanticize the role of a specific leader is affected by the group performance outcomes and by observers' general beliefs in the importance of leadership in organizations. The results further suggested that more influence may be attributed to a prototypical leadership role than to a less prototypical role. However, information about leader behaviors did not affect the attributions of influence and charisma to the leader. These results are discussed with reference to Conger and Kanungo's (1987) attributional theory of charismatic leadership and leadership categorization theory (Lord, 1985).     

Creating charisma online: the role of digital presence in the formation of religious identity

This article investigates the construction and transmission of charisma through online channels and its role in the formation of religious identities. Mindful of Max Weber’s observation that charisma inhabits the relationship between a leader and his/her followers, I argue for a critical reappraisal of the theoretical model in the light of the ubiquity in the twenty-first century of new, virtual forms of social encounter. I focus my analysis on the Christian creationist movement in the United States and particularly on an influential leader called Ken Ham. Using digital ethnographic methods, I show how Ham constructs charisma online and how a virtual community forms itself around his charismatic claims. I illustrate how this virtual community intersects with offline worlds and suggest that the theme park attractions that Ham’s organisation runs (Creation Museum, Ark Encounter) are imbued with deflected charisma by virtue of their association with his online avatar.     

Zorba The Buddha: Capitalism,Charisma and the Cult of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

This essay suggests a new way of understanding the notorious Indian guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, by examining the intimate relationship between his religious teachings and his business practices. Rajneesh's ideal was in fact that of ‘Zorba the Buddha’, the perfect synthesis of the spiritual and material, the religious and capitalist impulses. After analysing and criticizing the classical Weberian concept of ‘charisma’, this paper argues that charismatic authority is by no means incompatible with bureaucratic organization or rational business practices. On the contrary, not only can charismatic authority be combined with a complex bureaucratic organization, but it can also be transformed into a kind of ‘commodity’ which is bought and sold on the consumer market. Rather than a ‘routinization of charisma’ what we find in the Rajneesh movement is a kind of ‘commodification’ and ‘commercialization’ of charisma. Bhagwan offered (and sold) his followers the promise of the same charismatic authority and divine freedom which he himself enjoyed (though, in practice, this authority could never actually be attained by any of his followers). Moreover, charismatic authority became the basis for a new kind of bureaucratic organization in Rajneesh's world-wide network of commercial enterprises—an organization characterized by a high degree of fluidity and flexibility, able to adapt itself rapidly to meet the changing demands of its consumer market.     

Distinguishing Between the Facilitating and the Self-Serving Charismatic Group Leader

Winnicott informed us about the components of the facilitating environment. Kohut warned us to differentiate between the charismatic leader, who looks for enfeebled followers to further his own grandiose ambitions, and the idealizable leader whose actions are based on a sense of values. Findings from attachment theory and neurobiology indicate how specific developmental issues make for a perfect fit between the self-serving charismatic leader and those who have been deprived of attuned interactive regulation and secure attachment in early childhood. This article attempts to integrate the above ideas for application to group dynamics in therapeutic, supervisory, training, and institutional groups.     

Stirring the hearts of followers: charismatic leadership as the transferal of affect

In 2 studies, the authors found that leader charisma was positively associated with followers' positive affect and negatively associated with followers' negative affect. The authors hypothesized that leaders' positive affect, positive expression, and aroused behavior will mediate these relationships. The results of their lab study suggest that leaders' positive expression and aroused behavior mediated these relationships. A field study showed that firefighters under the command of a charismatic officer were happier than those under the command of a non-charismatic officer and that these relationships were mediated by the leader's positive affect and a tendency to express positivity.     

How do leaders promote cooperation? The effects of charisma and procedural fairness

The present research examined the effect of leaders' procedural fairness and perceived charisma on an important organizational process: cooperation. Both charisma and procedural fairness were predicted to have a positive effect on cooperation, and procedural fairness and charisma were predicted to interact such that their effects are stronger alone than in conjunction. Results from a scenario experiment, a cross-sectional survey, and a laboratory experiment supported these predictions. Results from the laboratory study also showed that the interactive effect of leader charisma and procedural fairness on cooperation was mediated by their interactive effect on the sense of group belongingness. It is concluded that leader charisma and procedural fairness may engender cooperation because they appeal to relational concerns.     

Mourning the Dead,Following the Living

In this paper I take up the ambivalence we rightly feel toward leaders by examining the relationship between charismatic authority and moral exemplarity. Drawing on the social theory of Max Weber, and in dialogue with a case study of an anti‐militarism movement called the SOA (School of Americas) Watch, I demonstrate that through a “politics of sacrifice” leaders synchronize their own stories with those of communally recognized exemplars and act in ways that evidence a solidarity in the suffering of those exemplars thereby generating their charismatic authority. While performing crucial strategic, motivational, and pedagogical roles, this charisma also introduces problematic temptations to authoritarianism that short‐circuit the practical reasoning that exemplars supposedly help to form. In the end this leaves our sense of ambivalence intact. What is needed, I argue, are practices of critique that reopen the distance between leader and follower and thus allow the possibility of practical reason.     

Personality and Charismatic Leadership in Context: The Moderating Role of Situational Stress

We adopt an interactionist perspective and extend previous work on personality and charismatic leadership by considering the relationship between them across contexts. Based on Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory, we expected the relationships between approach‐oriented dispositions and charisma to diminish under conditions of high workload‐induced stress. In a large‐scale lab study with 201 groups (Study 1, N = 721 participants), we manipulated conditions of stress and tested the interaction of stress with leaders’ extraversion and openness to experience in predicting their charismatic behaviors. We then tested, in a field study of 71 executives (Study 2, N = 256 participants), the interaction of employees’ reported stress with leaders’ stimulation values in predicting their charismatic behavior. In support of our hypotheses, the relationships between approach‐oriented dispositions and charisma were significantly weaker when stress was high. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this finding, in particular given that it is in stressful conditions under which charismatic leadership is said to be most important.     

Explaining Leader Well-Being in the Workplace from Leaders’ Identity,Reputation, and Charisma

Informed by evolutionary leadership theory, the current study investigates two forms of leader well-being in the workplace as explained by leaders’ self-perceived identity (i.e., self-ratings of dark personality), follower-judged reputation (i.e., subordinate-ratings of leaders' dark personality), and attributed charisma. Results, based on data from 386 followers matched with 268 leaders, linked both a Dark Triad identity and a Dark Triad reputation to less perceived social worth and job satisfaction among leaders. Additional results found leader charisma surpassed a Dark Triad identity and reputation as an explanatory factor, a finding we attribute to the salience and observability of charisma to followers. Lastly, our results also indicate a leader identity × charisma interaction. The pattern of moderation suggests followers respond to leader charisma in ways that encourage a leader and thereby buffer the otherwise inimical consequences of a Dark Triad identity. Overall, our research suggests that leaders’ subjective quality of work life is shaped by an interplay between internal propensity and acclaim from followers in the form of attributed charisma. Implications for organizations and evolutionary leadership theory are discussed.     

When controversial leaders with charisma are effective: the influence of terror on the need for vision and impact of mixed attitudinal messages

We investigated the idea that a charismatic leader with a controversial message is most likely to persuade people in times of terror, because in those times people have a high need for vision, and vision is what a charismatic leader provides. In addition, we argued that the leader's message should contain a pro‐attitudinal position as well, as this makes the counter‐attitudinal message more palatable. In line with our hypotheses, we found in Experiment 1 that thinking about terrorism increases people's need for vision. Experiment 2 revealed that only when people have a high need for vision they will be influenced by a controversial charismatic leader. Experiment 3 showed that existential threats also directly increase the influence of a controversial charismatic leader. Further, this was especially so when the charismatic leader was both attractive and communicated his message in a charismatic way. Finally, Experiment 4 revealed that after thinking about their own death or about terrorist attacks, people were most likely to be persuaded by a controversial charismatic leader whose counter‐attitudinal message also contained pro‐attitudinal statements. Together, this research suggests that in times of terror people's need for vision increases, which opens them up to a counter‐attitudinal message of a charismatic leader as long as this message also includes some pro‐attitudinal statements. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EFFECTS OF CHARISMATIC INFLUENCE TRAINING ON ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR, AND PERFORMANCE

This study investigated the effectiveness of training in 2 components of charisma (charismatic communication style and visionary content). Forty-one business students received charismatic influence training, presentation skills training, or no training. All participants prepared and gave a speech. Groups of 2-3 students ( N = 102) watched 1 of the videotaped speeches and then performed a task based on the speech instructions. Charismatic influence trainees performed better on a declarative knowledge test and exhibited more charismatic behaviors than those in the other conditions. In addition, participants who viewed a charismatic influence trainee performed best.     

An investigation of salespeople’s nonverbal behaviors and their effect on charismatic appearance and favorable consumer responses

The concept of charisma has gained considerable interest among social scientists in multiple disciplines. Nevertheless, research on charisma in the marketing field is scarce, and little is known about which specific nonverbal behaviors predict perceived charisma and lead to positive consumer responses. Therefore, the aim of this article is to identify nonverbal behaviors that lead to a salesperson’s perceived charisma in a personal selling context by means of high-precision, time-locked coding. This research explores aspects of body language that differentiate salespeople from each other and investigates whether such differences are antecedents of perceived charisma. The findings indicate that certain arm actions, arm postures, and action functions have a significant effect on charismatic appearance and can in turn produce favorable attitudes toward the salesperson.