The effects of crisis,cynicism about change,and value congruence on perceptions of authentic leadership and attributed charisma in the 2008 presidential election

The current study examines leadership in the context of the 2008 presidential election. Longitudinal data were collected across three regions of the United States to yield 414 responses. Perceptions of crisis were positively related to attributed charisma but not perceptions of authentic leadership. Value congruence moderated the relationship between cynicism and attributed charisma for Obama (but not for McCain) and between cynicism and perceptions of authentic leadership for McCain (but not for Obama). Attributed charisma was found to have augmenting effects over authenticity in predicting voting behavior. The contributions made to the charismatic, authentic, and crisis leadership literatures are discussed and directions for future research presented.     

The enduring allure of charisma: How Barack Obama won the historic 2008 presidential election

We apply charismatic leadership theory to the historic 2008 United States presidential election, in hopes of inspiring dialogue around how leadership theory can inform the critical process of evaluating and electing public leaders. While numerous leadership theories are relevant to understanding the 2008 election, charismatic leadership theory highlights aspects of the leader, followers, and the unfolding economic crisis that are particularly relevant in helping us to understand how a relatively inexperienced political outsider ascended to the US Presidency. Given the potential perils and challenges newly elected President Barack Obama faces in the months and years ahead, we also suggest four core strategies rooted in charismatic leadership theory that may help him capitalize on his early charismatic appeal, as well as avoid the pitfalls of charisma that have plagued some of his predecessors.     

American presidential Machiavellianism: Implications for charismatic leadership and rated performance

The purpose of this investigation was to study the relationships among American presidential Machiavellianism, charismatic leadership, and rated performance. Using historiometric methodology, raters assessed Machiavellianism in unidentified profiles describing 39 American presidents (Washington to Reagan). Archival sources were used for two close and two distant presidential charismatic leadership measures, two performance assessments, and four control variables. Hierarchical regression analyses confirmed the predictions that presidential Machiavellianism would be positively connected with charismatic leadership and rated performance. The findings are explained in terms of the similar features of Machiavellianism and charismatic leadership including high levels of expressive behavioral activity, self-confidence, emotional regulation, and the desire to influence others. Also, the idea that personalized and socialized charismatic leadership are not mutually exclusive concepts is supported.     

The role of personal values in the charismatic leadership of corporate managers: A model and preliminary field study

This study used multi-source field data collected in five organizations to examine linkages among managers' personal value system (i.e., intensity of openness to change, traditional, collectivistic work, self-transcendent, and self-enhancement values), charismatic leadership of managers, and three outcome measures. Two-hundred and eighteen managers provided self-reports of their personal values and ratings of their followers' extra effort and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Nine-hundred and forty-five subordinates rated the focal managers' charismatic leadership. Superiors of the focal managers provided ratings of managerial performance 2 months after collecting the managers' and subordinates' ratings. Results indicated that traditional, collectivistic work, self-transcendent, and self-enhancement values related positively to charismatic leadership, which predicted managerial performance and followers' extra effort and OCB. Managerial performance moderated the relationships between leaders' values, charismatic leadership, and followers' outcomes.     

Charisma under crisis revisited: Presidential leadership,perceived leader effectiveness,and contextual influences

This study investigates the influence of crisis on leader use of charismatic rhetoric. We examine leader charismatic rhetoric across two major crises, longitudinally exploring potential long-term influences of charismatic rhetoric on perceptions of leader effectiveness. Using an inductive approach to theory generation, we draw upon findings from the data analysis of eight charismatic rhetoric constructs (collective focus, temporal orientation, followers' worth, similarity to followers, values and moral justifications, tangibility, action, and adversity) to advance propositions regarding potential time and ceiling effects of charismatic rhetorical leadership on followers. Additionally, we discuss the relationships between characteristics of the crisis and the use of charismatic rhetorical leadership. In doing so, we identify potential boundary conditions for the use of charismatic rhetoric (as an element of charismatic leadership) within the context of different crises.     

Self-sacrificial behavior in crisis situations: The competing roles of behavioral and situational factors

As charismatic and transformational leadership theories have broadened their perspective to include situational factors (i.e., crisis), it is important to understand how specific leader behaviors might interact with such situations. Recently, Choi and Mai-Dalton [Leadersh. Q. 10 (1999) 397; Leadersh. Q. 9 (1998) 475] have given both empirical and theoretical attention to the behavior of self-sacrifice, which is an important facet of both Transformational [Organ. Dyn. 13 (1985) 26] and Charismatic Leadership Theories [Acad. Manage. Rev. 12 (1987) 637; House, R. J. (1977). A 1976 theory of charismatic leadership. In J. G. Hunt & L. L. Larson (Eds.), Leadership: The cutting edge (pp. 189–207). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press]. The present experimental study investigates the effects of self-sacrificial behavior, along with the effects of situational crisis on followers' perceptions of their leader's charisma and organizational commitment. Leaders are perceived particularly well when exhibiting self-sacrificial behavior in times of crisis.     

Beneath the mask:: Examining the relationship of self-presentation attributes and impression management to charismatic leadership

We tested several hypotheses derived from Gardner and Avolio's [Acad. Manage. Rev. 23 (1998) 32.] self-presentational theory of charismatic leadership. We collected multisource field data in an information technology (IT) consulting firm and examined linkages among managers' self-system attributes (i.e., desired charismatic identity, self-monitoring), pro-social and self-serving impression management of managers, charismatic leadership of managers, and two measures of performance. Eighty-three managers provided self-reports of self-system attributes. Six months later, 249 subordinates rated the focal managers' impression management and charismatic leadership styles. Superiors of the focal managers provided performance ratings 7 months after collecting the subordinate ratings. Results indicated that complexity of desired charismatic identity was positively related to self-monitoring. Self-monitoring was negatively related to ratings of pro-social impression management and positively related to ratings of self-serving impression management. Pro-social impression management related positively to charismatic leadership, which predicted managerial and unit performance.     

What have you done for me lately? Charisma attenuates the decline in U.S. presidential approval over time

Using archival data for a sample of U.S. presidents, evidence was found for a honeymoon and hangover effect in approval ratings over time. That is, presidential approval tended to be high early in the president's term and decrease over time. The effect of time on approval persisted even when military and economic indicators were included as predictors of presidential approval. More importantly, the effect of time on approval was moderated by charisma, such that charismatic leaders better maintained their approval rating over time. We take this as evidence that the honeymoon/hangover effect on presidential approval is substantively meaningful from a psychological perspective.     

Charismatic leadership in resistance to change

In Weber's writing and in leadership theory, charismatic leadership is associated with social change. However, the importance and desirability of charismatic leaders in change processes can be questioned, as well as the notion that charismatic leaders are invariably proponents of change. There are documented cases of charismatic leaders in religious and political contexts who have opposed ongoing change and proposed restoring tradition. This paper reports on two historical, qualitative case studies of charismatic leadership in an organizational setting, studies that demonstrate that charismatic leadership can also act in resistance to change and in defense of the status quo. The analysis indicates that the influence processes involved are basically the same as in charismatic leadership in general. It suggests that impending change can challenge the interests and values of established groups and thus create a crisis that stimulates the formation of charisma in opposition to change.     

Creating clover

This study empirically examines how different types of leadership behaviour affect perceived job performance of leaders in different cultures, specifically comparing the U.S. and four Confucian Asian countries. Using a large archival database of a multisource feedback instrument assessing leadership behaviours and overall perceived job performance of managers in these countries, this study analyses the influence of leadership behaviours on perceived job performance. The results suggest that charismatic and directive leadership behaviours are positively related to perceived job performance of leaders in all countries studied, whereas the influence of supportive leadership behaviour is not as strong as charismatic and directive leadership behaviours. Surprisingly, participative leadership behaviour is not associated with perceived job performance of leaders in the countries studied except for Japan. Research implications and limitations are discussed.     

Dynamics of charismatic leadership: a process theory,simulation model,and tests

The recently revived interest in charisma as an element of transformational leadership has led students of organizational behavior and management to study the psychological bases of this phenomenon. By integrating these studies with the traditional sociological approach to charisma, we present a more comprehensive account of the process of charismatic leadership. This newly formulated theory of charismatic leadership dynamics was transposed into a simulation model with which to test its empirical adequacy. Six clearly charismatic leaders of the past were then chosen to test the model's ability to reproduce the time series of data found in documented evidence. Sixteen data sets relevant to these leaders' careers were successfully reproduced, averaging 76.7% of the variance in the data and attesting to the empirical adequacy of the theoretical integration.     

Was Gandhi “charismatic”? Exploring the rhetorical leadership of Mahatma Gandhi

This study explores a deceptively simple question: was Gandhi a “charismatic” leader? We compare Gandhi's rhetorical leadership to social movement leaders and charismatic U.S. presidents to examine whether any consistencies in charismatic rhetoric emerge across historical and cultural contexts. Our findings indicate that charismatic themes of articulating the intolerable nature of the present and appealing to values and moral justifications emerged in similar levels across all three samples. In addition, Gandhi's speeches contained comparable levels of language that emphasized his similarity to followers, followers’ worth, links between the past and future, and abstract, intangible themes as compared to other leaders. In contrast, themes of collective focus and active, aggressive speech varied significantly across the three samples. Recognizing that content analysis should be utilized with caution across cultural settings, we suggest a number of possible explanations for Gandhi's pervasive appeal and implications for future research into the universality of visionary rhetoric.     

Charismatic leadership and task feedback: A laboratory study of their effects on self-efficacy and task performance

This article examines the interactive effects of two different leadership styles (charismatic and noncharismatic) and three types of task feedback (internal, external, and no feedback) on individuals' self-efficacy and performance quality over four trials of a manufacturing task. Ninety-nine graduate students manufactured electrical wiring harnesses under the direction of either a charismatic or noncharismatic leader (an experimental confederate). Participants exposed to the charismatic leader had similar task performance regardless of task feedback condition, while participants exposed to the noncharismatic leader differed in their task performance depending on whether or not they received task feedback. Self-efficacy mediated the effect of task feedback and its interaction with charismatic leadership on performance. Explanations and implications of the results are discussed.     

Transformational/charismatic leadership's tranformation of the field: An historical essay

I use a framework by Reichers and Schneider (1990) to explore the evolution of leadership research across time. This analysis leads to development of the doom and gloom arguments about the field in the 1970s and early 1980s. Transformational and charismatic leadership is discussed as it takes off following the doom and gloom period. That takeoff is followed by revisiting the shift to transformational/charismatic leadership and considering why some of the leading and next-generation scholars set off in this new direction. I then link transformational/charismatic leadership with more traditional approaches and finish with conclusions concerning forces for change, assessing where the leadership field is currently, and providing a future assessment with some caveats. I conclude that a crucial contribution of transformational/charismatic leadership has been in terms of its rejuvenation of the leadership field, regardless of whatever content contributions it has made. This rejuvenation came about because of what most would consider a paradigm shift that has attracted numerous new scholars and moved the field as a whole out of its doldrums.     

Predicting followers' preferences for charismatic leadership: the influence of follower values and personality

Existing research on charismatic leadership focuses primarily on the traits and behaviors of charismatic leaders and the effects of charismatic leaders on their followers. One issue that has been neglected, and others, is the disposition of the followers who form charismatic relationships with their leaders. To investigate this topic, we conducted a laboratory study in which participants' values and personality dimensions were used to predict participants' preferences for charismatic leadership vs. two other leadership styles: relationship-oriented and task-oriented leadership. The results showed that values and personality were useful in predicting leadership preferences. More research is needed to gain further insights into the active role of followers in the formation of charismatic relationships.     

Effect of charismatic signaling in social media settings: Evidence from TED and Twitter

Informal leaders in social media currently characterize a large part of political and economic communication on various challenges societies face, whether localized or transborder (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, global warming). Scholars have theorized that charismatic signaling is effective in informal leadership settings; yet empirical evidence remains scarce in understanding a ubiquitous phenomenon that marks our times and plays an important role in shaping public opinion. In this article, we used two unique data sets extracted from social media to investigate the success of charisma for informal leaders, leaders who signal their beliefs and preferences to others but having no formal authority over them. Social media offers us a standardized medium as well as a natural environment to test our predictions. Using a sample of TED talks and tweets, we coded for objective markers of charisma and found that using more verbal charismatic signals predicted (a) higher views for TED talks as well as higher ratings for the extent to which the talk was found to be inspiring—beyond attractiveness and nonverbal behavior—and (b) more retweets. We discuss the implications of such results for both theory and practice in the media age.     

The effect of charismatic leaders on followers’ memory,error detection,persuasion and prosocial behavior: A cognitive science approach

Adopting a cognitive and follower-centric approach to charismatic leadership, we hypothesized that followers show lower levels of cognitive effort, reflected in superficial processing of factually correct information when listening to and viewing a charismatic leader. We conducted two experiments, using a 2 (charismatic versus neutral) × 2 (female versus male leader) between-subjects design and videos of trained actors delivering a speech. We examined the effects of leader charisma on (1a) followers’ ability to detect factually false information, (1b) accuracy to remember information from the leader (study 1, N = 100), (2a) the persuasiveness of factual messages, (2b) followers’ prosocial behavior and (2c) the mediating effect of the leader’s persuasiveness on followers’ prosocial behavior (study 2, N = 140). We did not find support for the effect of leader charisma on detecting false information, the persuasiveness of messages, or increased prosocial behavior among followers. We found an effect of leader charisma on memory. Participants recognized fewer messages in the charismatic compared to the neutral leader conditions. Exploratory analyses provided mixed results for an interaction effect of leader charisma and sex on detecting and remembering false information. Our studies offer first insights into the cognitive outcomes of the charismatic signaling process.     

Taming and promoting charisma to change organizations

Taking a sociological perspective on the accumulated literature on charisma reveals how theories and ways of operationalizing charisma depart from Weber's original conception. These departures tend to blur the distinctiveness of the charismatic form of leadership by ignoring or downplaying integral aspects of charisma, especially the precipitating crisis, the radical vision, and subsequent systemic change.