Issues in Modern Charismatic Leadership - Management First Articles Issues in Modern Charismatic Leadership Scholars and philosophers have long recognized the phenomena of charismatic leadership and made attempts to divine its source and define its character. Max Weber elaborated on this notion adding self-making as an essential component of charismatic leadership. Charismatic leaders appoint themselves to power believing it to be their destiny, and attract exuberant and enthusiastic cadres of willing followers. Charismatic leaders also tend to arise in times of social crisis when their associations with newness and antiestablishment values evoke devotional, obedient and often passionate psychological responses in followers.
Charisma wields an authority derived from belief only, and it is as radical as it is personal.
More recent research into the phenomenon of charismatic leadership has downplayed its mystical and revolutionary qualities in favour of its process in organizational contexts. Theories of leadership often classify the nature of the role as either transactional, in which the leader motivates by establishing and clarifying roles, or transformational, which is more inspirational in character, leading followers to work beyond self-interest and toward the greater good. What separates charismatic leadership from leadership in general are attributes such as an overriding sense of mission, complete self-confidence, resistance to and a plan for escape from the status quo and setting a strong personal example. The charismatic leader must be able to impress upon followers the truth of his vision and this is often played out in highly theatrical ways. Charisma invariably implies a level of social danger for followers who accept as truth the self-belief of an irrational or delusional leader.