Management > “Charismatic leadership is always appropriate in organizations.” Do you agree or disagree? Support your position.

“Charismatic leadership is always appropriate in organizations.” Do you agree or disagree? Support your position.

We know that many different types of leadership exist. One of them is the charismatic leadership, where, according to the theory, followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors. This leadership is of course not always appropriate for organizations.

We know that there is another type of leadership besides the charismatic, and that is the visionary leadership. A visionary leader has the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, attractive vision of the future that grows out of and improves upon the present. Charismatic leaders share certain attributes that characterize and identify them. According to Robert House these are the following: extremely high self-confidence, dominance, and strong convictions. Warren Bennis added other competencies to this list, such as they have a compelling vision or sense of purpose, they could communicate that vision to their followers, and showed consistency and focus in pursuit of their vision. Charismatic leaders have an idealized goal that they want to achieve, and a strong commitment to that goal. They are perceived unconventional, self-confident, and are agents of change rather than managers of the status quo. Charismatic leaders have a strong influence on their followers, partly because they have the ability to state and communicate their vision. This vision provides a sense of community for followers. The leader expresses high expectations and shows confidence that the followers are able to attain them. Then the leader conveys a new set of values that followers can and will imitate. The charismatic leader makes self-sacrifices and engages in unusual behavior to demonstrate courage and confidence about the vision.

Charismatic leaders have an enormous effect on their followers. These leaders motivate their workers to exert high level of effort, whom in exchange express greater satisfaction. We have to realize though that charismatic leadership is not always needed to achieve high level of performance from employees. Charisma is most appropriate when the followers’ task has an ideological component to it, or when the environment has a high level of uncertainty or stress associated with it. This explains why charismatic leadership is not very common in the business world, but rather in politics or religion. When a business firm is facing an extremely competitive environment or goes through some major change, a charismatic leader can be a good motivator. They can show courage and discipline, and a strong conviction about their vision.

Visionary leaders have a different way of thinking about motivating employees. They have a vision that is clear and compelling, and offers an innovative way to improve. Their vision has an emotional charge that creates enthusiasm and energy in people. Employees of an organization must also believe in this vision, it should be perceived as challenging yet attainable. Visionary leaders can be found in companies that do some type of creative work, and want to encourage higher level of employee participation, and those who don’t need a rigid organizational structure in order to attain its goals.

There is no good or bad leadership style, they just not all applicable to the same organizations. Charismatic leaders are often perceived as change agents, and can engage in unconventional behavior that can be shocking or surprising. Very important that charismatic leaders are able to articulate their vision, they understand the followers’ needs, so they can act as motivating force.

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