Charisma Inspires, Admiration Expires

Charisma Inspires, Admiration Expires
Posted by Julie Henry on Wed, Apr 20, 2011 @ 01:26 PM

By Tricia Reese - Senior Facilitator with Bluepoint Leadership Development

There’s a social group that I’ve been a part of for over a decade, and I’ve recently stepped back to observe the group from the perspective of a leadership practitioner rather than as a participant. Viewing this group through a different lens, I was struck by the power secured by the group’s unofficially elected, highly charismatic leader. This triggered me to reflect on the charismatic leaders that I’ve encountered at the helm of both formal and informal social and organizational structures, and to consider the impact of these leaders.

The leader I’m referring to isn’t one who can be labeled by a style, model, or theory. It’s the leader who operates by charisma alone, personifying the dictionary definition of charisma - “a special personal quality or power of an individual making him capable of influencing or inspiring large numbers of people.”

Charismatic leaders are chock-full of self confidence and emotional intelligence. They are masters at reading verbal and non verbal cues then shading their actions and words to influence appropriately. They become attuned to individual’s passions and publicly proclaim their own passions. Charismatic leaders bestow acknowledgement heartily and frequently. As expert storytellers, their delivery is energetic and their message is full of conviction. These tools support the leader in connecting with others, resulting in the quick assemblage of followers and a distinct group identity. Charismatic leaders get peoples’ attention and generate energy that produces momentum. Followers become emotionally engaged and feel involved in something monumental.

Many times I’ve been captivated by such a leader, readily bequeathing them my admiration and witnessing others swell with admiration too. Regarding admiration, seventeenth century playwright Joseph Addison had an important observation: “Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its objects.”

Admiration has an expiration date.
When I reflect on my experience participating on teams led by a charismatic leader, my most vivid recollections are about the results (or lack of results) we produced. It seemed as though the team of followers was galvanized by the leader but failed to become mobilized. The team was roused but not motivated enough or directed toward action that could achieve substantial results. Is it possible that lackluster results were symptomatic of the team members’ waning admiration for their charismatic leader?

For a leader to produce long term, sustainable results, it is essential that team members’ admiration be prolonged, and this can be accomplished if admiration is coupled with or converted to respect for the leader. Wherein admiration holds the recipient in awe, respect embraces the beneficiary with honor. Respect garners loyalty and long term commitment, and once an individual adopts the mindset of long term commitment, they’re willing to donate discretionary effort to the cause.

Respect is imbedded in integrity, and integrity is the cornerstone of successful leadership. Integrity encompasses many elements, but perhaps the most important is trust. Research indicates that these three leadership behaviors have been shown to build trust:
Consistency – Leaders must follow through and do what they say they’re going to do.
Caring – Leaders need to show that there is genuine concern for the needs of employees.
Competence – People like to work with leaders who can demonstrate their skill and knowledge.

If an individual with such magnetic personality makes people feel good, builds connections, and forms an entourage, have they automatically established the trust that would earn them respect? As a means to answer this, I offer some of the actions I’ve repeatedly experienced in the presence of charismatic leaders:
The leader focused only on making people feel great in the moment rather than building greatness in others for the future.
The leader dispensed repeated recognition that felt mechanical and misplaced.
The leader wore a facade rather than showing others his or her authentic self.
The leader implied rather than demonstrated that they had capability or skill.
The leader spent excessive time promising something big that never materialized.

When measuring these actions against the three trust building behaviors, trust falls short. There are hints of caring behaviors and a scant display of competency and consistency. The point here is not to imply that charismatic leaders lack integrity. Instead, it’s that perhaps in their zeal to engage followers, these well-intentioned leaders misallocate their time, spending an excess on exhibition, neglecting to build trust, and ultimately sacrificing results.

To leaders who use charisma as their primary lever, on behalf of many of your current or future followers, my message to you is this. You will win my admiration, but don’t bask in that for too long. Promptly redistribute your focus from the window dressing to employing trust-building behaviors. I have a plethora of people and things vying to secure my attention. Trust will keep me tethered to you. Earn that and you’ll be abundantly rewarded.

Tricia Reese is a Senior Facilitator with Bluepoint Leadership Development and welcomes your comments. She can be reached at triciareese@bluepointleadership.com


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