Leadership as Situations Change

Factor Model Dimensions and Charismatic Leadership Characteristics for 125 Corporate CEOs and Presidents

Source: D. Nilsen, “Using Self and Observers’ Ratings for Personality to Predict Leadership Performance,” unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1995.

change. Certain leaders may get higher transformational leadership scores as a result of a training program; but do they actually heighten followers’ emotional levels, get followers to exert extra effort, and as a result achieve greater organizational change or performance after the program? Given what we know about individual differences and leadership skills training, it seems likely that a leader’s personality will also play a major role in determining whether he or she will benefit from such training.

Several other important comments about the theory of transformational and transactional leadership are worth noting. First, and perhaps most important, this theory has generated a considerable amount of interest among leadership researchers. This research has helped leadership practitioners better understand the leader, follower, and situational components of charismatic or transformational leadership, whether transformational leaders are born or made, and so forth. Nevertheless, this approach to leadership may be more a reflection of socially desirable leadership behaviors than the full range of skills needed by leaders. For example, it seems likely that business leaders wanting to drive organizational change or performance need to have a good understanding of the industry, business operations, market trends, finance, strategy, and technical or functional knowledge; they also need to effectively cope with stress, negotiate contracts with vendors, demonstrate good planning skills, and develop and monitor key metrics. Yet none of these attributes and skills is measured directly by the MLQ. This leads us to another point, which is that a primary problem with this theory is that there is only one way to be an effective leader, and that is by demonstrating transformational leadership skills. The contingency theories of leadership no longer matter, and situational or follower factors have little impact on leadership effectiveness. In all likelihood, leaders probably need to do more than just exhibit transformational leadership skills if they wish to achieve greater organizational change and performance.

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Summary

This chapter has reviewed two major approaches to organizational change. Although independent lines of research were used to develop the rational and emotional approaches to change, in reality these approaches have several important similarities. With the rational approach, leaders increase follower dissatisfaction by pointing out problems with the status quo, systematically identifying areas of needed change, developing a vision of the future, and developing and implementing a change plan. In the emotional approach, leaders develop and articulate a vision of the future, heighten the emotions of followers, and empower followers to act on their vision. Charismatic leaders are also more likely to emerge during times of uncertainty or crisis, and may actually manufacture a crisis to improve the odds that followers will become committed to their vision of the future. The rational approach puts more emphasis on analytic, planning, and management skills, whereas the emotional approach puts more emphasis on leadership skills, leader–follower relationships, and the presence of a crisis to drive organizational change. This chapter also described the steps leadership practitioners must take if they wish to drive organizational change. There is ample evidence to suggest that either the rational or the emotional approach can result in organizational change, but the effectiveness of the change may depend on which approach leadership practitioners are most comfortable with and the skill with which they can carry it out.

Key Terms

Personalized Leadership

One of the most important aspects of charismatic and transformational leadership is the personal nature of the leader’s power. These leaders share strong, personal bonds with followers, even when the leader occupies a formal organizational role. It is this  personalized leadership  style that seems to be responsible for the feelings of empowerment notable among followers of charismatic or transformational leaders. Charismatic leaders seem more adept at picking up social cues and tend to be emotionally expressive, especially through such nonverbal channels as their eye contact, posture, movement, gestures, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Transformational leaders also empower followers by giving them tasks that lead to

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Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

George S. Patton, U.S. Army general

heightened self-confidence and creating environments of heightened expectations and positive emotions.218–229

Follower Characteristics

If charismatic leadership were defined solely by a leader’s characteristics, it would be relatively easy to identify individuals with good vision, rhetorical, and impression management skills and place them in leadership positions. Over time we would expect that a high percentage of followers would embrace and act on these leaders’ visions. However, a number of leaders appear to possess these attributes yet are not seen as charismatic. They may be good, competent leaders, but they seem unable to evoke strong feelings in followers or to get followers to do more than they thought possible. In reality, charisma is probably more a function of the followers’ reactions to a leader than of the leader’s personal characteristics. If followers do not accept the leader’s vision or become emotionally attached to the leader, then the leader simply will not be perceived to be either charismatic or transformational. Thus  charisma  is in the eyes and heart of the beholder; it is a particularly strong emotional reaction to, identification with, and belief in some leaders by some followers. Note that this definition is value-free—leaders seen as charismatic may or may not share the same values as their followers or meet Burns’s criteria for transformational leadership. A recent example of followers’ divergent reactions can be seen with Donald Trump winning the election to become the President of the United States. Some followers, particularly those in the Republican party, perceive Donald Trump as a very charismatic leader. Most Democrats think he does not share the same values as the American people and is out to destroy the United States, yet he is clearly the same person. Both parties had just the opposite reactions to the previous U.S. President, Barack Obama. Many of the more popular conceptualizations of charisma and charismatic leadership today also define charisma in terms of followers’ reactions to the leader.230–236 Defining charisma as a reaction that followers have toward leaders makes it reasonable to turn our attention to the four unique characteristics of these reactions.

Identification with the Leader and the Vision

Two of the effects associated with charismatic leadership include a strong affection for the leader and a similarity of follower beliefs with those of the leader. These effects describe a sort of bonding or  identification with the leader  personally and a parallel psychological investment to a goal or activity (a “cause”) bigger than oneself. Followers bond with a leader because they may be intensely dissatisfied with the status quo and see the implementation of the vision as a solution to their problems. Being like the leader, or approved by the leader, also becomes an important part of followers’ self-worth.237–243

Being attacked by Rush Limbaugh is like being gummed by a newt. It doesn’t actually hurt but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle.

Molly Ivins, writer

Heightened Emotional Levels

Charismatic leaders are able to stir followers’ feelings, and this  heightened emotional level  results in increased levels of effort and performance.244–253 Emotions are often the fuel driving large-scale initiatives for change, and

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charismatic leaders will often do all they can to maintain them, including getting followers to think about their dissatisfaction with the status quo or making impassioned appeals directly to followers. But charismatic leaders need to keep in mind that some people will become alienated with the vision and movement and can have emotions just as intense as those of the followers of the vision. This polarizing effect of charismatic leaders may be one reason why they tend to have violent deaths: those alienated by a charismatic leader are almost as likely to act on their emotions as followers within the movement.254

Willing Subordination to the Leader

Whereas the preceding factor dealt with followers’ emotional and psychological closeness to the leader,  willing subordination to the leader  involves their deference to his or her authority.255 Charismatic leaders often seem imbued with superhuman qualities. As a result, followers often naturally and willingly submit to the leader’s apparent authority and superiority. Followers seem to suspend their critical thinking skills; they have few doubts about the intentions or skills of the leader, the correctness of the vision or change initiative, or the actions they need to take in order to achieve the vision.