LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Assignment Title: Charismatic Leadership
Course: CHMN 699 - Internship
Student: Kristine Sage
Date: January 29, 2022
Professor: Dr. Joel Breidenbaugh
Charismatic Leadership
Charismatic leadership is a term that became known in the management field initially with the
work of Max Weber, published in 1924/1947. A German sociologist, Weber described certain
leaders as having exceptional qualities—a charisma—that enabled them to motivate followers to
achieve outstanding performance. Charisma is a Greek word meaning “gift bestowed by the
gods.” As an adaptation of a theological concept, Weber’s model was an explanation for what
sometimes happens in complex organizations—especially in times of crisis—when a leader was
granted a special gift of extraordinariness by colleagues and subordinates instead of paternal or
divine authority that was general expected in that era (Sashkin & Sashkin, 2003).
Robert House (1977) studied the psychological motives behind transformational leadership, and
observed that charisma is the central aspect of a transforming leader, though he does not believe
the terms are synonymous. House uses four phrases to define charismatic leadership:
• Dominant
• Strong desire to influence others
• Self-confident
• Strong sense of one’s own moral values
Jay Conger (1989) proposed the following four-stage model of charismatic leadership:
1. Continual assessment of the environment to formulate what must be done; establishes goals
2. Communication of his or her vision; uses motivational and persuasive arguments
3. Building trust and commitment; unexpected behavior, risk-taking; technical proficiency
4. Role modeling, empowerment, and unconventional tactics
Charismatic leaders are generally spurred to action by ideology and vision, or by crisis. They
usually take on hero status with their followers, employees, and sometimes nations. The
dangers, however, with this style of leadership, have been highlighted by Bass and the Sashkins,
and may include extreme need for control over others and dependent followers. Writer Cynthia
Ozark offers this caution:
There is a difference between wanting significant leadership and wanting a leader. The craving
for a hero is very dangerous, both for the putative hero and for his followers (quoted by
Hagerman, 1994).
Other personal weaknesses of charismatic leaders, such as narcissistic tendencies, failure to
delegate, unpredictability, freedom from inner conflicts that most leaders have with hard
decisions, and insensitivity to others can cause failure with this leadership style.
Although no universally accepted set of behaviors and traits defines charismatic leadership,
several authors, (e.g., Bass (1985), House (1976) and the Sashkins (2003), have included
research on the charisma component of transformational leadership and thereby have provided
the clearest applications and cautions of charismatic leadership.
Implications for church leadership
The church often assumes the terms “Charisma” and “Charismatic leadership” are religious
terms. They are, but they are not limited to religious or church leadership. However, seeing
charisma as a “gift from God” is certainly relevant to the church, for leadership is often seen as a
spiritual gift in the church. That is, many Christians see God bestowing a gift of leadership on
certain Christians. In this instance, leadership is not so much a position (like pastor or elder) but
a gift God has given to a certain individual. With this “spiritual gifts” approach to leadership,
one assumes a pastor would have such a gift, but the crunch for many church leaders comes
when there are several people in a church—ministerial and lay—claiming this gift. Some
implications of charismatic leadership theory for church leadership:
Church leaders must settle their view on the spiritual gift of leadership, and how that fits with
their view of the apostle, prophet, evangelist and pastor-teacher gifts. If leadership is primarily a
spiritual gift, then finding the person/people with this gift and determining through church polity
how they will exercise it is the key task. One’s comprehensive view of how spiritual gifts work
in the church should be consistently applied to leadership along with other spiritual gifts.
Robert House’s “four phrases” describe a certain style of church leader—dominant, influential,
self-confident, strong sense of moral values. This is likely only one type of church leader, not
necessarily the best type. It certainly represents the style of leadership most promoted by the
church growth movement and most mega-church leaders.
Just using the term charismatic does not make a style essentially Christian. Yet, through history,
many of the most effective church leaders have had this style. Can a person develop a charismatic style
of leadership or are you born with it (or gifted with it at conversion)? Even if this style is preferable in
some circles, an un-charismatic personality can still become an effective leader.
This style of leadership seems to emerge especially in times of crisis. It appears an un-
charismatic person can become a charismatic leader as a situation may demand it.
All styles of leadership have their dangers, but charismatic leadership seems to have more.
Christian theology and the Bible have much to say about the consequent dangers of the hero
status—often accorded a charismatic leader. Scripture speaks to other potential dangers,
including over-controlling, making followers dependant, being narcissistic and/or self-centered,
over confidence in self, and insensitivity to others. Could it be that charismatic leadership styles
are both most effective and most dangerous to the church leader? A charismatic leader should
set into place the practices and personal policies that dull the sharp-edged sword of this style.
References
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership performance beyond expectations. New York: Academic Press.9
Conger, J. A. (1989). The charismatic leader. San Francisco: Josses-Bass.
Hagerman, J. O. (1994). The God I believe. New York: Free press, p. 154-155, from the edited
transcript of his conversation with Ozark on February 2, 1992.
House, R. J. (1977) A 1976 theory of charismatic leadership. In J. G. Hunt & L. L. Larson (Eds.)
Leadership: The cutting edge. Carbondale; Southern Illinois University Press.
Sashkin, M. & M. G. (2003), Leadership that matters: The critical factors for making a
difference in people’s lives and organizations’ success. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-
Koehler Publishers.
Sellers, P. (1996). What exactly is charisma? Fortune, January 15, 1995, 68-75.
Weber, M. (1924/1947). The theory of social and economic organization. Trans. by A. M.
Henderson & T. Parsons. New York: Free Press.
