The Charismatic


"Leadership isn't mystical or mysterious.

It has nothing to do with having 'charisma' or

other exotic personality traits."

John P. Kotter (a)


Renald Hennig

He had grown from an unknown man from the hinterland to a force to be reckoned with. The chief priests could live with that; he was by no means the first one that the masses went after. What they wouldn't accept was that the acts and words of this itinerant preacher started to gnaw at the foundations of their power - the unchallenged privilege to interpret authoritatively the Torah. And this teaching that he actually knew Jahweh was not simply blasphemous; it was dangerous. It was time for action.

They sent some of their trusted and experienced security guards to take him in. This would end his movement rather rapidly. Well, he was thronged with people, and before they could ever get to him, they had no chance but to hear his words.

Without so much as laying their hands on him they returned to their masters. "Why have ye not brought him?", the question came fast and hard.

The answer was not what the chief priests and Pharisees wanted to hear: "Never man spake like this man?".' (9)

These guards weren't religious or faint hearted. They knew the consequences of their failure to obey command. Yet they didn't even touch him.

As in all cultures and in all times, those who act contrary to popular opinion are at best shunned, often ridiculed and sometimes despised or even killed. Working for the hated Romans was definitely out of sync with the generally accepted. As if tax collection wasn't bad enough.

Matthew knew all that, and his circle of friends certainly reflected more of the socially reprehensible than the well established. Then Jesus passed by. Not more, just passed by.

Two words were spoken: "Follow me?".

Matthew left his tax collectors booth and followed. Straightway. (10)

To have a famous man in his house would certainly enhance his standing, the pharisee thought, and so Simon invited Jesus. As was custom these days, the house was open, and a notorious woman entered. She was a city-wide known sinner.

She approached Jesus' place on the triclinium, the couches provided for banquets, with tear-filled eyes. She knelt down, washed his feet with her now freely flowing tears, dried them with her full hair and finally anointed them with the costly ointment brought for that purpose. She couldn't care less about the people watching her with amazement (11).

The record indicates that Jesus was very much human, but he also instilled in others respect, a desire to follow, a willingness to transcend the usual limits. This might be called "charismatic".

Barton (b) calls it 'personal magnetism as though there were something mysterious about it - a magic quality bestowed on one in a thousand and denied to all the rest. This is not true. The essential element in personal magnetism is a consuming sincerity - an overwhelming faith in the importance of the work one has to do.'

I am not convinced that this supreme faith in one's own work (or mission, as we might say today) alone explains the results as seen in the examples. On the other hand, a "How to" approach to charisma as in Dubrin (c), supplying strategies to help you become charismatic (ranging from "develop self-confidence" to "be extravagant and flamboyant") seems equally unconvincing. It reminds me of "From Mousy to Charismatic in Three Weeks" - obviously without the slightest shred of evidence that it works.

There is a certain wariness, even reluctance, to address this issue in more modern business literature.

Geneen, former CEO of ITT, speaks of "inspirational leaders" that "don't need to command" (d), contrasting it to the command barker.

Drucker, the grey eminence of business literature, is more outspoken. He talks of the "personality cult leaders", mentioning that they, too, need successors (e) .

One of the reasons for the unwillingness to seriously address the charisma issue may be its very nature: difficult to grasp, evasive to analysis, likely not trainable. Nevertheless, experience from both business world and non-business settings is replete with examples of what a vast majority would have no problems to call charismatic leadership.

It seems reasonable that the charismatic leader - however he may be defined - would find much of his task easier as compared to his non-charismatic counterpart. Wouldn't we all like our opponents swayed by the sheer exposure to our personality, attracting high potentials with simply an inspiring invitation and graciously accepting adoration and admiration? We might.

But we might also consider the loneliness of the charismatic, the opposition and power plays of other players, and the complete lack of any benchmarks.

 . . . and when the evening was come, he was there alone. (12)


Next: The Communicator