Ben Hicks

Teacher Leadership EDGR 540

Dr. Sharon Evans Brindle

October 12, 2014

Charismatic Leadership

Investigating charismatic leadership was an interesting topic for me to
research, as I dont consider myself a particularly charismatic person, especially in a
leadership perspective. I do, however think there is definitely somewhat of a role
for charismatic leaders in the educational field, but we must be cautious to avoid the
pitfalls of this leadership style as well.
Charisma and its role in leadership was first formally defined by Max Weber,
who emphasized the role of personality and ones ability to lead others through
inspiration, often in a religious context. Weber proposed that some people possess
exceptional qualities and characteristics that enable them to generate a following
and change behavior solely based on their ability to create a sense of awe or
reverence among their followers.
Many other scholars have built upon Webers ideas, and further defined what
it is that a charismatic persons abilities allow them to do once placed into a formal
leadership role. Jay Conger and Rabindra Kanugo outlined five dimensions of
behaviors exhibited by a charismatic leader. Two of the most important in defining
such a leader are strategic vision and articulation, and unconventional behavior. In
other words, charismatic leaders arent afraid to upset the status quo, but they do so
in a way that is very inspirational and easily attracts followers.
I think that the work of Boaz Shamir, Robert House, and Michael Arthur
defines the behaviors of a charismatic leader in a way that is most easily related to
the educational setting. Their descriptions include behaviors such as articulating an
appealing vision, emphasizing the ideological aspects of the work, communicating
high performance expectations, expressing confidence that subordinates can attain
goals, showing self-confidence, modeling exemplary behavior, and emphasizing
collective identity. That sounds like a pretty good description of someone who
would be an effective leader in education- whether it be an administrator or a
teacher leader such as an instructional coach or a mentor.
There are many advantages and disadvantages to having a strong
charismatic leader in charge of an organization, educational or otherwise.
Charismatic leaders share much in common with the ideas espoused by the
transformational leadership theory, such as inspiring confidence and leading
through times of difficult change. However, there have been a number of leaders
throughout history as well as in the educational field that have used their charisma
in ways that have led to the demise of their organizations. When the focus shifts
from the vision or task of the organization to the prominence and reputation of the
leader themselves, problems are likely to occur. Charismatic leaders also often do
not value the input of their subordinates, seeing accepting such contributions as a
sign of weakness, when in reality we know that the people closest to the problem or
work being done, such as classroom teachers in a school, are the ones who often
have the best insight to offer realistic and workable ideas and solutions.
Whether the charismatic leadership style is best for the education field can
only truly be considered on a case by case basis. In a large, struggling school that
has experienced a lot of crisis and change, a strong charismatic leader might be just
what is needed to turn things around. Other schools with an established culture and
a highly engaged teaching staff might struggle to accept a new and unknown entity
such as a charismatic leader who has a radically different vision for what success
looks like in education.
Overall, someone looking to move into a leadership role in the education field
would be wise to investigate both the benefits and drawbacks to incorporating the
charismatic leadership style into their own.


References:

Collins, J. (2011, November 21). Charisma, Schmarisma: Real Leaders are Zealots
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ1FI-
WTJUI

Evje, B. (2012). 3 Dangers of Charismatic Leadership. Inc. Retrieved from
http://www.inc.com/brian-evje/three-dangers-of-charismatic-
leadership.html

Lepsius, M. (2006). The model of charismatic leadership and its applicability to the
rule of Adolf Hitler. Totalitarian Movements & Political Religions, 7(2), 175-
190. doi:10.1080/14690760600642180

McBryde, C. (2012). [Graph illustration]. A concept map of charismatic leadership.
Retrieved from http://carolannewheeler.com/Documents/poster2.pdf

Rowold, J., & Laukamp, L. (2009). Charismatic leadership and objective performance
indicators. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 58(4), 602-621.
doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00365.x

Shamir, B., House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B., (1993). The motivational effects of
charismatic leadership: a self-concept based theory, Organization Science,
4(4), 577-594.