In the last decade there has been a substantial increase in the attention given to charismatic leadership both in science and practice. This trend is often called 'the New Leadership'. Central to the New Leadership is the notion that leaders need vision. The New leaders, charismatic leaders, are also referred to as transformational, inspirational or visionary leaders. In this paper several views of charismatic leadership in business organizations rather than charismatic leadership in political arenas or religious movements are the focus. Charismatic leadership is a controversial topic. Many questions are encountered when discussing charisma. Examples are: Is charisma an exceptional phenomenon or is there such a thing as 'everyday charisma'? Is charisma only to be found in the eye of the beholder, in other words merely an idea in the heads of followers? How does the process of motivating followers work? What is the role of the leader's vision? Can charisma be learned? Are there situations that help or hinder the occurrence of charisma? What about the dark side of charisma; is charisma always beneficial? The various theories give different answers to these questions. Aside from these questions there are also some research problems relating to the measurement of charismatic leadership and its effects, it is not inconceivable that other types of leadership or other circumstances could have the same effects. In this paper similarities and differences in the numerous available views of charismatic leadership in business organizations will be explored and several controversial issues and measurement problems will be addressed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Andriessen J.H.E. & Drenth P.J.D. (1989). Leiderschap in organisaties. In P.J.D. Drenth, H. Thierry , Ch.J. De Wolff: Nieuw Handbook voor de A&O psychologie, 4.
2.
Avolio, B.J. & Gibbons, T.C. (1988). Developing transformational leaders: a lifespan approach, in J.A. Conger & R.N. Kanungo (eds), Charismatic Leadership: the Elusive Factor in Organizational Effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
Avolio, B.J. & Yammarino, F.J. (1990). Operationalizing charismatic leadership using a levels of analysis framework, Leadership Quarterly, 1,193-208.
4.
Bass, B.M. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations . New York: Free Press.
5.
Bass, B.M. (1990). Bass and Stogdill's Handbook of leadership: Theory, Research and Managerial applications3rd ed. New York: Free Press.
6.
Bass, B.M. & Avolio, B.J. (1989). Manual for the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire . Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
7.
Bass, B.M. & Avolio, B.J. (1990). The implications of transactional and transformational leadership for individual, team and organizational development. In W. Pasmore & R.W. Woodman (Eds.). Research in organizational change and development , vol 4, p 231-272. Greenwhich, CT: JAI Press.
8.
Bennis, W.G. & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: the strategies for taking charge. New York: Harper. Bryman, A. (1992). Charisma and leadership in organizations. London: Sage.
9.
Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
10.
Burns, T. & Stalker, G.M. (1961). The management of innovation. Chicago: Quadrangle Books.
11.
Conger, J.A. (1989). The Charismatic Leader: Behind the Mystique of Exceptional Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
12.
Conger, J.A. (1990). The dark side of leadership. Organizational dynamics, 44-55.
13.
Conger, J.A. & Kanungo, R.N. (1987). Towards a behavioral theory of charismatic leadership in organizational settings. Academy of Management Review, 12, 637-47.
14.
Conger, J.A. & Kanungo, R.N. (1988). Behavioral dimensions of charismatic leadership , in J.A. Conger & R.N. Kanungo (eds), Charismatic Leadership: the Elusive Factor in Organizational Effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
15.
Conger, J.A. & Kanungo, R.N. (1994). Charismatic leadership in organizations: perceived behavioral attributes and their measurement. Joumal of organizational behavior, 15.
16.
Den Hartog, D.N. (1993). Where there is no vision the people perish: A study of inspirational leadership, organizational culture and affective responses . Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam .
17.
Den Hartog, D.N., Van Muijen, J.J. & Koopman, P.L. (1994). Transactional versus transformational leadership: An analysis of the MLQ in the Netherlands. Paper presented at the 23rd International Congress of Applied Psychology, Madrid.
18.
Etzioni, A.( 1961). A Comparative Analysis of Complex Organisations. New York: Free Press.
19.
Fiedler, F.E. & House, R.J. (1988). Leadership theory and research: a report of progress , in C.L. Cooper & I. Robertson (eds), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New York: Wiley.
20.
Gioia, D. & Sims, H.P. (1985). On avoiding the influence of implicit leadership theories in leader behavior descriptions, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 45, 217-232.
21.
Graen, G.B. & Scandura, T.A. (1987). Toward a Psychology of Dyadic Organizing, in L.L. Cummings & B.M. Staw (eds), Research in Organizational Behavior. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press.
22.
Graham, J.W. (1991). Servant leadership in organizations: inspirational and moral, Leadership Quarterly2(2), 105-119.
23.
Hater, J.J. & Bass, B.M. (1988). Superiors' evaluations and subordinates' perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership, Joumal of Applied Psychology, 73, 695-702.
24.
Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K.H. (1977). Management of Organizational Behavior, 3rd ed. (1st ed. 1969). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
25.
Hollander, E.P. (1978). Leadership Dynamics. New York : Free Press.
26.
House, R.J. (1971). Path-Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness, Administrative Science Quarterly,16, 321-338.
27.
House, R.J. (1977). A 1976 theory of charismatic leadership, in J.G. Hunt & L.L. Larson (eds), Leadership: the Cutting Edge. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press .
House, R.J. & Mitchell, T.R. (1974). Path-Goal Theory of Leadership , Journal of Contemporary Business, 5, 81-94.
30.
House, R.J., Spangler, W.D. & Woycke, J. (1991). Personality and Charisma in the U.S. presidency: A psychological theory of leader effectiveness, Administrative Science Quarterly,36, 364-396.
31.
House, R.J., Woycke, J. & Fodor, E.M. (1988). Charismatic and noncharismatic leaders: differences in behavior and effectiveness, in J.A. Conger & R.N. Kanungo (eds), Charismatic Leadership: the Elusive Factor in Organizational Effectiveness . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
32.
Howell, J.M. (1988). Two faces of charisma: socialized and personalized leadership in organizations, in J.A. Conger & R.N. Kanungo (eds), Charismatic Leadership: the Elusive Factor in Organizational Effectiveness . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
33.
Howell, J.M. & Frost, P.J.( 1989). A laboratory study of charismatic leadership, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 43, 243-269.
34.
Howell, J.M. & Higgins, C.A. (1990). Leadership behaviors, influence tactics, and career experiences of champions of technological innovation, Leadership Quarterly, 1, 249-264.
35.
Howell, J.M. & House, R.J. (1994). The bright and dark sides of charismatic leadership . Paper presented at the 23rd International Congress of Applied Psychology, Madrid.
Katz, D. & Kahn, R.L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations, 2nd ed.. New York: Wiley.
38.
Kets de Vries, M.F.R. (1988). Origins of Charisma: Ties That Bind the Leader and the Led. In: J.A. Conger & R.N. Kanungo (eds), Charismatic Leadership: the Elusive Factor in Organizational Effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
39.
Koopman, P.L. (1991). Charismatisch leiderschap motivatie en prestatie . Gedrag en Organisatie, 5, 357-368.
40.
Korman, A.K. (1966). "Consideration", "initiating structure", and organizational criteria - a review, Personnel Psychology, 19, 349-361.
41.
Kotter, J.P. (1990). A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management. New York: Free Press .
42.
Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z.( 1987). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.
43.
Lindholm, C. (1990). Charisma. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
44.
Meindl, J.R. (1990). On leadership: An alternative to the conventional wisdom, in B.M. Staw & L.L. Cummings (eds), Research in organizational behavior, 12, 159-203.
45.
Sashkin, M. & Burke, W.W. (1990). Understanding and assessing organizational leadership , in K.E. Clark & M.B. Clark (eds), Measures of Leadership . West Orange, NJ: Leadership Library of America.
46.
Schmidt, F. (1994). Discussion of the personality and leadership symposium and the paper by Howell, J.M. & House, R.J. (1994). The bright and dark sides of charismatic leadership. Paper presented at the 23rd International Congress of Applied Psychology, Madrid.
47.
Shamir, B. (1991). The Charismatic relationship: Alternative explanations and predictions, Leadership Quarterly, 2(2), 81-104.
48.
Shamir, B., Arthur, M.B. & House, R.J. (1994). The rhetoric of charismatic leadership: a theoretical extension, a case study and implications for research. Leadership Quarterly, 5(1), 25-42.
49.
Shamir, B., House, R.J. & Arthur, M.( 1993). The motivational effects of charismatic leadership, Organization Science, 4, 1-17.
50.
Shamir, B. (1994). Social distance and charisma: Theoretical notes and an exploratory study. Paper presented at the 23rd International Congress of Applied Psychology, Madrid .
51.
Smith, P.B. & Peterson, M.F. (1988). Leadership, Organizations and Culture. London, Sage.
52.
Tichy, N.M. & Devanna, M.A. (1990). The Transformational Leader, updated ed.. (1st ed. 1986). New York : Wiley.
53.
Trice, H.M. & Beyer, J.M. (1986). Charisma and its routinization in two social movement organizations, Research in Organizational Behavior, 8, 113-164.
54.
Weber, M. (1947). The theory of social and economic organization (A.N. Henderson & T. Parsons, eds & trans). Glencoe, IL: The Free Press
55.
Weber, M. (1968). On charisma and institution building. (S.N. Eisenstadt, ed)Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
56.
Willner, A.R. (1984). The Spellbinders: Charismatic Political Leadership . New Haven: Yale University Press .
57.
Yammarino, F.J. & Bass, B.M. (1990). Long-term forecasting of transformational leadership and its effects among naval officers: some preliminary findings, in K.E. Clark & M.B. Clark (eds), Measures of Leadership. West Orange, NJ: Leadership Library of America.
58.
Yukl, G. (1994). Leadership in organizations, 3rd ed.. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Zaleznik, A. (1977). Managers and leaders: are they different?. Harvard Business Review, 15(3), 67-78.
59.
Zaleznik, A. (1989). The managerial mystique: restoring leadership in business. New York: Harper & Row.
60.
Zaleznik, A. (1990). The leadership gap, The Executive , 4, 7-22.
