What Is Charisma and Charismatic Leadership?Question: Is charisma something that you are born with –you either have it or you don’t? Do you think most leaders, politicians and inspirational figures have charisma and is it that particular quality which makes them stand out?Charisma is really a process – an interaction between the qualities of the charismatic leader, the followers and their needs and identification with the leader, and the situation that calls out for a charismatic leader, such as a need for change or a crisis. But when it comes to the charismatic qualities of leaders, the emphasis is on how they communicate to followers and whether they are able to gain followers’ trust, and influence and persuade them to follow.Most politicians, particularly on the national scene, have developed their ability to communicate effectively –to make speeches, ―work the room‖ with potential donors and supporters, etc. So many seasoned politicians have a lot of ―personal charisma.‖Question: What are several important characteristics that you believe every leader should possess?A model that I think represents the very best leaders, and research bears this out, is transformational leadership. You can think of transformational leadership as going beyond charisma, because two of the components of transformational leadership deal with charisma. They are:Idealized Influence, the first component, is the leader’s ability to be a positive (and moral) role model for followers. The transformational leader also ―walks the talk, ‖ and is on the ―front line‖ working with followers (think MLK Jr.), or leaders who sacrifice along with their followers. In business, the charismatic/transformational leader sometimes serves as the ―face‖ of the company or the movement (think Steve Jobs).Inspirational Motivation is the second quality of transformational leaders and it is what charismatic leaders are noted for: their ability to inspire and motivate followers to perform at high levels, and to be committed to the organization or the cause.The other two elements of transformational leadership are: Intellectual Stimulation – challenging followers to be creative and think outside of the box – and Individualized Consideration – being responsive to the feelings and developmental needs of followers.Transformational leaders are charismatic, but they are also noted for leading high performing groups and teams, and developing followers’ leadership capacity, as much as helping the group or organization to change and innovate.Question: What ar e some behaviors or traits that might derail a leader/politician’s career or stand in their path to success?The biggest thing that can derail a leader is arrogance, and a lack of concern or responsiveness to followers and constituents. We have seen how po liticians’ and CEOs’ arrogance – thinking they are above the law, and committing ethical violations lead to their demise. Also, a leader needs to succeed more often than not, and learn from mistakes and setbacks.Question: Are leaders born or made, in your opinion?This isn’t something that requires my opinion, because this question has been well researched.Twin studies by Richard Arvey and his colleagues have estimated that leadership is about 2/3 ―made‖ and 1/3 ―born.‖ This makes sense, though, if we see much of leadership as a set of learned skills and competencies: ability to communicate, strategize, problem solve, etc. These take time to develop.This question would have broad implications for leadership, for if it were all (or mostly) born, then our efforts should be directed toward identifying and selecting leaders, and we would be wasting our time on leader development programs. But, the research suggests that putting resources into leader development makes sense, and recent meta-analyses of these programs suggest that, in general, they work and lead to positive gains.什么是非凡领导力及魅力型领袖历史上很多颇具实力的领导者被认为是有魅力的。

然而，对于非凡的领导力是后天塑造还是与生俱来的以及是否具有非凡领导力的领导们确实有才能却争议颇多。

就在不久之前，人们为马丁路德金举行了庆祝，作为庆祝活动的一部分，我接受了采访。

在接受采访过程中被提及最多的就是关于领导才能的问题。

问题：马丁路德金，甘地和温斯顿丘吉尔都被公认为是精力充沛，具有非凡的领导力以及感召力的领导。

到底是什么特殊的性格及品质使马丁路德金这样的人能够领导及鼓舞如此多的人？具有感召力的领导必须是熟练地交际者—他们不仅口才雄辩而且能够深刻并且带有感情的与其追随者进行交流。

他们能够很好的表达自身具有吸引力的眼光，同时能够引起追随者强烈的共鸣。

问题：非凡的领导力是天生的吗？-你有还是没有？你认为大部分的领导，政客以及鼓舞人心的人物有非凡的领导力吗？是那种特殊的品质使他们变得杰出吗？事实上，非凡的领导力是一种过程-这是由魅力型领导的品质，追随者及他们对领导的需要和支持，以及需要魅力型领导的形势-如需要改变或危急关头等因素相互作用形成的。

但是谈到领导者的魅力品质，关键要看他们怎样与其追随者交流以及他们能否获得支持者的信任，影响及劝说他们去追随。