1. Charismatic Leadership
Sarah Almquist, RN, BSN, CAPA
The University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing
In partial fulfillment of the requirements of
N5311 Nursing Management in the Health Care Environment
Sharon Judkins, RN, PhD, NEA-BC
July, 28, 2013

2. Leadership Defined:
Gibson (2012)
McLaurin & Al Amri (2008)
The Handbook of Leadership (1990)

3. Charisma
From the Greek word χάρισμα = gift
(Gibson et al., 2012)
Charismatic leadership defined:
“The ability to influence followers based
on a supernatural gift and attractive
powers. Followers enjoy being with the
charismatic leader because they feel
inspired, correct and important”
(Gibson et al., 2012, p. 351).

4. History
1920 –Weber
Initial development
1977 – House
Five key behavioral traits
1992 – Robbins
Four key personality traits
(McLaurin & Bushanain, 2008)

5. Conger’s Model of
Charismatic Leadership
(Gibson et al., 2012)

6. Charismatic Leadership
Lack of theoretical and research work
Concept is ambiguous and abstract
(Gibson et al., 2012)
Sometimes based on trait theory (Takala
et al., 2012)
Identifies specific physical, mental and
personality traits associated with successful
leadership (Gibson et al., 2012)

7. Strengths
Charismatic leaders:
Inspire confidence, commitment and
enthusiasm
Develop and articulate clear visions
Can be extremely effective and often
receive high levels of obedience (McLaurin &
Bushanain, 2008)
Can profoundly impact organizations and
even entire societies (Lapierre et al., 2012)

8. Weaknesses
Difficult to find charismatic leaders
Could become exploitative of followers
May value personal gain over organizational
success
Opinions are often unchallenged
Narcissism
Lack of Accountability
(Lapierre et al., 2012)

9. Examples
John F. Kennedy
Adolf Hitler
Walt Disney
Jim Jones
Barack Obama
Martin Luther King, Jr.

10. Personal Perspective
Successful charismatic leadership
requires high ethical standards
Lack of employee involvement
Effect of modern media (Takala et al.,
2012)

11. Usefulness in Modern Management
Organizational distress or transition
Inspiration
Motivation
Rhetorical skills
Spoken and written
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(“Charismatic leadership (Weber)”, 2013)

12. Recommendations for Use
Inspiration and motivation
Conger’s four-stage model
Well-suited for organizational transition
Promotes positive change
Assist with vision formation and
articulation
Ensure trusted advisors and accountability
(Gibson et al., 2012)

13. Questions??

14. References
 Bass, B. M. (1990). Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership. NewYork, NY: Free Press.
 Charismatic leadership (Weber). (2013). Retrieved July 28, 2013, from
http://www.12manage.com/methods_weber_charismatic_leadership.html
 Gibson, J. L., Ivancevich, J. M., Donnelly, Jr, J. H., & Konopaske, R. (2012).
Organizations: Behavior, structure, processes (14th
ed.). NewYork, NY: McGraw-Hill.
 Lapierre, L. M., Bremner, N. L., & McMullan, A. D. (2012). Strength in Numbers
How Employees' Acts of Followership Can InfluenceTheir Manager's Charismatic
Leadership Behavior. Zeitschrift Fur Psychologie, 220(4), 251-261.
 McLaurin, J., & Al Amri, M. (2008). Developing an understanding of charismatic
and transformational leadership. Allied Academies International Conference:
Proceedings OfThe Academy Of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict
(AOCCC), 13(2), 15-19.
 Takala,T.,Tanttu, S., Lämsä, A., &Virtanen,A. (2013). Discourses of Charisma:
Barack Obama's First 6 Months as the President of the USA. Journal Of Business
Ethics, 115(1), 149-166. doi:10.1007/s10551-012-1389-0