Are we born with Charisma or can we learn it?

Résumé du document

For generations, the representation of the charisma concept has been characterized by leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, John F Kennedy, or more recently Barrack Obama. Although these leaders engaged in completely different things in their life to be recognized as charismatic, they were credited with common skills such as confidence, physical stamina and interpersonal skills which created very special relationship with their followers.

The concept of charisma was created in the early 1920s by Max Weber. It was viewed as a "Divine gift" for a long time before additional scientific explanations were attributed to it in the mid1970s.

The concept of charisma increasingly figures in our daily life, as part of political communication, campaigns and as a tool of seduction. Indeed, most people are confronted by this concept without really being able to measure, define or even recognize it. Therefore, we will, in the first part of this paper, observe the confrontation of various theories which have been published since that of Weber.

Secondly, through the analysis of various speeches made by well known charismatic people, in terms of communication strategies and neuro-linguistic programs, we will identify the most common techniques implemented. Also, we are going to observe the importance of other forms of power.

Finally, the conclusion will be based on the author's opinion.

The word charisma (origins from the Greek word χάρισμα (kharisma), "gift" or "divine favor," from kharizesthai, "to favor," from kharis, "favor") refers to a rare trait found in certain human personalities usually including extreme charm and a 'magnetic' quality of personality and/or appearance along with innate and powerfully sophisticated personal communicability and persuasiveness.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charisma)

Extraits

[...] If at all, my emphasis on it has grown stronger. There is no real contradiction between the present resolution and my previous writings and utterances. Occasions like the present do not occur in everybody's and but rarely in anybody's life. I want you to know and feel that there is nothing but purest Ahimsa1 in all that I am saying and doing today. The draft resolution of the Working Committee is based on Ahimsa, the contemplated struggle similarly has its roots in Ahimsa. [...]

[...] The level of trust in their charismatic leaders is higher than those for non-charismatic. Mc Fillen designed a model of charismatic leadership focused on 6 attributes of leader behaviour and three followers' beliefs. Attributes of leaders: Empathy Dramatization of the mission Reflecting self-confidence Enhancing own image Assuring followers of their competence and ability to achieve great things Providing followers opportunities to succeed with responsibility Then we observed 3 Beliefs of followers which are provoked by leaders: Awe Inspiration Empowerment Moreover, a recent study conducted by House, Hanges, Ruiz-Quintanilla and al (1998) in 60 countries prove that neo-charismatic leadership are recognized as “prototypical behaviours of highly effective organizational leaders” and have been consistently rated above six on a seven-point MLQ scale of attributed effectiveness. [...]

[...] The context is unstable The situation is requiring extraordinary effort. House and Shamir described in 1993, the specificities of leader behaviours' which are: articulation of an ideological goal and an implied set of moral values Communication of high performance expectations of followers Demonstration of a high degree of confidence in followers Positive presentation of self to important constituents Engaging in persuasive communication by the use of frame alignment Emphasizing value and collective identification Taking extraordinary risks Making substantial personal sacrifices in the interest of the charismatic mission Unusual capacity to experience passion Persistence and optimism Sociologists (Eisenstadt, 1968), political scientists (Dow, 1969; Willner, 1984) and organizational behaviour theorists (Bass, 1985; Conger & Kanungo, 1987; House, 1977; Nadler & Tushman, 1990) defined charismatic leaders as different than institutional authority and capable to persuade potential followers of be part of revolutionary ideas. [...]

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[...] Max Weber describes the charismatic phenomenon as the emergence of a person able to offer an alternative to a social crisis faced by potential followers. Then if this person shows the followers the willingness and capability to deliver alternatives to them thanks to extraordinary needs, that deliverance will be associated to special gift and divinity. Indeed, the power of the leader's personality and the attributions of potential followers is the result of the emergence of the potential leader as a charismatic leader. [...]