Charismatic Leaders

Charisma, the magnetic popular appeal exuded by some political leaders, is a term that comes from the Greek, meaning “gift of grace.” In the classical tradition, the connection to the suprapersonal or “divine” is central to the hero's innate ability to lead signified by the Roman concept of facilitas. This refers to an oratorical eloquence inspired (in part) by a source external to the speaker. For Christians, charisma is the sense of the saint's intimate contact with God. However, that one person can gain charismatic power from claiming a highly personal connection to the divine presents a real threat to the established order, as was demonstrated in the events leading to the deaths of almost all followers of the Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas. R. A. Knox details the fraught history of such personal connections to the divine in his meticulous study of Enthusiasm. Charisma in political contexts is viewed as a capacity to embody an extraordinary suprapersonal power.

Whether the leader is viewed as having a connection to the divine (however that is culturally conceived), there is enduring emphasis on charisma defined by the personal qualities of the leader. Exceptional personal qualities and skills constitute “personalized charisma”—the least developed of sociologist Max Weber's two variants of charisma and the one most emphasized in this entry. The second variant, “routinized charisma,” derives from institutional power accorded by social roles. It is not the central focus in this entry. In personalized charisma, there is the felt sense in the here and now of a leader's almost divine uniqueness in being extraordinarily empowered to draw others into participatory, selfless communion to bring about innovative social transformation. Within personalized charisma, there is a further subdivision: the leader embodies (Weber's “emulatory charismatic”) and/or gives voice to (Weber's “prophetic or messianic charismatic”) a vision of the future he or she convinces followers he or she can make real.

In his notion of personalized charisma, Weber outlines a charisma that “is opposed to all institutional routines, those of tradition and those subject to rational management” (1946, p. 52). According to Weber, “‘Charisma’ shall be defined to refer to an extraordinary quality of a person, regardless of whether this quality is actual, alleged or presumed. ‘Charismatic Authority,’ hence, shall refer to a rule over men, whether predominantly external or predominantly internal, to which the governed submit because of their belief in the extraordinary quality of a specific person” (1946, p. 295). Charisma defined by personal qualities is distinct from position, hierarchy, or social advantage, which underpin Weber's notion of routinized charisma. “Charisma is a gift that inheres in an object or person simply by virtue of natural endowment. Such ‘primary charisma’ cannot be acquired by any means” (Weber, 1922, p. 2).

The power accruing to the leader derives in part from the appeal of his or her exceptional personal qualities (which may be real or consensually ascribed). These attributes include personal magnetism, dominance, courage, and confidence in the moral righteousness of their convictions and a contagious emotional expressiveness.