Toward a Balanced View of Charismatic Leadership
Abstract
Americans idolize leaders, especially charismatic ones. Charismatic leaders, in particular, have many favorable qualities ascribed to them by their followers because they incite the passion of those they lead through their evaluation of the status quo, innovation, empowerment of those followers, vision and the communication of their vision. The last decade in the Army created an environment in which charismatic leaders could thrive as the situation that the military, and the nation, found itself in was anything but status quo. By analyzing manner of speech to classify division commanders as charismatic or not and further examining their behavior through the use of interviews, this thesis found a correlation between charisma and the impact of a leader on his followers and organization. Furthermore, analysis of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire in comparison to the Multi-Source Assessment Feedback, shows that charisma can be identified early in one's career which may allow the Army the opportunity to develop charismatic leaders in such a way to build on their strengths while helping them avoid pitfalls.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 12, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA624136
Entities
People
- Jacquelynn D. Jordan
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College