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Chapter 6

Current Era in Leadership:

Inspiration and Connection to
Followers

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 Learning Objectives

• Discuss the distinguishing elements of the new era in

leadership research and practice
• Understand charismatic leadership, explain the leader,
follower, cultural, and situational characteristics that
contribute to its development, and discuss its positive
and negative implications
• Distinguish between transactional and transformational
leadership and explain factors that contribute to
transformational leadership
• Describe the value-based approaches to leadership,
including servant, authentic, and positive leadership
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 The Leadership
Question

Charisma is considered a positive trait for a

leader, and charismatic leaders are sought
after. Are charismatic leaders always
effective and desirable? Is it a necessary
element of leadership?

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 Benefits of the New Era
Approaches
• They allow us to look at a different aspect of
leaders and their role as inspirational visionaries
• They highlight the importance of followers’
emotional reactions
• They focus on leaders at top levels as well as other
types of leaders
• They emphasize the affective as well as the
cognitive aspects of leadership

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 Requirements of
Charismatic Leadership

Leader
characteristic

Follower
characteristics Situational factors

Charismatic
leadership

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 Characteristics of
Charismatic Leaders

• High self-confidence
• Strong convictions about ideas
• High energy and enthusiasm
• Expressive
• Excellent communication
• Active image-building

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Characteristics of Followers
of Charismatic Leaders

• Intense emotional bond

• High degree of respect, affection, and
esteem for the leader
• Loyalty and devotion to the leader
• Identification with leaders
• High performance expectations
• Unquestioning obedience

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Elements of the Charismatic
Situations: External Factors

• Perceived need for change

• Sense of actual or imminent crisis
• Opportunity to articulate ideological
goal
• Availability of dramatic symbols
• Opportunity to articulate followers’ role

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Elements of the Charismatic Situations:
Organizational Factors

• Organizational life cycle (early and

late)
• Type of task
• Reward structure
• Organizational structure and culture

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 Culture and Charisma

• More common in cultures with

prophetic traditions of a savior
• Manifested differently in different
cultures
• Can be seen as either positive or
negative

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 Ethical or Socialized
Charisma

• Focus on organizational goals

• Message built on common goals
• Encourage and seek divergent view
• Open and two-way communication
• Accepting of criticism
• Impression management used to
energize and motivate followers
• Describe the actual need for change

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 Unethical or Personal
Charisma
• Focus on personal goals
• Message built on leader’s goals
• Censors, discourages, or punishes
divergent views
• One-way, top-down communication
• Closed to criticism
• Impression management used to deceive
• Followers
• Create or exaggerate the sense of crisis
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 The Leadership
Question Revisited
• Charisma is a positive trait for leaders in many
cultures
• It has many positive aspects and a destructive
potential
• Charisma can bring an emotional high, but it
does not necessarily lead to effective leadership

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 Practical Implications of
Charismatic Leadership
• Charismatic leadership can be
powerful and impactful
• Based on the personality of the leader
• Focus on connecting with followers
• Remain open to followers’ input

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 Transactional and
Transformational Leadership

Transactional Transformational
• Focus on day-to- • Focus on change
day activities • Emotional bond
• Exchange between leader
between leader and followers
and followers

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Transactional Leadership

• Contingent reward
– Leader provides rewards in exchange
for performance
– Can be very productive
• Management by exception (MBE)
– Leader gets involved only to correct
and provide negative feedback
– Generally not effective

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 Transformational
Leadership

Transformational
leadership
ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE
Individual
consideration
Motivate and
encourage
Intellectual
stimulation
New ideas and
empowerment

Charisma and
inspiration
Overcome resistance
to change
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 Practical Implications of
Transformational Leadership

• Leaders must project confidence in

followers’ ability
• A clear vision is essential
• Encourage creativity, empower
followers, reward experimentation, and
tolerate mistakes
• Set high performance expectations
• Establish personal connection with
followers
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Key Characteristics of
Servant Leaders
Focused on
followers

Motivated by First among

service equals

Humble
Servant Empowering
leaders

Authentic
Empathetic

Accountable

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 Components of Authentic
Leadership
• Self-awareness of one’s emotions,
motives, abilities, and inner conflicts
• Unbiased or balanced consideration of
issues
• Behaviors reflect personal values and
convictions
• Relational authenticity that allows for
openness and appropriate sharing

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 Continuum of Authentic
Leadership

Person without Core values Authentic leader:

articulated values Person with strong
Identity
Behavior guided by articulated values that
Preferences guide decisions and
external factors
Emotions behaviors

Person with limited or some

articulated values
Behavior guided by a combination of
internal values and external pressures

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Characteristics of Positive
Leaders

Focus on
strengths Integrated
Efficacy

Intentional
Resilience
behaviors

Affirmative
Optimism bias

Dynamic

Confidence

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 Practicing Positive
Leadership
• Optimism
• Encouraging positive deviance
• Focusing on strength
• Creating a positive climate
• Maintaining positive relationships with followers
• Kindness and support
• Having positive communications with
affirmative language
• Dealing with negativity quickly

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Implications of Value-Based
Approaches
• Focus on values (integrity)
• Focus on followers and address their
emotional needs
• Focus on areas of strengths rather than
correcting weaknesses
• Positive leadership emphasizes thought
processes: how leaders think matters

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 A Critical Look at Value-
Based Approaches
• Risks of “delusional optimism”:
– Overestimate strengths
– Exaggerate talents
– Unrealistic about chances for success
– Silence legitimate criticism
• Being positive is not sufficient for
effective leadership
• U.S. cultural bias toward positivity; not
always applicable to other cultures

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 What Do You Do?

You have been at your company for close to five years and
have had excellent reviews. You are at a midlevel
management position and you like your job. It’s challenging
and satisfying; you like your boss and your coworkers; your
employees are great; and you have had satisfied customers
and steady growth. Nothing spectacular, but things are going
very well. A new CEO has just joined the company and she
has announced major changes: restructuring, moving people
around, new departments and teams, a push for new products
and services, new technology, several young top managers
from the outside, office redesign to make things open, and
much more. Your comfortable, safe, and successful routine is
being shaken up and everyone,
including you, is stressed out.
What do you do?

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Leadership Challenge

• Recognize the potential for “negative”

charismatic leadership
• Silence indicates acceptance, but
complaining may not work
• Self-preservation is primary
• Build reputation for competence
• Guard integrity
• Ask for transfer

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Leading Change:
Branson
• Break rules and do things others won’t
• Focus on making a difference and
creating things he is proud of
• Leaders must bring out the best in
followers
• Encourage employee and listen to them
• Find the right match between the person
and the job to motivate followers
• Moved to global issues
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 Leadership in Action:
Jung
• First female CEO of Avon
• Determined, confident, energetic, strong
communicator
• Passion for the business
• Named as one of the most powerful women in
business, and one of the top CEO “screw-ups”
• High confidence may have blinded her to
different options
• Did not groom successor
• Charisma was not enough

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