Charisma and Leadership

Over the past couple of months in my executive coaching practice a few of my clients have expressed a desire to be more charismatic.  They see this as a necessary and required personality trait or skill that will allow them to become a better leader in their current position or to advance to the next stage of their career.  As they present this thought they express a desire to be like other leaders they have seen or experienced - leaders that stride powerfully into a room, articulate clearly their thoughts and directions, and apparently energize others to move forward on an initiative.  On the surface my clients seem to equate being charismatic with being an effective leader.

In my role as executive coach I have explored this perspective in some depth - what is it about being charismatic that equates to effective leadership for my clients?  As we probe these expressions of how they want to be as a leader other words and phrases come to the surface.  Those terms include "confident", "articulate", "inspiring", "competent", "energizing" and so forth.  Personally, I find these expressions of leadership more comforting, insightful and useful than a desire to be charismatic.  My point of view is that charisma may not be a true reflection of leadership acumen.  Rather, it can too often mask a lack of competence or character that in the long-term is detrimental to organizational success.  In my experience, charisma can simply be glitz and glam, whereas competence and character sustain and inspire long-term personal and organizational success.  Worse yet, charisma or charm can hide a lack of skill, some truly flawed personalities or an ugly agenda - no shortage of charismatic dictators in our world's history that have ultimately led their organizations or nations to an inglorious end.

The reality in recruitment and promotion to leadership positions does, however, lend some credence to the perspectives put forward by my clients.  We can all identify examples of leaders who have been selected or chosen because of how powerfully they present themselves in an interview or in a variety of public forums.  They are extremely effective in engaging with and making strong impressions on others.  They often hold strong opinions and are not afraid to push their positions forward.  They often possess a strong personality that in many cases simply overwhelms those around them.  They are crystal clear about what they want and what it will take to get there.  They also are usually quite effective in managing up.  As a result they do in fact often achieve positions of leadership or influence.  Why wouldn't my clients want to aspire to emulate these role models?

Don't get me wrong.  Being likable, charming, and charismatic are great qualities to have. This type of skill set and ability to connect with and convince stakeholders and decision makers is a critical business skill.  Being comfortable in being "on stage" and networking is certainly an asset when it comes to achieving an organization's objectives.  To the extent that a leader can galvanize their followers or stakeholders around a common and laudable cause or objective well that's a skill to be fully exploited. 

However, I suggest that charisma is not nearly enough to be an effective leader.  At least not over the long haul.  A charismatic leader without competence, character, compassion and commitment can be a destructive and dangerous force.  This is particularly the case when the goals of the leader are focused more on personal gain than organizational success.  Relying solely or heavily on charisma without some deeper substance, skill or commitment may work for a while.  It may be particularly effective if a strong team can carry a leader for some period of time.  However, once that initial grace period is over I believe effective leadership has to be supported by a more complete skill set.

So nothing wrong with aspiring to be charismatic and inspiring.  However, no leader is effective with only one arrow in his quiver or one tool in her toolbox.  So for my clients and for other aspiring leaders I encourage you to continue to work on developing other required leadership skills and capacities.  In addition, as and when you have the opportunity, whether as part of a governing body or a manager looking at a leadership hire, I implore you to look beyond a well-written resume and strong interview skills.  Dig deeper to understand the track record of your prospective leader.  Dig deeper with references and other means of validation to understand the true leadership skill set that is presenting to you.  Above all else, look for and test whether your prospective leader is going to be a strong representative of your mission, vision and values.  Your leadership choice will certainly define your organization - hopefully in the way you would want.
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.