Investigating charismatic leadership was an interesting topic for me to research, as I dont consider myself a particularly charismatic person, especially in a leadership perspective. I do, however think there is definitely somewhat of a role for charismatic leaders in the educational field, but we must be cautious to avoid the pitfalls of this leadership style as well. Charisma and its role in leadership was first formally defined by Max Weber, who emphasized the role of personality and ones ability to lead others through inspiration, often in a religious context. Weber proposed that some people possess exceptional qualities and characteristics that enable them to generate a following and change behavior solely based on their ability to create a sense of awe or reverence among their followers. Many other scholars have built upon Webers ideas, and further defined what it is that a charismatic persons abilities allow them to do once placed into a formal leadership role. Jay Conger and Rabindra Kanugo outlined five dimensions of behaviors exhibited by a charismatic leader. Two of the most important in defining such a leader are strategic vision and articulation, and unconventional behavior. In other words, charismatic leaders arent afraid to upset the status quo, but they do so in a way that is very inspirational and easily attracts followers. I think that the work of Boaz Shamir, Robert House, and Michael Arthur defines the behaviors of a charismatic leader in a way that is most easily related to the educational setting. Their descriptions include behaviors such as articulating an appealing vision, emphasizing the ideological aspects of the work, communicating high performance expectations, expressing confidence that subordinates can attain goals, showing self-confidence, modeling exemplary behavior, and emphasizing collective identity. That sounds like a pretty good description of someone who would be an effective leader in education- whether it be an administrator or a teacher leader such as an instructional coach or a mentor. There are many advantages and disadvantages to having a strong charismatic leader in charge of an organization, educational or otherwise. Charismatic leaders share much in common with the ideas espoused by the transformational leadership theory, such as inspiring confidence and leading through times of difficult change. However, there have been a number of leaders throughout history as well as in the educational field that have used their charisma in ways that have led to the demise of their organizations. When the focus shifts from the vision or task of the organization to the prominence and reputation of the leader themselves, problems are likely to occur. Charismatic leaders also often do not value the input of their subordinates, seeing accepting such contributions as a sign of weakness, when in reality we know that the people closest to the problem or work being done, such as classroom teachers in a school, are the ones who often have the best insight to offer realistic and workable ideas and solutions. Whether the charismatic leadership style is best for the education field can only truly be considered on a case by case basis. In a large, struggling school that has experienced a lot of crisis and change, a strong charismatic leader might be just what is needed to turn things around. Other schools with an established culture and a highly engaged teaching staff might struggle to accept a new and unknown entity such as a charismatic leader who has a radically different vision for what success looks like in education. Overall, someone looking to move into a leadership role in the education field would be wise to investigate both the benefits and drawbacks to incorporating the charismatic leadership style into their own.
References:
Collins, J. (2011, November 21). Charisma, Schmarisma: Real Leaders are Zealots [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ1FI- WTJUI
Evje, B. (2012). 3 Dangers of Charismatic Leadership. Inc. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/brian-evje/three-dangers-of-charismatic- leadership.html
Lepsius, M. (2006). The model of charismatic leadership and its applicability to the rule of Adolf Hitler. Totalitarian Movements & Political Religions, 7(2), 175- 190. doi:10.1080/14690760600642180
McBryde, C. (2012). [Graph illustration]. A concept map of charismatic leadership. Retrieved from http://carolannewheeler.com/Documents/poster2.pdf
Rowold, J., & Laukamp, L. (2009). Charismatic leadership and objective performance indicators. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 58(4), 602-621. doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00365.x
Shamir, B., House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B., (1993). The motivational effects of charismatic leadership: a self-concept based theory, Organization Science, 4(4), 577-594.