TOPIC 2: CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP / DOMINATION

/AUTHORITY
Introduction
Charisma is from a Greek word that means divinely inspired gift which is the
ability of performing miracles or predicting future events. However, the German sociologist,
Max Weber who wrote a book named The Three Types of Legitimate Rule, defined
charismatic leadership as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or
exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed
or ordained by him. In addition, Max Weber defined charisma as a form of influence based
on the follower perceptions that the leader is endowed with the gift of divine inspiration and
not a legal mandate of authority. In other words, men do not obey the charismatic ruler by
virtue of tradition or statute but simply because they believe in their rulers ability. Robert
House had categorized the characteristics that someone must have in order to become the
charismatic leader which is he or she must be dominant, have a strong desire to influence
other, have a self-confident and a strong conviction in the moral integrity of his or her belief.
These leaders inspire trust, faith and belief in them. However, there is no guarantee that the
mission will be ethical, correct or successful. There are two conditions to develop a
charismatic leadership which is the first one is the existence of a crisis situation is important
for the emergence of a charismatic leader. This is because, in a crisis situation, people are
more likely to look toward a person who appears capable of bringing them through.
Secondly, the opportunity to articulate an ideological goal for a person to have charismatic
effects is assumed to be a situational requirement. Apart from that, the charismatic people
have a remarkable ability to distill complex ideas into simpler messages. People, who are
charismatic, communicate by using symbols, analogies, metaphors and stories. Furthermore,
they relish risk and feel empty without it and they are a great optimist. They are also rebels
who fight convention and they may seem idiosyncratic sometimes. Basically, it is particularly
difficult for charismatic leaders to maintain their authority because the followers must
continue to legitimize the authority of the leader. According to Weber, once the leader loses

his charisma or dies, the system based on charismatic authority tend to transform into
traditional or legal-rational systems.