Charisma As An Important Paradigm Of Leadership

The characteristics of charisma and charismatic leadership are currently very prominent topics of
study. The significance of impression management has been covered extensively by leadership
academics. The underlying principle of this type of leadership is that it changes followers' needs,
values, preferences, wants, and aspirations from individual interests to community interests.
Leaders are viewed as members of a community of practice instead of independent individuals in
command of their subordinates. This essay aims to discuss charisma as the current and dominant
paradigm of leadership and examine the ideas of charisma, power, and leadership. It will discuss
the use of the power of charisma for better leadership in enterprises. Charismatic leadership in
SMEs is also focused on here.

Choosing the best leadership approach can be difficult and complex. Because of the powerful
personalities that have been able to govern in that approach, charismatic leadership theory has
received attention from psychologists since the 20th century and continues to do so today.
Leaders with a lot of charm and charisma have left a legacy, like Martin Luther King Jr. and
Pope John Paul II. Given its current and potential uses in our society, the psychology underlying
this distinctive leadership paradigm merits greater study. The charismatic leadership approach
has a strong case for adoption, but leaders should fully grasp its intricacies before considering
incorporating it into their leadership practices.

Greek origins give the word "charm" its original meaning of "grace from heaven." The term
"authority" was first used in the field of sociology by the German sociologist Weber in the
1920s, when he identified three types of power: traditional authority, legal-rational authority, and
charismatic authority. Weber defines "charm" as a leader's inherent ability to draw people to him
and have an impact on them. It is founded on a person's admiration for their heroic,
transcendental, or exemplary traits as well as on the legitimacy of the normative forms or
directives he discloses or issues. This might be viewed as the starting point of the charismatic
leadership theory. (Shaoyi Cheng, 2019)

Charisma is the capacity for emotional expression, self-worth, conviction, and internal stability.
It also refers to intellectual stimulation, enthusiasm, and dedication to one's own goals.
Charismatic leaders are capable of inspiring others because they are confident in who they are
and what they stand for. In essence, charisma refers to a leader's capacity to uplift, encourage,
and support their team members, who then achieve extraordinary outcomes while putting aside
personal objectives, issues, and operational challenges. A person needs to inspire others and
make them feel special, important, and understood to be charismatic. Thus, charisma is less a
God-given leadership trait and more a reflection of how others see you. (Miller, 2022)

A charismatic leader can use power over his or her followers, but the reverse is also true. Thus,
this relationship is by nature, interactive. The topic of how to utilize power is central to the ethics
of a charismatic leader. (Takala, 2004) When assessing the charismatic leader's ethical behavior,
the major considerations are the goals and methods of leading. Critical theory and a
postmodernist conception of power may be the best perspectives for examining the charismatic
leader's authority. Charisma comes from a variety of places, thus it would be pointless to try to
narrow it down to a certain set of traits. And charisma isn't just about ideas, words, and winning
elections. It can complete tasks and is beneficial to business, particularly in the long term.

The elements of charismatic leadership according to Weber are (i)The view of charisma in
leaders. No matter what personality traits a leader may have, without the presence of a vision and
mission, he cannot be said to be charismatic. (ii) Possession of excellent and extraordinary
attributes, including self-assurance, commitment, moral principles, and religious faith. (iii) The
power to influence followers which includes the ability to acquire their dedication and assistance.
(Ivana Milosevic, 2014)

To achieve the goals of the organization, the leader's responsibility is to collaborate with others.
For this, he must comprehend human behavior and has communication skills to inspire and guide
others. The ability to affect how individuals and organizations behave at work is a key
component of management. The market battle for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is
becoming more challenging due to current global business conditions, manifested by intense and
unrelenting market competition, technological developments, information, and communication
developments, and changing customer behavior. Financial, technological, physical, and
organizational resources are increasingly losing ground to intangible resources (human
resources, creativity, and reputation) in these challenging company operating environments.

Human resources are among the unseen resources that are becoming increasingly crucial to the
survival, expansion, and development of these businesses. (Asmus Komm, 2021) Human
resources must be actively handled if they are to be a significant source of competitive
advantage. These emphasize the necessity for a charismatic leader with expertise, skills, and
talents to guide the workforce in accomplishing the enterprise's mission, vision, and goals. A
charismatic leader commands respect from subordinates and inspires, motivates, and builds their
confidence. A charismatic leader is essential to the economic success of SMEs because of the
traits he possesses that set him apart from other leaders. Charismatic leaders have a tremendous
capacity for persuasion, which helps them sell their ideas. (Lobel, 2018)

Several studies have shown a substantial correlation between followers’ work satisfaction and
organizational commitment and the leader's ethical approach. (Sabine Boerner, 2008) Effective
workplace cultures with lower interpersonal and workplace deviation are created by charismatic
leaders who have a strong ethical perspective. It all makes sense since leaders set an example for
their teams and the corporation through their behavior. Charisma can be employed not just for
financial gain, but also for success and creating environments where people can flourish. In an
unstable economic situation, people want to be led by a leader who can reassure them, provide
them with hope, and direct the bow in the correct direction. (Zehndorfer, 2015)

In this situation, charismatic leadership emerges as essential for the competitiveness of both large
and small, and medium-sized businesses. All businesses must respond more effectively to the
difficulties posed by globalization to maintain and improve their competitive position. In this
sense, employees, particularly leaders, have developed into a crucial source of competitive
advantage for businesses.

Several organizational studies have recently focused on charismatic leadership in organizations.

Nowadays, there is a propensity to emphasize personality factors in organizational environments,
such as the charisma of the leader. According to Max Weber, charisma is literally "the gift of
grace." Weber uses it to describe self-appointed leaders who are followed by distressed
individuals. Genuine charisma derives its power from followers' obligations to identify their
leader.

Leaders who are charismatic, foster change and present an idealistic image of the future. They
can effectively convey difficult concepts and objectives so that their message is understood and
embraced by people To transcend the status quo and effect change, charismatic leaders also
behave unconventionally. The last attribute that all charismatic leaders have in common is that
they get their power from personality traits instead of a formal position of authority. People want
to be like the leader because they respect, admire, and relate to him or her.

Leadership and power go hand in hand; while one can exercise power without also being a
leader, one cannot exercise leadership without power. Understanding the sources of power and
influence will help small business managers develop their leadership abilities. Leadership and
the idea of power are related because they both involve the process of influence. There is a
power dynamic between leaders and followers and is known as leadership. (Northouse, 2010)
Additionally, power is frequently described as the capacity of one individual to persuade others
to follow instructions or to accomplish something. Other definitions emphasize that having
power means having the ability to bring about the desired results or aims. The potential to
persuade others in an organization to achieve desired results is known as power.

Hard power is the sort of strength that allows a manager to give commands and expect them to
be followed. Effective leaders don't just use their formal position's overwhelming authority to
sway others. Soft power comprises expert power and referent power, which depend more on a
person's personality and social connections. It takes self-knowledge on the part of the leader,
situational awareness, and focus on the needs of people and the organization to strike a balance
between hard and soft leadership power.

The two main soft power resources in both hard and soft leadership power are the leader's
inherent personality traits and communication. (Nikoloski, 2015) The charismatic pull and the
ability to inspire others are the fundamental components of personal leadership abilities.
Persuasion and nonverbal communication are among the communication skills. The three
qualities of vision, emotional intelligence, and communication are particularly crucial for the soft
power component of the equation. Pragmatic leadership is the capacity to select the ideal ratio of
hard and soft leadership power. Instead of focusing on future issues and articulating a vision for
their followers, pragmatic leaders use their knowledge of the social system, their sensitivity to its
causal factors, and their knowledge of present events to influence others. (Katrina Bedell-Avers,
2009) The strategic leader makes a deliberate decision to use the approach that will be most
successful in the circumstance. Therefore, power is not just "evil," but it may also be a trivial
interaction between actors. The challenge in charismatic leadership is "how to exert power over
emotions" in a morally upstanding manner.
In the wake of workplace accidents, charismatic leadership is very helpful. Rather than seeking
and incorporating the opinions of all workers and managers, employees prefer leaders who
define, monitor and communicate an inspiring vision. During such a crisis, a leader is viewed as
charismatic if they are believed to be offering a "bold" vision and an effective solution. Gaining
followers' belief in and enthusiastic embrace of the vision is a crucial component of this
leadership impact. (Sidra Ansar, 2016)

Strong market rivalry and frequent changes in legislative rules are examples of variables and
uncertainties that increase the effectiveness of charismatic leadership. In these circumstances,
encouraging an aspirational vision for the future will unite all employees, strengthens employee
relationships, and lessens feelings of uneasiness. Implementing charismatic leadership by
establishing rules in a challenging environment has a beneficial effect on profitability, and
consequently, the competitive advantage of the business. The introduction of charismatic
leadership is beneficial in organizations where there is no employee cooperation, i.e., they are
not connected and do not adhere to rules.

To survive and strengthen their position as market competitors, SMEs must overcome the issue
of changing transactional charismatic leadership. Even though external forces are to blame for
most issues, internal business issues, particularly those involving the organization's human
resources, can be solved. The leadership model used in an organization has a significant impact
on its effectiveness. The laissez-faire paradigm has proven to be the least successful, so it should
only be applied carefully. In circumstances where risk may be anticipated, transactional
leadership based on monitoring can produce favorable results.

Effective leadership emerges as essential for competitiveness, not just for large companies but
also for SMEs. The foundation of idealized influence is the idea that followers respect and have
faith in a leader's ability to help and resources. Because of this faith, followers will follow the
leader's instructions regardless of how complex or tough they may be. Because of their
charismatic personalities, their subordinates can't help but notice them and try to imitate them.
Flexibility, expertise, sincerity, self-awareness, charisma, vision, the capacity to inspire and
encourage subordinates, and shared leadership are eight traits that help leaders in SMEs succeed.
Charisma is the most significant and influential quality among all of these. When used properly,
charisma is very powerful, but when used incorrectly, it can wreak havoc.
Leaders with idealized influence create a certain belief among their followers, and therefore they
can inspire all of them with their motivation. The working and performance levels of employees
in an SME are positively impacted by a leader's ability to instill trust in subordinates, uphold
high moral standards, and serve as role models for employees who are motivated to take risks.
The idealized influential leader exhorts SME personnel to work to the best of their abilities to
advance the SME. Through victimizing conduct and job pressure, charismatic leadership can
occasionally have a detrimental impact on the workgroup and company. However, even when
leaders are morally mature, followers tend to follow those who exhibit stronger moral
convictions. Idealized leadership's effect should be based on morally upstanding, legal behaviors,
according to its real definition. Employers' dedication, performance, and job happiness can all be
increased. It can also stimulate innovation, improve employee loyalty, and motivate staff.

To conclude, it can be said that the development of charismatic leadership is necessary as a

precondition for greater efficiency, productivity, and profitability, i.e., for maintaining and
strengthening the competitive position of all enterprises, especially small and medium ones, in
today's turbulent business conditions, which are expressed by strong competition, information,
communication, and technological development, as well as changing consumer needs and
demands. Knowing when to use authority and when to use influence, when to ask and when to
tell, when to take over and when to let go are all aspects of the art of charisma and leadership. In
every circumstance, it is essential for managers and leaders to comprehend the variety of
influence techniques they can employ, to know when and how to use them, to build their power
bases so they can be influential, and to hone their skills so they can influence people
successfully. To maintain and improve their competitive position, all businesses must respond to
the difficulties posed by globalization more effectively (Ristovska Katerina, 2014). In this sense,
workers, especially leaders, have emerged as an important source of competitive advantage for
businesses. The ability to empower followers through a special link or trust is another benefit of
charismatic leaders. Only if a leader can foster a strong sense of trust with a group of followers
can charismatic leadership theory be put into practice. (Alvernia University, 2019) The
charismatic leader's ability to hold followers accountable for their actions and behaviors is what
creates this link. Charismatic leaders also have a strong advantage in that they can continually
inspire their followers. Charismatic leaders cause followers to become highly committed to the
leader's mission, to make significant personal sacrifices in the interest of the mission, and to
perform above and beyond the call of duty.

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