What Does It Take to Be a Charismatic Leader?

From the Marshall Memo #438

In this Harvard Business Review article, John Antonakis (University of Lausanne professor), Marika Fenley (leadership consultant), and Sue Liechti (organizational development consultant) ask whether charisma – the ability to communicate a clear, visionary, and inspirational message that captivates and motivates an audience – can be learned. “After all, you can’t teach someone to be Winston Churchill,” they say. 

It’s true that some people seem to be born with extraordinary charisma, say Antonakis, Fenley, and Liechti, but they believe there is a set of charismatic leadership tactics (CLTs) that others who are less naturally gifted can acquire if they’re willing to make the effort. “Just as athletes rely on hard training and the right game plan to win a competition,” they say, “leaders who want to become charismatic must study the CLTs, practice them religiously, and have a good deployment strategy.” 

Charisma is a combination of what Aristotle called logos (powerful and reasoned rhetoric), ethos (personal and moral credibility), and pathos (rousing followers’ emotions and passions). “If a leader can do these three things well, he or she can then tap into the hopes and ideals of followers, give them a sense of purpose, and inspire them to achieve great things,” say Antonakis, Fenley, and Liechti. Their research has broken charisma into twelve components, nine of them verbal, three of them non-verbal. There are others – creating a sense of urgency, invoking history, using repetition, talking about sacrifice, and using humor – but the twelve below are the most effective:

• Metaphors, similes, and analogies – For example, in his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr. likened the Constitution to a “promissory note” and said black Americans had been given a “bad check” that had come back marked “insufficient funds.” 

• Stories and anecdotes – A business manager rallied her troops during the recent economic downturn by telling of her struggle to survive when her team was caught in bad weather climbing the Eiger peak. “We could have died up there,” she said, “but working together, we managed to survive.”

• Contrasts – “Ask not what your country can do for you,” said John F. Kennedy in his 1961 inaugural address, “ask what you can do for your country.” 

• Rhetorical questions – A manager asked an underperforming subordinate, “So, where do you want to go from here? Will it be back to your office feeling sorry for yourself? Or do you want to show what you are capable of achieving?”

• Three-part lists – A manufacturing company division head said to her staff, “We can turn this around with a three-point strategy: First, we need to look back and see what we did right. Next, we need to see where we went wrong. Then, we need to come up with a plan that will convince the board to give us the resources to get it right the next time.” Why three? Most people can remember three things, three gives proof of a pattern, and three gives the impression of completeness.

• Expressions of moral conviction – At the end of World War II, Winston Churchill said to his people, “This is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny… There we stood, alone. The lights went out and the bombs came down. But every man, woman, and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle… Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle – a terrible foe has been cast on the ground and awaits our judgment and our mercy.” 

• Statements that reflect the sentiments of the group – An IT director said this to his disheartened team: “I know what is going through your minds, because the same thing is going through mine. We all feel disappointed and demotivated. Some of you have told me you have had sleepless nights; others, that there are tensions in the team, even at home because of this. Personally, life to me has become dull and tasteless. I know how hard we have all worked and the bitterness we feel because success just slipped out of our reach. But it’s not going to be like this for much longer. I have a plan.” 

• Setting high goals – In 1998, a time when cathode-ray televisions dominated the market, Katsuhiko Machida energized Sharp, his struggling company, by saying, “By 2005, all TVs we sell in Japan will be LCD models.” 

• Confidence that the goals can be achieved – Gandhi, leading his people against British rule, said, “Even if all the United Nations opposes me, even if the whole of India forsakes me, I will say, ‘You are wrong. India will wrench with nonviolence her liberty from unwilling hands.’ I will go ahead not for India’s sake alone but for the sake of the world. Even if my eyes close before there is freedom, nonviolence will not end.” 

The last three charismatic leadership tactics don’t come naturally to everyone, say Antonakis, Fenley, and Liechti, and they’re the most culturally sensitive (what works in one country doesn’t in another):

• Animated voice – Emotions like sadness, happiness, excitement, surprise must show in one’s voice. Effective speakers go from a whisper to a crescendo and use pauses for dramatic effect. 

• Facial expressions – “Listeners need to see as well as hear your passion,” say the authors, “especially when you’re telling a story or reflecting their sentiments.” And eye contact is very important.

• Gestures – “A fist can reinforce confidence, power, and certitude,” say the authors. “Waving a hand, pointing, or pounding a desk can help draw attention.” 

“If you think you can’t improve because you’re not naturally charismatic,” conclude the authors, “you’re wrong… It’s true that no amount of training and practice will turn you into Churchill or Martin Luther King Jr. But the CLTs can make you more charismatic in the eyes of your followers, and that will invariably make you a more effective leader.” 

“Learning Charisma: Transform Yourself Into a Person Others Want to Follow” by John Antonakis, Marika Fenley, and Sue Liechti in Harvard Business Review, June 2012 (Vol. 90, #6, p. 127-130), no e-link