ax Webber defined charisma as a “gift”, or a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he or she is set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, or exceptional powers or qualities. The charismatic leadership theory is a style of leadership in which followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors. Charismatic leaders have vision, are willing to take personal risks to achieve their vision, they are sensitive to follower’s needs, and exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary. It is safe to say that charismatic leaders are born, and they are made. Some examples of charismatic leaders are: Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. There is an increasing body of research indicating that strong correlation between charismatic leadership and high performance and satisfaction among followers. Those working for charismatic leaders are more motivated and put in extra effort because of the high level of respect for their charismatic leader. The downside of charismatic leaders is that those who are larger than life charismatic leaders don’t always act in the best interest of their organizations and can use their power to enhance their own image within the company. They sometimes do not know how to separate their personal interests from the organization’s interests.
On the other hand, Transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on their followers. They pay attention to the concerns and needs of individual followers, promote intelligence, provide vision and a sense of mission, communicate high expectations, and can change follower’s awareness of issues by helping them to look at older issues in new ways. They are also able to excite, arouse, and encourage followers to put extra effort into achieving group goals. They encourage their followers to be more innovative and creative. Abe Lincoln was a transformational leader
Some people argue that charisma is a part of transformational leadership, while others believe charisma by itself is too broad and insufficient to account for the transformational process. Some may believe charismatic leaders may want followers to adopt the charismatic world view and go no further while the transformational leader will attempt to implant the ability to question established views and those