What are the characteristics of charismatic and transformation leadership?

Obtaining leadership is not so straightforward, but there are many theories and easy ways to define leadership. Many people define leadership according to different circumstances. Therefore, leadership is the power of influencing others to convince them to achieve a particular goal.

Charismatic leadership and transformational leadership are the two remarkable types of leadership. Some people think that charismatic leadership is transformational leadership, but there are some differences between them. You can get a clear idea about the differences and similarities between transformational leadership and charismatic leadership by reading this essay.

Charismatic leadership is a quality of converting the vision into reality. The main characteristics of a charismatic leader are a strong personality, attractive communication skills, easily convincing others, etc. (Shamir & Howell, 2018).

Transformational leadership is leadership where a leader inspires and motivates their followers to achieve a particular goal. For the motivation of leaders, followers impose extra efforts to show support to their leader. Transformational leaders can profoundly tackle a situation, and generally, they are creative and intellectual. For their creative thinking, they can easily tackle any problematic condition (Anderson, 2017).

Both charismatic leadership and transformational leadership depend on leaders' ability to influence the people to follow them. The primary purpose of transformational leadership is to develop the team members to learn well. A charismatic leader's primary goal is to convert personal vision into reality.

Though some sociologists think that the aspect of transformational leadership is wider than charismatic leadership, some believe the charismatic leadership is called transformational leadership because both kinds of leaders impose their interests on their followers. Both leaders act as a model and inspirer, and they can quickly identify the follower's strengths and weaknesses.

People believe that charismatic leaders born with extraordinary charisma have all kinds of qualities to lead the people. On the other hand, transformational leadership is a kind of power that a leader obtains to overcome many obstacles. Furthermore, a charismatic leader has a natural ability, which can attract people. The transformational leader shows vision, mission and motivates people by their motivational speech.

A charismatic leader does not want to change anything of the organization; they work for personal benefits and always try to fulfill personal mission and vision. In contrast, transformational leaders always try to transform the organization; they convert followers into leaders, and sometimes leaders into moral agents.

In a book chapter, Irwin (2017) shows some differences between charismatic and transformational leadership. So, according to the chapter, charismatic leadership is dependent on energy and presence, which helps you to exchange will, belief, and power also. On the contrary, transformational leadership is the most effective, and transformational leaders are more active than charismatic leaders.

Generally, charismatic leaders are very willing to take risks. They always want to convert their vision into reality; for this reason, they take challenges. A transformational leader acts as a caring, supportive resource of their team and makes a learning aspect for the followers.

Transformational leaders become very concerned about the needs and feelings of their followers and also try to solve the problems of the followers. For this reason, followers trust them. For taking risks and challenges and overcoming these risks, the followers of charismatic leadership trust their leader. Gaining trust from followers is an essential part of charismatic leaders.

Another characteristic of a charismatic leader is articulate, which means they are an excellent communicator. They speak to people attractively. By their charismatic speech, they can convince people very quickly. Transformational leaders always hold a positive expectation on their followers that they are trying to do their best. That's why followers get inspired and feel free to do the work.

According to Zineldin (2017), transformational leaders are very respected people, and they also respect their followers. They act as a coach of their team and provide training and motivational speeches. But, they are not suitable at an initial level. On the other hand, charismatic leaders are the role models of society, but they may have some wrong sides. Sometimes, they can not judge whether the vision will be good or bad, and at last, the whole society suffers a big curse.

Therefore, every leader has some positive and negative characteristics, and one kind of leader can be different from another kind. So, you will find some similarities between charismatic leadership and transformational leadership, and at the same time, you will also find some differences between them.

Both charismatic and transformational leaders have an individual capacity that makes them trustworthy among the members or followers. Their high level of thought enables them to lead a whole team. Though charismatic and transformational leaders lead their followers, their maximum capacity is entirely different from one another, and also their leading purposes may be different.

Anderson, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in education: A review of existing literature. International Social Science Review, 93(1), 4.

Irwin, R. L. (2017). Charismatic and transformational leadership within a community of women arts educators. In Arts Education and Curriculum Studies (pp. 76-91). Routledge.

Shamir, B., & Howell, J. M. (2018). Organizational and contextual influences on the emergence and effectiveness of charismatic leadership. In Leadership now: Reflections on the legacy of Boas Shamir (pp. 255-281). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-357120180000009020

Zineldin, M. (2017). Transformational leadership behavior, emotions, and outcomes: Health psychology perspective in the workplace. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 32(1), 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2016.1273782

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