Charisma is an alluring, almost magnetic quality that maximises a leader’s influence. The results from a series of studies Rob and his colleagues published in the Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, however, reveal the dark side of charisma that emerges over time.
As Rob told The Economist:
“Confidence becomes hubris, risk tolerance gets reckless, vision becomes a pipe dream, and the dramatic flair seems melodramatic and distracting,” he says.
There’s a temptation to be hypnotised by a leader’s charisma.
Kaiser warns, however, “But then, the darkly charismatic leader’s grand plans turn out to be grandiose and not based in the reality on the ground: constraints, resource requirements and the practical aspects of execution get overlooked—and the results don’t live up to the hype.”
Read the article here
