Charismatic Leadership

Take a second to think of the most inspirational leaders in the world, past or present. Who’s on your list? Perhaps people like Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, or Winston Churchill. But what exactly makes these figures so magnetic and inspiring? In a word: charisma. Charisma is a must for leaders, and its importance is on the rise.

The key message here is: Charisma is crucial – and its importance is only growing.

All charismatic leaders have one thing in common: an affective presence. Affective presence means that the strength of your character has a positive effect on other people’s emotions. Affective presence makes your employees feel good about you, which, in turn, makes them more committed to your organization and their place within it.

Charismatic leaders cultivate affective presence through a mixture of five distinct traits: authenticity, personal power, warmth, drive, and persuasiveness. But don’t be deceived – you don’t have to ooze these qualities in order to be truly charismatic. Excessive amounts of any of the five traits may even have a net negative effect on your business! Instead, it’s much better to possess each of the five in balance.

According to the author’s research, leaders with moderate levels of charisma can make employees feel 65 percent more respected, 56 percent more motivated, and 24 percent happier to go above and beyond in their work. That extra engagement and productivity translate to a host of other benefits, including greater profit. In fact, companies with highly engaged employees have twice the annual net profit of companies whose employees are not very engaged.

Numbers aside, charisma is only becoming more important given today’s increasingly automated workforce. The McKinsey Global Institute reports that by 2030, up to 375 million people globally will need to change their occupation and acquire new skills. Additionally, technology will lead to a much stronger remote working culture. With ever-smaller teams of full-time employees working in offices, the kind of charisma that inspires a team will be more important than ever before.

To top it all off, business forecasters believe that workforces will soon be split into two distinct groups. On the one hand, you’ll have tech-oriented folks working with advanced digital technologies. On the other, you’ll have charismatic, innovative individuals leading the charge to implement the changes and ensure company success.

All of these factors mean that strong leaders who inspire their teams and encourage creativity and innovation will be more necessary than ever. Organizations without such leaders may find themselves left in the dust.