Charismatic and Transformational Leadership Research Paper - 1

Charismatic and Transformational Leadership - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that charismatic leadership can be defined as a leadership that is characterized by exceptional devotion, exemplary traits and heroism of the leader. The term â€Å"charismatic leadership† is conventionally used for such great leaders as prophets, though it can also be used for famous political leaders. One such political leader whose style of leadership is frequently identified as charismatic is Mahatma Gandhi. There are other leaders who may not be entirely popular for their positive traits, yet are known to have certain charismatic features that have had great influence on their followers. One such leader is Adolf Hitler. The charm of such leaders reflects in the fact that followers tend to comply with their instructions unarguably. There has been a lot of research upon the psychological attributes of leaders that make them charismatic in their leadership style. This paper makes a conclusion that the process of charismatic leadership is governed by three prime factors, namely the traits of the leader, the social situation that imparts need of a charismatic leader, and the bondage between the followers and the leader. There are six steps that explain the process of charismatic leadership from the start till end. These six steps are identification, activity arousal, commitment, disenchantment, depersonalization, and alienation. The identification step occurs as a result of the composition of the three factors that have been discussed before.