Do you have someone in your circle whom you consider a charismatic personality? Take a good look around. Maybe even look into your past. Find one? How would you describe that mysterious charisma? One of my colleagues comes to mind. Tall man, athlete - former karate player. He never went anywhere quietly. His footsteps rang through any space and his voice sounded like a fanfare. Like a magnet, he attracted the attention of his surroundings, and it obviously did him good. He fascinated with his stories and his bold, daring plans. He provoked and inspired to follow.
The origin of the word charisma
If you look up the meaning of the word, you will find that charisma (derived from the Greek "kharisma") expresses nobility or kindness. The origin of the word is associated with the Apostle Paul and his letters written around 50 AD. The word "charisma" is said to be used in them and for Paul it meant "gift of God's grace", i.e. "spiritual gift" - the gift of oratory, special personal attraction and charm. And so, as is usual with gifts, their significance grows with the enjoyment of both the owner and the wider community.
Is charisma something that only a few individuals have been blessed with, or did we all receive charisma at birth and lose it somewhere along the way?
The seductive appeal of charisma
The German sociologist and economist Max Weber (1864-1920) took the word "charisma, charismatic" from theology. He observed that the strength and power of an individual comes not only from his office or position of prominence, but also from his personality, his psychological power. He first characterized charisma as a certain "magical quality". For Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft (1925) he refined his formulation, this time specifying charisma as a gift of body and spirit, namely 'an exceptional spiritual gift'. He was referring in particular to the emotional and visionary abilities of tribal magicians, shamans and warriors, which he felt were not available to everyone.
What shapes what we call "charisma"?
Over the course of time and research around the phenomenon of charisma, researchers have identified several traits that charismatic people possess. They have divided these into characteristics tied to the physical side of the individual (such as appearance) and psychological characteristics, i.e. the qualities and abilities of the individual and their influence on other people. Charisma came to be described as a kind of talent. This includes the ability to clearly express wants, needs, thoughts and intentions with an appropriate amount of emotion, enthusiasm and passion for a cause, which is a way of gaining supporters, a form of influence, persuasion and mobilisation for action. Such people are often perceived by their surroundings as supermen and heroes who can do the impossible. They appeal to the desires and wishes of those around them. They often emerge in a crisis and mobilize by their approach to achieve challenging goals. They can lift others out of the lethargy of hardship, they can support them - boost their self-confidence or "kick-start" a flagging faith, they give order and meaning to things and efforts again.
I have to admit to myself that I admire confident speakers, fearless thinkers and incisive storytellers. Although the theatrics and over-dramatics get on my nerves. When it comes to bosses or bosses, I much prefer those who have "juice". I gravitate towards open and direct individuals who make no secret of original attitudes and ideas, strong personal vision. I appreciate their sense of humor, firm posture, well-groomed appearance, eye contact and a kind of inner magnetism.
However, I have also learned over the course of my career that many of the qualities that make me attracted to a person at first glance become the reason I end up disappointed. The high expectations I have usually don't come true, and it's also easy to underestimate the fact that everything has a flip side.
If we place our power, our abilities, our free choice and decision-making completely in the hands of another being or institution (often without realizing it) and rely only on them and on being taken care of, we are gambling with our own freedom and power.
Margarita MAYO, a researcher in the field of leadership and organizational behavior, has found that we look to strong and charismatic leaders for protection and support when we experience anxiety and uncertainty. Whenever we find ourselves in difficulty, we long for someone to "rescue" us and offer a simple, easy and painless solution. Perhaps this is the reason that leads us to seek out those who seem to have strong self-confidence and decisiveness in certain circumstances, or who simply come across as making us feel a little better and safer in a given situation.
The downside of charismatic individuals
Deep insight into human emotions, the ability to easily arouse sympathy and "pull the crowd" can turn into a dangerous tool. All the more frightening when it comes to a man whose confidence, charm and other strengths have given him access to considerable resources and the right to make decisions about them. The story of Adolf Hitler is still vivid - he quickly rose from a rejected art student to become the charismatic and then powerful "leader" of the German people. He wanted to win his "happiness and rights" at the expense of other people and nations.
Even today, reports similar to those about the charismatic former Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn, who has been accused of fraud, are no exception. In an effort to ensure that his company's sales figures were as high as possible and as profitable as possible, this prominent and infallible man sold millions of diesel cars of the VW, Damage, Audi a Seat with illegally modified software that allowed the cars to produce significantly less pollutants in emissions tests than in real life. Similar cases involving embezzlement, tax evasion, falsification of documents, or the misuse of information and power for personal enrichment and benefit have rocked the world of politics and business from time to time.
These experiences led to a reassessment of the importance of charismatic charm in people. It has become apparent that at some point charismatic individuals want to win at all costs and are willing to subordinate all possible and available means to this goal. They cease to care about the impact of their actions on those around them, and are not interested in the opinions or attitudes of the people who follow them. They do not engage in dialogue. Their personal ambitions, intentions and visions become decisive. It is this insight that has led psychologists such as Robert Hogan, Jonathan D. What makes charismatic people charm their surroundings and how do they conceal their purely personal motives? The answer was precisely in their highly developed social skills, their ability to impress in selection processes - people with higher levels of narcissism initially appear to others as people with confidence and charisma. Over time, however, their sense of superiority and the legitimacy of their personal claims become apparent. They do not perceive their mistakes and are neither willing nor able to learn from them. The former head of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, was notorious for demanding extreme respect for his person, for being intimidated and for not tolerating disagreement.
The Achilles' heel of those who are endowed with charisma, inner energy and attraction for others is healthy self-reflection, which they gradually lose, and with it the degree of responsibility for the whole, empathy and compassion. Perhaps so that they don't waste their lives caring for others and can claim more victories to their credit.
Let's be everyday heroes
As it turns out, most of our complicated problems today can no longer be solved by blindly and devotedly following a "hero" in the crowd. In order to face all the complex challenges of our times, a broader perspective and a genuine collaboration of different forces and talents is needed, regardless of obstacles and difficulties. We need better community functioning and fewer exceptional stars shining on the horizon alone.
And that is why it is necessary to become an "everyday hero". Professor Philip Zimbardo, one of the most respected psychologists in the world, comes up with this concept. His research shows that you are not born a hero, you have to become one. And to do that, it's often necessary to get outside our comfort zone, to master our fears. To follow our vision in life, we often need to go in a different direction than where others are going. Is it too hard and the outcome is uncertain? Yes. That is the essence of personal strength and heroism. This gift is within each of us - let us discover it.
This article was published with the kind permission of of the magazine Sphere
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