Theories on Qualities of Leaders and Followers
Theories on Qualities of Leaders and Followers
There appears to be a particular trend in research on leadership. Most of it subsumes vision within charisma. Some scholars even suggest that it is the vision that leads to the attribution of charisma to the leaders in the first place. However, we think that charisma and vision are two distinct concepts and as such a leader may be charismatic but not visionary, or visionary but not charismatic, both charismatic and visionary, or neither. To us, charisma is an emotion-based construct or a “heart” thing and charismatic leaders understand their social environment very well and are masters of social skills. Vision, on the other hand, is a competence-based construct, a combination of intellectual ability and experience, largely a “head” thing.
In this paper, we distinguish between charisma and vision in detail and suggest that some of the confusion clouding the “new genre” of leadership theories becomes clear once we treat charisma and vision separately.
LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP
There is a particular trend in research on leadership; much of it subsumes vision within charisma (Weber, 1968; House, 1977; Bass, 1985; Bennis & Nanus, 1985; Conger & Kanungo, 1987; Avolio & Bass, 1988; House, Spangler & Woycke, 1991). One possible explanation for twining of the two concepts is that many well-known charismatic leaders had powerful visions. And, that is why charisma and vision exist together in our implicit theories on leadership. Some scholars (Weber, 1968; Conger, 1989) even suggest that it is vision that leads to the attribution of charisma to the leaders in the first place.
Conger (1989:92) described charismatic leaders as “meaning makers” and noted that the amount of charisma attributed to a leader increases as the leader’s vision becomes more idealized in the minds of followers. In a review of charismatic leadership literature, “Connor et al. (1995:530) noted that vision is central to charisma and that “charisma involves the ability to provide a compelling vision”. Similarly, Graham (1991:105) observed that “an ideal leader is visionary, practical and inspirational ... charisma is a term frequently used to describe leaders who possess these ideal qualities.” Sashkin (1988) argued that a charismatic leader articulates a vision for the organization, and this vision, in turn, provides the framework for organisational strategies. Contrary to the views of the above authors, we believe that charisma and vision are two distinct concepts and as such a leader may be charismatic but not visionary, or...