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Charismatic Leaders were first described by Weber (1947), and later by Burns (1978), as one of his four transformational leaders. The other three leadership styles described by Burns include revolutionary leaders, intellectual leaders, and reform leaders.
The charismatic leader is also referred to as the heroic leadership style. The charismatic leader is viewed as having almost supernatural powers and abilities by the followers. Like all transformational leaders, the charismatic leader ignores traditional boundaries to bring about change.
The charismatic leader relies a great deal on personal charm to convince the masses that change needs to take place in society. Today, when most leadership studies are speaking about transformational leaders, they are very likely describing a form that is close in behaviors to the charismatic leader. Burns has the only leadership model that recognizes four different styles of transformational leaders. |
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