"To be a manager or a leader - in essence, a manger is a
leader-you have to have one of two essential things; if you've got them both, then you are
just set for life. One is you have to be as technically competent if not better than your
peers or the people you are going to manage. Two is charisma, and generally the managers
at Microsoft are not the Charisma types." - Microsoft Secrets
"There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody
to do anything. Did you ever stop to think of that? Yes, just one way. And that is to make
the other person want to do it." - How to win friends and influence people by Dale
Carnegie (Introduction to Chapter 2)
Inspiring your subordinates
As we've seen above, in order to get people to do things, they
need to be motivated. While bribery and threats may work in the short term, leaders
inspire subordinates to want to accomplish goals. This issue, we'll talk about three keys
to inspiration: Charisma, Credibility, and Character.
Charisma
Charisma comes from the great word "Charism" which means
"Gift." People with Charisma seem to have a natural ability to draw others to
them. Peers and subordinates want to be accepted and respected, and will work harder to
earn the approval of the Charasmatic. In the past, this has jokingly been referred to as
"Motivation by walking in the room", because when the Charasmatic walks in the
room, people focus harder on getting things done. Charasmatics typically show a passion
for what they are doing, a keen interest in the accomplishments of subordinates, and a
great deal of energy. Charasmatics can "work up" a group into a frenzy in a
short period of time.
Credibility (And it's twin, competence)
So, the Charasmatic has "pumped people up" about
starting a Color Guard. They are excited and inspired. Now, they are going off into
uncharted territory; the Squadron never fielded a Color Guard before. Soon, the excitement
turns to worry; how are we gonna do this? How can we learn all this … stuff in three
months? We need help … The best thing a leader can do at this point is step in and
say "Let me teach you", or at least "Let me show you where to go to get
help." Leaders who prove they have the knowledge and skills to do the job well have
Credibility. Leaders that know a great deal about the subject matter show Competence.
Every time a Leader answers a question with "I don't know", Credibility and
Competence suffer. When leaders lack Credibility, they find they have to spend more and
more energy "pumping people up." It gets even worse if they lack character
…
Character
Let's say our leader got people excited, and then worked
side-by-side with his people to get the Color Guard up and running. But, he starts to show
up late to practices, or miss them without warning. He makes promises about the money he
is going to raise, or when he's going to have operations plans complete by, and starts to
break them. Finally, the week before the competition, he says "I'm sorry, I can't
attend the competition. I know I promised, but something came up; you'll have to do it
without me." Worse still, he starts to lie a bit to make himself look better, or he
suggests you cheat to beat the other team. Without character, anything a leader builds on
is just sinking sand. Character is a foundation quality; without it, the Charasmatic will
feel his influence slowly fade away. With it, a Non-Charasmatic can simply go about doing
his job and doing it well, and his influence will slowly increase over time.
Conclusions
In the long-term, it's possible to be a good leader without
Charisma. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the President of the United States during the Great
Depression and the Second World War, was confined to a wheel chair. He was not an
"impressive" man, but he did his job and earned the respect of his colleagues.
At the same time, William Jefferson Clinton was an extremely Charasmatic Man, but in the
eyes of many, he lacked Character. No matter how much effort he put in at the end of his
term of office, people who believed he lacked Character refused to follow him. Charisma is
a good thing, and should be sought after. Credibility helps leaders earn respect, and is
essential to building a team. Character, however, is a lynchpin of leadership. Without it,
influence and teamwork will eventually wither and fade.
Matthew Heusser, Capt, CAP
Leadership Officer, GLR-MI-265
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