Deb says, "I believe that you're not charismatic until the audience puts aside their texting and tweeting to listen to you."
To which I respond, Do I really want/need to be a charismatic leader?
I'm not alone in questioning the importance of charisma to leadership. Indeed, Dartmouth B-School Professor Sydney Finkelstein, published a book entitled, 'Why Smart Executives Fail.' In it, he lists seven habits of spectacularly unsuccessful executives. Guess what habit he included? Yup. Charisma.
Finkelstein says, "When executives become media darlings intent on burnishing the company's image (and their own) at every opportunity, they lose their operational focus." Catastrophe often ensues, he adds. And, the academic says, "if you can name a company's CEO, that alone may be a sign the company's in trouble." Yikes.
Finkelstein's P.O.V. sure holds true for the likes of Jeff Skilling, Dennis Kozlowski, BP's Andrew Heyward, Goldman's Lloyd Blankfein and the tarnished golden boy of Wall Street himself, Jamie Dimon.
One could argue all of the above were charismatic leaders. And, one could support Finkelstein's claim that all of these guys placed personal accolades above operational excellence.
Then, again, there are those charismatic leaders who DID succeed: Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Welch are just three examples.
I see charisma as a value add, not a trait to be learned, mastered and then used to manipulate the masses. Guys like Mussolini, Hitler and Saddam Hussein showed us what can happen when charisma is used for all the wrong reasons.
So, what's your take? Do you agree with Deb Brown that charisma is a trait every business person should add to her arsenal or should it be weighed against other personality traits that may be better suited for the leader in question and the business being led?
I can tell you that public relations has very few charismatic leaders. Indeed, some are an absolute bore. But, these very same leaders have built strong, successful brands without being lauded as PR's JFK or Ronald Reagan.
It's a conundrum, don't you think?
