As discussed in the class, there have been some examples of effective and charismatic leaders in the past. There have also been a number of leaders who were arguably charismatic that have been detrimental to both their followers and the public.
Respond to the following questions:
- Why does charismatic leadership sometimes lead to disastrous negative consequences? Explain, with reference to the four charismatic theories, how the influence processes combine with leader behavior to produce disastrous results.
- Identify a charismatic leader—religious, political, military, or social—who caused harm to his subordinates or followers through his influence. Why do you think this leader was initially able to attract and control his followers?
- Which characteristics of this leader led to the harm-causing behavior? How could the facilitating conditions have been used for positive charisma?
- Can this leader’s charisma be explained by attribution theory or the self-concept theory? Provide reasons for your choice.
- Can charismatic leadership evolve into transformational leadership? How are these theories different from transactional leadership theories?
- Why were followers influenced so powerfully by this leader? Was it a result of psychodynamic processes or social contagion? Support your responses with adequate research and supporting data