Guest Commentary by Härje Franzen:
Management quality is an organizational concept, while charismatic leadership must represent the extreme opposite as it puts an individual in focus. Most management literature is devoted to the characteristics of individual leadership and a great portion to charismatic leaders and charismatic leadership, more or less idealized portraits of men and women who have had a great influence on enterprises, whole industry sectors or even nations.
Scientific research concerning charisma attempts to define charismatic leadership and its end products. Charisma is not simply a question of personality traits, inherited or developed at an early age. Social context and position are also parts of the explanation. A person may be considered charismatic in one context and rather plain in another. An individual with a history of strong and charismatic leadership falls heavily from his or her pedestal when new facts appear, as we have sadly noted on several occasions lately.
The debate has also provided a platform for voices warning for exaggerated trust in “white knights” or charismatic leaders and we join this (expanding?) group.
The leadership role is a complex one: to build a business, to reach outstanding results and to make people of the organization enthusiastic both about the grand journey and the many mundane steps. The strength of charismatic leadership lies mainly in this last area. But time has proved that results were not sustained and sometimes doubtful from an ethical point of view. “Charismatic leadership bears the seed of its own failure”.
With one dominant leader, there is little room for others; even the copies dwell in the shade of the great man or woman. The disadvantages are obvious:
- No new ideas are being brought forward and tested. One single line of action is pursued without constructive criticism or review.
- Different personality types are suppressed and prevented from contributing fully.
- Successors are not developed properly. Yes-sayers and other harmless candidates are recognized. These persons are indoctrinated in the art of authoritative leadership, though they may lack the personality to make it work.
It is definitely not in the nature of charismatic leadership to nurture and develop persons who might question and change previous patterns of behavior.
In fairness, there are situations when a strong and dominant leadership may be the best choice:
1. In the case of extreme growth (“conquering the world”) the leader and his/her vision is the necessary glue of the organization, pointing out the general direction and giving marching orders in a seemingly chaotic world. (But as the organization grows it becomes increasingly difficult to depend on the leader’s personal presence. At an early stage it is necessary to start designing the organization that must function under a new and different leadership.)
2. In turn-around situations (“standing up against the world”) the charismatic leader with simplified views and messages may be the only person who can give the masses new hope. (But only for a limited time. Artificial respiration is never a permanent solution. He or she must create a vital and robust organization with the necessary self-confidence for future development on its own.)
Leaders who are endowed with divine gifts (and this is the true meaning of the word charisma) are rare to find. In the real world leadership is practiced by men and women with a normal distribution of strengths and weaknesses. The leadership of an organization must be carried out by such individuals – still it can be done at a considerably higher level than we are used to. This is what is meant by management quality.
Charismatic leadership may, like dictatorship, produce remarkable results in short time, but they are rarely permanent. Developing the management quality of an organization is, like democracy, a slower, less imaginative process, demanding patience and stamina, but it brings potential for long-term, sustainable, positive results.
The concept of Management quality is independent of person and provides continuity across re-organizations, changed ownership or changes in senior management. It sets a high standard for working conditions and provides a predictable environment for managers, other employees and all other stakeholders.
© Inutsikt AB 2003. With many thanks to Härje Franzen. Please note that this article may be reproduced or quoted, only when the source (www.inutsikt.se) and this copyright statement is included.
Coming up for discussion:
The next scheduled post will be about Mary Parker Follet’s thinking on the topic of power, and how it works in organizations.
However, we will continue to interject, where it seems appropriate, with commentary on events in contemporary organizational life as they relate (or not) to the concepts of offered in Managing Leadership. Be sure to stop in and join us!
News about the book:
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Sincerely,
Jim Stroup
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