The 4 Types Of Charisma (and How To Apply Them To Leadership)
Everyone wants to have charisma, understood as that know-how in social situations that allows us to reach people, influence them and make them admire us in one way or another.
Although that is a fairly worthy definition of how we see it, the truth is that there is a certain diversity of charismas. Famous people such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi, Steve Jobs and Winston Churchill were charismatic, but not in the same way.
Today we are going to discover what they were the types of charisma of these historical figures and which ones can be applied in leadership roles, delving into the characteristic features of each one. Let’s go there!
In ancient times, they believed that charisma was a gift given by the deities, something you were born with or not. The Greeks, for example, believed that the Olympian gods gave a few lucky mortals the gift of being charismatic, differentiating them from the rest of humans and giving them a divine advantage. Luckily, this is not really the case, something confirmed by experts on the subject.
One of the leading experts on charisma is Olivia Fox Cabane, who has worked for many Fortune 500 companies In 2012 he published a book titled “The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism,” a work in which explains how to achieve a charismatic personality using various methods of cognitive and behavioral therapies.
Fox’s work is based on scientific research, insisting that in recent years psychologists, sociologists and even neuroscientists have demonstrated in a laboratory context that Charisma levels can be increased and decreased by adopting certain behaviors It’s as if we had a charisma bar and we could fill it by putting certain techniques into practice, just like what happens in the Sims games.
Thanks to her research, Olivia Fox explains in her book that, in the same way that there are different personality styles, with their defining traits, we can also find several types of charisma, of which she highlights the following four:
1. Charisma of focus
The charisma of focusing is based mainly on the feeling of presence and active listening. With the The aim is to convey to others the feeling that we listen to them and pay attention to everything they tell us
Thanks to this type of charisma, others feel heard, listened to, cared for and understood. It is also through the charisma of focalization with which we express respect towards our interlocutor. An example of this charisma is that used by Mahatma Gandhi.
When we talk and pay attention to someone we must take great care of our presence because, even if we do not speak, our body does not stop transmitting information. Body language is very important when communicating, and if it seems that we are distracted and inattentive, our interlocutor will catch it and think that we are not paying attention. Active listening is essential, along with a certain degree of patience.
It should be said that the charisma of focusing presents two main risks:
This type of charisma It is particularly useful when we need our interlocutor or audience to open up and share information that, at first, would be difficult for them to confess It can be of great help in difficult situations such as negotiations or to defuse hostile conversations.
Focusing charisma should be avoided when it is necessary to appear to have a high level of authority or during an emergency situation, when immediate obedience must be assured.
2. Charisma of vision
The charisma of vision is that which makes the audience believe and feel inspired by the sender, a great example of which is the famous Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple. This is a type of charisma that can be extraordinarily effective, although it does not necessarily make others like us.
Transmitting this type of charisma requires a certain ability to project complete conviction and trust in a given cause, project, or idea. It is based on power, but also on cordiality.
Charismatic visionaries are not always friendly people, but they feel their vision with passionate force and for your vision to be considered charismatically attractive it must include a certain degree of altruism, cordiality and kindness.
This type of charisma has a very dangerous risk, which is that of captivating people to join movements or societies that can harm them. We can easily understand this knowing that cult leaders often use a visionary charisma, even to inspire absurd ideas and motivate actions as obviously harmful as committing collective suicide, such as the case of Jonestown, led by James Warren “Jim »Jones.
3. Charisma of goodness
As its name suggests, the charisma of goodness It is characterized by cordiality and kindness It is the one that connects people’s hearts and makes us feel appreciated, understood, welcomed and, especially, accepted.
Here The most important area is the face, whose most kindly charismatic body language is expressed by the look, through the eyes Teresa of Calcutta is a great example of a charismatically kind person.
To express the charisma of kindness, it is necessary to work on aspects related to cordiality, such as benevolence, compassion, gratitude and indulgence. Gestures that convey tension, intimidation, coldness or criticism should be avoided.
Requires finding a certain balance between cordiality but also with the feeling of strength If you achieve this, you will avoid giving the impression of obsessively wanting to please, showing power, will and individual freedom, but with the true intention of helping others.
The charisma of kindness has the drawback that, by captivating people, they can feel disappointed, hurt or resentful when they are not allowed to be more present in our lives, especially if we have managed to be charismatic through abusive flattery and praise. excessive attachment.
This type of charisma It is useful when you want to establish an emotional bond or make someone feel safe and trust us It is very beneficial when delivering bad news or when having to deal with difficult people. However, it should be avoided in case we have to show a little authority or if there is a risk that someone feels too comfortable, does not respect the boundaries between their life and ours, and wants us to get too involved in their life.
4. Charisma of authority
Finally, we find the charisma of authority, which It is the one that plays the most important role, although it has the drawback that those who possess it are not necessarily liked by others This charisma is based on the perception of power and the conviction that whoever possesses it has the power to influence the lives of others.
The charisma of authority has the advantage that it motivates our audience to listen to us and obey us frequently, but it also presents a series of drawbacks:
It can inhibit the critical thinking of our listeners.
It scares our audience into responding, so we don’t receive information that might interest us.
It may make us seem arrogant. For this reason, a certain degree of cordiality is necessary when issuing a speech using the charisma of authority.
On the other hand, the charisma of authority is useful in any situation in which we want to be listened to and obeyed, especially in critical situations or in which we need the immediate compliance of others. It should be avoided in social environments, in delicate business situations or if we want to encourage the creativity and constructive reactions of our subordinates, especially considering that it can inhibit the critical thinking of our audience.
The charisma of authority can be evaluated using four indicators.
4.1. Body language
It is assessed whether you radiate confidence when trying to influence others As with the rest of the charisma, this is the most important factor, since any sign of insecurity will eliminate the possibility of there being a charisma of authority.
4.2. Appearance
The appearance serves to determine the status of the person You must choose the appropriate clothing, which, in most cases, is expensive or appears high-end.
4.3. Title or social position
The title or social position, understood as the position you occupy in society, your company or social circle, It brings with it a degree of authority depending on what it is that it does, even if the person themselves do not initially show traits in line with their social position
For example, if we meet someone who tells us that he is the boss of his company, we attribute to him a greater degree of authority than to any of his subordinates, even though he does not behave in a managerial manner towards us.
The way in which others react to the person is a factor that delimits the degree of authority, security and diligence that that individual has. If we see that others show him respect, we will assume that that person holds a high position and is someone who should be respected for what he has done or what he does towards society or a specific group of people.
The charisma of authority, although it draws on the personality traits of the person who exhibits it, is very contextual. Since it is so affected by body language, it is necessary that, at the moment of wanting to exercise authority, we are very sure of ourselves. To do this, we can use certain tools to try to enter a mental state that gives us security and confidence in ourselves. You should also take care of your posture, reduce unnecessary non-verbal gestures (e.g., nodding your head too many times), verbiage less, and speak with appropriate intonation.
You may be interested: “The 12 types of authority (in the family and in society)”
What charisma is the best?
According to Olivia Fox, No style of charisma has a guaranteed result in any situation It all depends on the circumstances and personality traits of each person. Based on what the author herself says, to decide which is the most appropriate charisma we must evaluate the following three indicators:
1. Personality
must be chosen the styles, tools and techniques that best fit our qualities and our emotional states For example, if we are not very cordial people, trying to achieve a charisma of kindness is going to be a difficult task, while perhaps it can serve us well for a charisma of authority if we combine it with self-confidence.
Related article: “The main theories of personality”
2. Goals to achieve
Depending on the goals we want to achieve, one or another type of charisma will be appropriate. If what we want to achieve is obedience, we need a charisma of security. If, on the other hand, what we want is to give the feeling that we are trustworthy people and that we care for others, we will resort to a charisma of focusing
3. Situation to intervene
Depending on the situation or context in which you want to intervene, from two perspectives:
Emotional: assessing how the people around us feel and what their needs are at that moment.
Social: a behavior can be interpreted as charismatic in one culture while not in another.
Fox herself gives as an example that the same degree of eye contact in Western societies like the United States can be received as a sincere and direct look, while In Asian countries, such as Japan or Korea, that same look is perceived as aggressive and intimidating
