CHARASMATIC LEADERS:

Ethical vs Unethical Leadership

by Lilit Tadevosyan Kirsh

Charismatic business leaders are often heralded as corporate heroes by orchestrating

turnarounds, launching new enterprises, engaging in organizational renewal or change,

and obtaining extraordinary performance from individuals. The effectiveness of these

leaders may be interpreted by executives as an unqualified recommendation for such

leadership in their organizations. However the risks involved in charismatic leadership are

at least as large as the promises. What is missing from current discussions about charisma

is consideration of its darker side.

Charisma can lead to blind fanaticism in the service of megalomaniacs and dangerous

values, or to heroic self-sacrifice in the service of a beneficial cause. (Howell &

Avolio,1992)

Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to

inspire. People follow a leader because they trust you.

Lee Iacocca

Overview:

History has great examples of charismatic leaders who achieved their ideas because they were able to influence the public. Here some leadership quotations that are inspiring and compelling. One of the best known by American black civil rights leader once said:

“…Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”, -Martin Luther King Jr., 1963.

Unethical Charismatic leader•Uses power only for personal gain or

impact

•Promotes own personal vision

•Censures critical or opposing views

•Demands own decisions be accepted

without question

•One-way communication

•Insensitive to followers’ need

•Relies on convenient external moral

standards to satisfy self-interests

Individual Qualities of Ethical and Unethical Charismatic Leaders

Ethical Charismatic Leader Uses power to serve others

Aligns vision with followers’ needs and

aspirations

Considers and learns from criticism

Stimulates followers to think independently and

to question the leader’s view

Open, two-way communication

Coaches, develops, and supports followers;

shares recognition with others

Relies on internal moral standards to satisfy

organizational and societal interests

Charismatic Leaders: Some Uncommon DenominatorsWhen we research the history of the leadership we come to an understanding that the most

charismatic and powerful leaders were the ones who serve their people. The leaders who have

integrity, charisma, courage, character, humanity; who communicate his or her vision, set a good

example, encourage employees, support them, recognize and reward creativity are called “Ethical

charismatic's”.The leaders who promote self-interest and manipulate their followers to achieve their own goals are

called “Unethical charismatic's”.

Exercising power Charismatic leaders can affect people’s minds, coordinate their actions, and that is the

power that needs to be used to master areas of innovation, talent, creativity,

understanding, respect and trust because those are areas that will become a stepping

stone toward an effective leadership. The good leader will be an example and will

inspire his followers. Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Leadership: the art of getting

someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

Exercising power or influence varies among ethical and unethical charismatic leaders. Ethical charismatic

leaders use power in socially constructive ways to serve others.

In contrast, unethical charismatic’s exercise power in dominant and authoritarian ways to serve their self

interests, to manipulate others for their own purposes, and to win at all costs. Power is used for personal

gain or impact. (Howell & Avolio,1992)

Creating the Vision Ethical and unethical charismatic leaders differ in how they create and express their

vision. Ethical charismatic leaders express goals that are follower driven; their visions

are ultimately responsive to the interests and desires of their followers.

Unethical charismatic leaders communicate goals that promote their own personal

agenda often to the disadvantage of others.

Communicating with FollowersTo set agendas that represent the interests of their followers, ethical charismatic

leaders continuously seek out their viewpoints on critical issues. Open

communication is the key principal.

Unethical leaders are one-way communicators, close –minded to input and

suggestions from others.

Accepting Feedback If there is an objective criticism Ethical charismatic leaders must take it for consideration and not

personally. They must look into the problem and find a solution. A good leader will be the one who

can overcome his ego and admit his mistakes. People usually have more respects for those who are

strong enough to admit their mistakes and learn from them.

Ethical charismatic leaders are realistic in their appraisal of their own abilities and limitations. They

learn from criticism, rather than being fearful of it.

Unethical charismatic leaders have an inflated sense of self-importance, thriving on attention and

admiration from others and shunning contrary opinions. Such leaders attract and gravitate towards

loyal and uncritical followers.

.

Stimulating Followers IntellectuallyEthical charismatic leaders encourage their followers to view the world from different perspectives which they themselves

may not have previously considered.

Unethical charismatic leaders expect and even demand that their decisions be accepted without question.

Developing Followers Unethical charismatic leaders are insensitive and unresponsive to followers’ needs and aspirations, while ethical charismatic

leaders focus on developing people with whom they interact to higher levels of ability, motivation, and morality.

Moral StandardsEthical charismatic leaders follow self-guided principles which may go against the majority opinion. They posse’s three

primary virtues: courage, a sense of fairness or justice, and integrity.

Unethical charismatic leaders follow standards if they satisfy their immediate self-interests. They are adept at managing an

impression that what they are doing conforms to what others consider “the right thing to do “.

The charismatic leader needs to so serve and put the

interest of his employees first. If one were more

concerned about his own affairs he will never be the

effective leader who has the respect and trust of his

employees. Lao Tsu once said, “A leader is best when

people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his

aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”

The failure of Success Ethical charismatic leaders have developed a value system that will help avoid the trappings of success. Moreover, the

promotion of the followers to higher stages of development provides the ethical charismatic leader with critical input that may

keep them from straying down the wrong path.

The unethical charismatic leaders tend to believe the praises heaped upon them. Rather than focusing on next challenge,

they become preoccupied with maintaining an aura of greatness.

The Impact of Charismatic leaders: Developing or Enslaving FollowersEthical charismatic leaders convert followers into leaders. By expressing confidence in followers’ abilities to accomplish

collective goals, and by encouraging followers to think on their own and question the established ways of doing thing, they

create followers who are more capable of leading.

Unethical charismatic leaders select or produce obedient, dependent, and complaint followers. They undermine followers’

motivation and ability to challenge existing views, to engage in self-development, and to develop independent perspectives.

Creating and maintaining Ethical Charismatic Leaders“As a transforming force, charisma is charged with explosive, unpredictable potential that, like the genie when released from

the bottle, is beyond our control.”(Roberts &. Bradley, 1988) Executives and managers need to be aware of the risks of

unleashing its darker side as well as the promises of cultivating its brighter side. Without awareness of the key behaviors,

moral standards, and effects distinguishing ethical and unethical charismatic leaders, appointing a charismatic to a

leadership position can be dangerous. The attributes which contribute to the unethical charismatic leader’s success in

aggressively ascending the corporate ladder may contribute his or her ultimate failure as a leader.

“Beware charisma! But to beware does not necessarily mean or entail “Avoid”…

be Aware! Then choose “

C. Hodgkinson

How ethical charismatic developed in the organization? Six key factors are:

Top management commitment to a clearly stated code of ethical conduct that is continually enforced helps establish acceptable standards or boundaries for employee conduct (Hegarty & Sims. Jr., 1979).

Recruiting, selecting, and promoting managers with high moral standardsare ways of creating a culture of ethical responsibility.

Developing performance standards and rewards that emphasize, for example, respect for people as individuals.

Providing leaders with education and training that teaches them how to integrate diverse point of view. Being able to see the interrelationships among new perspectives and old, lies at the source of moral development (Trevino, 1986).

Training individuals with necessary personality characteristics, social skills, and motivation to acquire ethical charismatic leader behaviors (Howell & Frost, 1990). Training in ethical leadership skills must be consistent with the philosophy of the top leadership in the company and the company culture.

Identifying heroes or heroines who exemplify high moral conduct. Such heroes or heroines need to be heralded by top management as essential to the long term success of the organization (Kahn, 1990).

In conclusion, building internal ethical standards in leaders is challenging undertaking which requires formal codes of ethical conduct, top management who subscribes to and practice ethical behavior, systems that reinforce ethical behavior and role models who exemplify high moral standards. In fact our ethical charismatic leaders reported that the most significant factor influencing their development of values and priorities was role models with whom they had very direct personal contact.

Conclusion: A Look Towards Future

We can just say that charismatic leaders of the past,

current and future need to have the ethical values

described in this presentation to be an effective and

successful. Times, technology can change but the core

values will remain the same. Ethical charismatic

leaders will be called only the ones that motivate their

followers, stay true to core values and set good

example. Each student of this class will read and

share many examples of charismatic leaders with great

values, and leaders who used the power to lead

nations to wars and disaster. What kind of leaders we

choose to be will depend on our values and our vision

of being successful leaders.

ReferencesHegarty, W.H and Sims. Jr., H. P. 1979. “Organizational Philosophy. Policies, and

Objectives Related to Unethical Decision Behavior: A laboratory

Experiment,” Journal of Applied Psychology.

Hodgkinson, C. (1983). The Philosophy of Leadership. New York

Howell, J.M. and Frost, P.J. 1898. “A Laboratory Study of Charismatic Leadership”

Kahn, W.A. 1990. “Toward an Agenda for Business Ethics Research”.

Nahavandi, A. (2009). The Art and Science of Leadership. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall.

Pettinger, T (2007). “Do you have the Characteristics of an Effective leader?”. Oxford

Roberts, N.C. and Bradley R.T. (1988). “Limits of Charisma.” San Francisco

Trevino, L.K. 1986. “Ethical Decision Interactionist Model.” New York.

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