1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this report is to examine charismatic leadership and to determine its significance and relevance for organizational change. The organizational impacts, definitions and explanations of charismatic leadership are varied in the relevant literature and any investigation must first consider how leadership and charisma are defined.
Terms such as transformational, transactional, visionary, instrumental, and super leadership have been used interchangeably with charismatic leadership to attempt to define the leader that does exist, but is difficult to explain not only in one type of organization, but in all types. Commonalities between these terms will be discussed and their implications for organizational change in both mechanistic and organic structures will be examined. The charismatic leaders relationship with the follower will be examined, as this may be the glue that holds the phenomenon together.
Taking much from journal articles and books to explain these concepts initially, this report will attempt to offer some explanation as to the necessity that the charismatic leader has in guiding organizational change, while trying to rationalize the confusion surrounding the inter-changeability of the defining terms.
The topic was chosen as it is at the forefront of organisational change research and there is a common perception in many workplaces that successful organisational change is initially the responsibility of the leader, president, general manager or chief executive officer, whether they are charismatic or not. Finally, important questions remain as to whether the charismatic leader is always the most suitable style and can the dangers out way the benefits for this leadership style.
2.0 ...