Charismatic Leadership in Organizations PDF
Preview Charismatic Leadership in Organizations
CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP in Organizations CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP in Organizations Jay A. Conger RabindraN.Kanungo SAGE Publications InternationalEducational'andProfessionalPublisher Thousand Oaks London New Delhi Copyright © 1998 by Sage Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: SAGE Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: [email protected] SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver's Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y ISP SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B-42, Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 110 017 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Conger, Jay Alden. Charismatic leadership in organizations / by Jay A. Conger and Rabindra N. Kanungo. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7619-1633-4 (acid-free paper) ISBN 0-7619-1634-2 (pbk.: acid-free paper) 1. Executive ability. 2. Leadership. 3. Organizational effectiveness. I. Kanungo, Rabindra Nath. II. Title. HD38.2 .C658 1998 658.4Ό92—ddc21 98-9003 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Acquiring Editor: Marquita Flemming Editorial Assistant: Heidi Van Middlesworth Production Editor: Diana E. Axelsen Editorial Assistant: Lynn Miyata Typesetter/Designer: Danielle Dillahunt Indexer: Trish Wittenstein Contents Preface vii PART I: Theory Development 1. Evolution of the Field 3 2. A Model of Charismatic Leadership 35 3. Charismatic Leadership: Measurement and Empirical Validity 71 PART II: Components of Charismatic Leadership 4. The Leader's Search for Opportunity 121 5. Aligning the Organization Through Vision 153 6. Implementing the Vision 189 PART III: Remaining Challenges 7. The Shadow Side of Charisma 211 8. Looking to the Future 241 Appendix: The Conger-Kanungo Charismatic Leadership Questionnaire 251 References 255 Index 271 About the Authors 287 Preface When we first set out to explore charismatic leadership in organizations a decade ago, there were but a handful of references concerning the topic. We felt very much like adventurers exploring a new land. Today, it is with a sense of surprise that we see how the field has flourished. The saying "let a thousand flowers bloom" would certainly be appropriate to describe how interest has unfolded. Given the growing attention to the topic, it seemed timely to introduce a book that would not only aim to integrate what we have learned to date but also would push our frontiers of knowledge further. We trust that readers will feel that we have succeeded in both of these objectives. To understand scientifically a phenomenon as elusive as charismatic leader- ship, three vital steps must be undertaken. First, a conceptual or theoretical framework is needed that can adequately describe the phenomenon and at the same time strip away its surrounding aura of mystery for both management scholars and practitioners. Second, the framework must then be empirically validated through systematic investigation looking at the nature, causes, and consequences of charis- matic leadership. Finally, after such validation efforts, the framework can and should be used to explain and predict charismatic leadership in actual observed cases in organizations. The first two chapters of this book are devoted to the first step. They explore how theory has developed over the past decade and specifically how our own theoretical framework has evolved. They close with a model of charismatic leadership in organizations. Chapter 3 looks at the second step— empirical validation. In this chapter, we examine a series of studies undertaken to test our theory and to develop a measure of charismatic leadership. These investigations confirm the validity of the model and have resulted in a reliable measure of what has heretofore been considered a highly elusive form of vii CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS leadership. Chapters 4 through 6 are devoted to the third step—the explanation of charismatic leadership as observed in company case studies. Here we illustrate our framework using examples of business leaders as well as expand on our model. Our final two chapters look at the challenges facing the field—the liabilities of charismatic leadership and future areas of research. Although charismatic leadership is often known for its positive consequences, it has a shadow side that has been poorly explored. In Chapter 7, we begin to address this important gap in our knowledge. Finally, while interest has grown dramati- cally in the topic, some might say that we have only scratched the surface. Chapter 8 therefore looks at where future attention must be directed if we are to more fully understand the many dimensions of charismatic leadership. We also include a discussion of the challenges facing leaders in the upcoming century and why charismatic leadership is particularly well suited to address these. In our writing throughout this book, we have both been guided by a belief that charismatic leadership is a critically important topic within the larger field of leadership studies, one deserving far greater attention than it has received in the past. We say this because charismatic leaders are often exemplars of the qualities we normally associate with leadership. For example, they can be remarkable change agents, able to reinvent entire organizations and societies. They are also superb examples of leaders who are master communicators and motivators. As such, they provide many important lessons for those who wish to lead others or for those who wish to study leadership. Paradoxically, these same leaders also provide us with lessons about the greatest dangers of leadership. Throughout history, certain charismatic leaders have proved themselves master manipulators and purveyors of evil. They have been responsible for the collapse of corpora- tions and of nations. Given these two faces of this form of leadership, it is imperative that we learn as much about it as we can for the well-being of ourselves, our organizations, and our society. It is our hope, therefore, that this volume will stimulate continued inquiry into this potent source of leadership. In writing this manuscript, we have been fortunate in having wonderful help. We especially want to thank Kim Jaussi and Gretchen Spreitzer for their review of our manuscript. Their comments have played an important role in improving this volume. We also want to thank Sanjay Menon and Purnima Mathur, who collaborated with us in conducting several of the validation studies reported in Chapter 3. They were instrumental both in helping us collect data and in analyzing it. Finally, we are especially grateful for the patience, fortitude, and skills of Deletha Gafford and Kristen Martin. They did a remarkable job not only of transforming our handwritten notes and script into text but also of managing the modern process of producing a book, one that has been assembled through e-mail messages and computer disks. PART THEORY DEVELOPMENT
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