In politics as in business, charisma rocks!
March 8, 2004 | 12:00am
When marketing a product, starting a business, building a professional career, or aspiring for political office, you have to build a consumer base, or a constituency who identifies with you and the thoughts, and ideas you espouse. You need talent, skills, intelligence and resources to move on and hopefully succeed, but there is another more elusive element that needs to be harnessed the "it" factor called charisma. This is an element that is hard to put a finger on, but it has to do with the strength and competitiveness of your personality and how it affects your performance. It also covers your plans or platforms, your manner of interacting with internal and external stakeholders, your behavior and attitude manifested in the way you talk or move, and your method in projecting a desired image and character.
Charisma separates the leaders from the followers, the men from the boys, the mavericks from the mediocre, the high flyers from the low performers, from the runaway winners to the sore losers. Charismatics are described as inspirational, passionate, self-confident, insightful, ambitious, visionary and dynamic. You may be born with charisma, but just like every God-given talent, it needs nurturing.
Maintaining charismatic leadership requires persistence in inspiring others. It means consistently lifting their hearts, aspirations and capabilities towards personal and professional excellence. It means constantly maintaining the process of charismatic communications. Robert J. Richardson and S. Katharine Thayer, in their collaborative work The Charisma Factor, share some of their beliefs and feelings on how to spark extraordinary followings and engender amazing allegiance in others, encapsulated and annotated in the following discussion.
Charisma separates the leaders from the followers, the men from the boys, the mavericks from the mediocre, the high flyers from the low performers, from the runaway winners to the sore losers. Charismatics are described as inspirational, passionate, self-confident, insightful, ambitious, visionary and dynamic. You may be born with charisma, but just like every God-given talent, it needs nurturing.
Maintaining charismatic leadership requires persistence in inspiring others. It means consistently lifting their hearts, aspirations and capabilities towards personal and professional excellence. It means constantly maintaining the process of charismatic communications. Robert J. Richardson and S. Katharine Thayer, in their collaborative work The Charisma Factor, share some of their beliefs and feelings on how to spark extraordinary followings and engender amazing allegiance in others, encapsulated and annotated in the following discussion.
Charismatic leaders believe in the inherent greatness of the human spirit, coupled with the faith and resolve that short-term as well as long-term goals are carefully laid out and implemented. They know its far more important to not let current problems weigh too heavily on themselves or others. They set people working immediately on solutions rather than on worrying about possible failures. Optimism is the prevailing mood, which helps keep others from losing hope in the face of adversaries. It keeps minds open to the vast array of possibilities ahead.
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