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The 4 types of charisma (and how to apply them to leadership)

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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 quite worthy definition of how we see it, the truth is that there is a certain diversity of charisms. People as famous as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi, Steve Jobs or 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 which are the characteristic features of each one. Let's go there!

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The 4 most important types of charisma

In ancient times, they believed that charisma was a gift given by divinities, something you were born with or not. The Greeks, for example, believed that the Olympian gods gave a few mortals fortunate the gift of being charismatic, differentiating them from other humans and giving them an advantage divine. Fortunately, this is not really the case, something confirmed by experts on the subject.

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One of the greatest experts on charisma is Olivia Fox Cabane, who has worked for many of the Fortune 500 companies.. In 2012 she published a book entitled "The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism". the art and science of personal magnetism ”), a work in which she explains how to achieve a charismatic personality using various methods of cognitive and behavioral

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 is as if we had a bar of charisma 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 states in her book that, in the same way that there are different styles of personality, with its defining traits, we can also find several types of charisma, of which she highlights the next four:

1. Targeting charisma

The charisma of targeting is based, mainly, on the feeling of presence and the active listening. With the It is intended 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, heard, cared for and understood. It is also through the charisma of focus with which we express respect towards our interlocutor. An example of this charisma is that used by Mahatma Gandhi.

When we speak 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 gives the feeling 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 as well.

It should be said that the targeting charisma presents two main risks:

  • In case we seem not very imposing or strong, it can be interpreted as a servile and submissive attitude.
  • If it is not accompanied with cordiality and a certain delicacy, the interaction between the two interlocutors can turn into a cold interview or an interrogation.

This mode of charisma It is particularly useful when we need our interlocutor or audience to open up and share information that, at first, it would be difficult for them to confess. It can be of great help in difficult situations such as negotiations or to defuse hostile conversations.

The charisma of targeting should be avoided when it is necessary to appear that we have a high level of authority or during an emergency situation, when obedience must be ensured immediate.

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2. Vision charisma

The charisma of vision is one that makes the audience believe and feel inspired by the issuerA great example of him being the famous Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple. It 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 specific cause, project or idea. It is based on power, but also on cordiality.

Charismatic visionaries are not always warm people, but they feel their vision with passionate force., and for your vision to be considered as something charismatically attractive it must include a certain degree of altruism, warmth and kindness.

This type of charisma has a very dangerous risk that is to captivate 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 ideas. absurd and motivate actions as obviously harmful as committing collective suicide, such as the Jonestown case, led by James Warren "Jim" Jones.

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3. Charism of kindness

As its name suggests, the charism of goodness 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 caringly charismatic body language is expressed by the look, through the eyes. Teresa of Calcutta is a great example of a charismatically caring person.

To express the charism of goodness, 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 do, 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 charism of kindness has the disadvantage that, by captivating people, they can feel disappointed, hurt or resentful when they are not They are allowed to be more present in our lives, especially if they have managed to be charismatic through abusive flattery and attachment excessive.

This kind 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 breaking bad news or dealing with difficult people. However, it should be avoided in case we have to show a bit of authority or if there is a risk that someone will feel too comfortable, that he does not respect the limits between his life and ours, and that he wants to involve us too much in his life.

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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 downside that what they possess is 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 has a number of disadvantages:

  • It can inhibit the critical thinking of our listeners.
  • It intimidates our audience to respond, so we do not receive information that could be of interest to us.
  • It may make us look arrogant. Therefore, a certain degree of cordiality is necessary when delivering a speech using the charisma of authority.

Secondly, 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 agreement of others. It should be avoided in social settings, in delicate business situations or if we want to encourage creativity and reactions constructive actions of our subordinates, especially considering that it can inhibit critical thinking of our audience.

The charisma of authority can be assessed using four indicators.

4.1. Body language

It is assessed whether he radiates security when trying to influence others. As in the rest of the charisms, this is the most important factor, since any sign of insecurity will eliminate the possibility of a charisma of authority.

4.2. Appearance

The appearance serves to determine the status of the person. You should choose the right clothes that, in most cases, are expensive or seem high-level.

4.3. Title or social position

The title or social position, understood as the position he occupies in society, the company or his social circle, brings with him a degree of authority depending on what he does, even if the person himself does not initially show traits consistent with his social position.

For example, if we know someone who tells us that he is the head of his company, we attribute a higher degree of authority than any of his subordinates, even though he does not behave in a directive manner with us.

4.4. Reaction of others to your presence

The way in which others react to the person is a factor that defines the degree of authority, security and diligence that that individual has. If we see that others show respect to him, we will assume that that person holds a high position and he is someone who must be respected for what he has done or what he does for 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. How it is so affected by body language is necessary that, at the moment of wanting to exercise authority, we are very sure of ourselves. For this, certain tools can be used 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 (p. g., nodding too many times), verbiage less, and speak with proper intonation.

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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 the personality traits of each one. Based on what the same author says, to decide which is the most appropriate charism we must assess the following three indicators:

1. Personality

They must be chosen the styles, tools and techniques that best fit our qualities and our emotional states. For example, if we are unfriendly people, trying to achieve a charisma of kindness is going to be a difficult task, while perhaps it can serve us for a charisma of authority if we combine it with security in ourselves themselves.

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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 serve others, we will resort to a targeting charisma.

3. Situation to intervene

Depending on the situation or context in which you want to intervene, from two perspectives:

  • Emotional: valuing 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 such as the United States can be received as a sincere and direct gaze, while in Asian countries, such as Japan or Korea, that same look is perceived as aggressive and intimidating.

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