Several of my recent blog posts have dealt with leaders needing to develop relationships. A recent article by Rosabeth Moss Kanter on September 11, 2012 on the HBR Blog Network title, Why You Need Charisma can be added to collection. Kanter states,
Leaders can hire for spreadsheet skills, but they can’t outsource relationship skills.
Kanter uses the description of a leader to support her position.
His magnetism isn’t in the stories he tells; it comes from the intense way he listens to other people’s stories and then draws them into an activity connected to that story.
His leadership model involves making sure all feel that they are special and will have their particular needs met, yet also feeling that they are all in it together, drawing strength from association….Lee’s world is appealing because it is highly positive; it’s hard to find a hint of rivalries or enmities[.]
Charisma isn’t oratory or rhetoric; Lee is not a polished speaker or writer. Charisma isn’t devoid of substance, either. Lee’s numbers must look good — which they do, because he can entice the best people and that entices others. Lee is just at the beginning of his leadership journey, but people have faith in him — more accurately, faith in the groups he can assemble because of his magnetism. That’s the essence of charisma.
It is true that no single individual succeeds by himself or herself. Even so-called “water walkers” (named after a religious figure, and one of my favorite images from my book Confidence) have stones holding them up while they walk on the water — that is, support systems just below the surface.
Some people, like President Clinton or my young friend Lee, seem naturally high in charisma, but there are ingredients that can be cultivated: A genuine interest in people. Listening to their needs and concerns, and showing that you will help them achieve their goals. Treating people as though each is special and deserves attention. Remembering details about them.
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