"My power is dependent upon my glory, and my glory on my victories. My power would fall if I did not base it on still more glory and still more victories. Conquest made me what I am; conquest alone can keep me there." - Napoleon Bonaparte
What Napoleon was saying was that his being perceived as a charismatic leader was based on his success.
To maintain his charisma he had to continue to be successful.
Again, if you want to be a charismatic leader, you must first become a successful one.
But, are there any actions you can take to become charismatic before you become successful? Happily, there are! Here are the actions that charismatic leaders took and that you can take to develop your charisma too:
1. Show Your Commitment
If your want to be perceived as charismatic, it's not enough to be committed to whatever it is you are trying to accomplish. You must show your commitment to those you lead. There are many ways to demonstrate commitment. These include being persistent in the pursuit of a goal, going to extraordinary lengths, self-sacrifice, risk-raking, and the expenditure of personal resources.
2. Look the Part
A few years ago, a man did serious research on the effect of what you wear has on your success on the job. His result was astounding and demonstrated conclusively that your wear is important in becoming successful in what you do. However, you should know that what kind of leader you are and who you are leading can call for different types of dress for maximum effectiveness.
You wouldn't be perceived as much of a charismatic leader if you tried to lead ranch hands in a business suit. Also, the way you dress should be carefully built around the particular image of the kind of leader you represent.
3. Dream Big
No one wants to work hard or make sacrifices for small goals. And why should they? They can reach small goals any day by themselves. They don't need you. Accomplishing such goals means nothing. They aren't exciting. They give no great feeling of accomplishment when achieved.
However, if you show those you lead difficult goals, big tasks, and truly worthwhile missions, they will sacrifice everything in order to help you achieve them.
People will help you to reach goals that are impossible. In fact, they will give their blood, sweat, and tears, as Winston Churchill demanded, if your goal is big enough. What kind of goal should you have? It can be anything, as long as it is big and worthwhile.
You may not think that an ant can do much with a rubber tree plant, but he has high hopes, then: "Whoops! There goes another rubber tree plant!" Have big dreams and foster high hopes among those you lead, and your charisma will never be in doubt.
4. Keep Moving Your Goals
Having big dreams and goals are important, but you can't let it rest at that. You must actually keep moving toward the tough goals that you have set. Remember, you're a leader. People don't move until you move first. When you do move toward a big dream, it will have a marvelous effect on those you lead. Your backers will be pleased. "What did we tell you," they'll say to others.
Then there will be those who were on the fence. They supported you, but they could have gone either way. "We knew he could do it all the time," they'll say. Then there are those who were against your big dream. They said that it couldn't be done. They won't say much. They'll only mutter, "Well, I'll be damned." And your charisma will increase among all concerned.
Moving toward your goals is tougher than just setting the goal, but it isn't all that difficult. First it means that you have to have a plan. Then you set a number of intermediate objectives. Every big goal has a number of smaller, intermediate objectives that are accomplished first. Every objective has a number of tasks.
To show movement towards the big goal, know what the intermediate objectives and the tasks are and make certain those you lead know as well. Assign these tasks to a specific individual, and supply a time schedule for when you expect a particular task to be accomplished.
Then, check periodically to see what's happening. Publicize every success, every movement toward your big goal. When those you lead run into problem, give them the help they need in order to proceed. NEVER stop progressing toward it.
5. Do Your Homework
Do you watch Gymnasts on television during the Olympics? Incredible, aren't they? Many performances seemed flawless. What is even more amazing in many cases is that it appears to take up no effort at all to do something you or I couldn't have done in "million years."
The fact is, however, those we watch turn in such marvelous performances are made up of the same stuff as you and me. When they first started out, they couldn't do any of those things either. It would have been beyond their wildest dreams. Yet, there they were doing incredible things and winning well-earned medals for their accomplishments.
Those who see you perform see only the effort you make on the spot. They don't see the hours and hours of homework that you have put in. Yet, if you do something difficult apparently without effort, you will be perceived as charismatic.
6. Be a Mystique
Have you ever seen a magic show? The magician's tricks may be grand and involve the disappearance of elephants or the feeling of the magician after being chained in a locked trunk and lowered under tons of water. Or the tricks could involve simple cards or coins.
The size of the trick doesn't matter. What does matter is that we are fooled. Most magicians seem to have charisma because we don't understand how he or she is able to do the tricks. This gives the magician a certain undefinable mystique. Magicians never tell you how they do their tricks, because they know that to do so would mean a loss to some of their mystique.
When someone seems to know how to do something that we cannot comprehend, we follow them eagerly. Somehow, they seem to possess a special quality that arouses both loyalty and enthusiasm.
You want to keep those you lead informed and give them the maximum information that you can. Explain to your people why you want them to do thus, and so, if there is time. You can also explain why you did a certain thing that worked out. That way, you train those that work for you. But like the magicians, never explain how you did something. Use your smile, and you'll build your mystique...
7. Use the Indirect APPROACH
To use the indirect approach, look for opportunities to get people to do things without telling them to do it directly. Look for a way that doesn't hurt the pride or self-respect of those you lead.
One way to do this is simply to present the facts of the situation and let those you lead come to the obvious conclusion. When they do, give them the credit for the idea. Another way is to be courteous in giving orders. "Betty, we're having a division meeting at eleven o'clock. Would you please notify the department managers?" That's usually better than, "Get the department managers to my office at eleven o'clock!"
Sometimes, you can give an order by turning it into a request. "George, do you think you can get the move made by Monday?" The indirect approach is based on suggestion. When using suggestion, keep these facts in mind:
- You must have the attention of the individual you are trying to influence. There must also be an absence of conflicting ideas and distractions. If you don't have this kind of attention, you may not be able to use the indirect approach.
- The more personal prestige you have due to position, birth, money, accomplishments, and so forth, the greater will be the strength of your suggestion. However, just the fact that you are a leader, gives any suggestion you make added strength.
- The closer you are socially to the person you are trying to influence, the stronger the strength of your suggestion. But social closeness isn't essential for using the indirect approach. It just means that it could make it easier to use the indirect approach in a specific instance.
- Repetition of a suggestion increases its strength. Once you get someone to do something through the indirect approach, it will be more and more difficult for them to stop.
