It is not a secret that the most prominent leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries were known for their unique personalities. For example, Walt Disney’s leadership was marked with his idea to create the perfect city. He guided his company towards turning the most unexpected ideas into reality. Sam Walton, the founder of the Wal-Mart chain, brought all of his family members into his business due to the belief that relatives are the most committed and honest employees. Similarly, Ingvar Kamprad introduced cheap furniture IKEA to the world of business and managed to grow his company into a globally recognized brand. Regardless of enormous success, Kamprad still counts every dollar he spends, including the flights on low cost airlines only. These leaders were exceptionally success in their business ventures, and yet their success can be attributed to unique personalities that affected the way they inspired their followers.
Many researchers suggested that effective leadership for contemporary businesses is based on a leader’s personality, namely charisma. In the opinion of Kets de Vries (2009), it is not nice to work with people who are stable, well-balanced, and perpetually happy. Of course, this statement does not imply that a leader should be emotionally disturbed or make his/her followers unhappy. However, the leadership of many executives act and interact “in ways that puzzle, disconcert, and even disturb us” (Kets de Vries, 2009, p. 88). Charismatic leaders have creative personalities and they inspire their followers to work towards the goals that may seem unreal at first.
Personality of an effective leader includes charisma that empowers leaders to manage their companies in a “morally uplifting manner” to improve not only the performance of their organizations but also to make the life of society better or easier or more fun (Fiske, Gilbert, & Lindzev, 2010, p. 1194). Indeed, Sam Walton founded scholarship for employees as well as ordinary community members who strive for academic development. Due to this element of personality, namely commitment to the interest of community, is the ground for success in leadership.
While there is no recipe for the most suitable personality for effective leadership, a glance at personalities of several leaders as well as insights of researchers justifies the idea that a great leader always has a unique charisma that inspires the followers. Great leaders challenge themselves to set high goals and know how to motivate their followers to work together toward trying to make impossible possible.
References
Fiske, S., Gilbert, D., & Lindzev, G. (2010). Handbook of Social Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Kets de Vries, M. (2009). Reflections on Character and Leadership. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.