MGMT8270 Chap.5 Charisma, Political Skill and Influence
Charisma, Political Skill and Influence
Charisma as something you do
Week 5 treats charisma as a leader signal rather than a personality trait: a leader transmits a signal, followers decode it, and only then do they attribute charisma, which raises trust, commitment and motivation.
Because it is a signal, it can be measured, trained and tested.
Tactics, evidence and politics
The chapter sets out the charismatic leadership tactics under framing, substance and delivery, and the training evidence the seminar reports: 41 MBA students doubled their use of the tactics from 24% to 48%, with an effect size of .75, replicated with 34 Swiss managers at .47. It then turns to organisational politics, six tactics managers report using, the limits of Mintzberg's model, and the four dimensions of political skill, before showing how to map stakeholders by influence and support.
Where this week meets the tasks
Your Political Skill Inventory profile can become the focus of the Development Proposal, since the course suggests that the weakest dimension is a good candidate.
The charismatic leadership tactics are directly useful for the Team Presentation and its live questions, and the stakeholder map gives a structure for deciding whom a change intervention must persuade first.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Charisma as a leader signal
- 02
Outcomes of attributed charisma
- 03
Framing, substance and delivery tactics
- 04
Evidence that charisma can be trained
- 05
Six political tactics
- 06
Limits of Mintzberg's model
- 07
Four dimensions of political skill
- 08
Mapping stakeholders by influence and support
Worked example · free
Interpreting the charisma training numbers
- 1The change in tactic use is 48 minus 24 = 24 percentage points.
- 1As a ratio, 48 divided by 24 = 2, so tactic use doubled after training.
- 1The rating effect was larger for the MBA students (.75) than for the managers (.47), but both point the same way, so the result held in a real workplace.
- 1Holding the speech, clothing and room constant links the change to training; the numbers show changed behaviour and judgements, not that every listener was persuaded.
Key terms
- Leader Signal
- Observable content a leader transmits that followers decode and may use to attribute charisma.
- Charismatic Leadership Tactics
- Learnable verbal and nonverbal techniques, such as stories, contrasts and voice, that signal charisma.
- Political Skill
- The ability to understand others at work and use that understanding to influence them towards personal or organisational objectives.
- Social Astuteness
- The political skill dimension of reading people, situations and dynamics accurately.
- Apparent Sincerity
- The political skill dimension of being seen as genuine, authentic and trustworthy.
- Reciprocity Tactic
- A political tactic of offering help so that others are more likely to return the favour.
Charisma, Political Skill and Influence FAQ
Can charisma actually be learned?
The course presents evidence that it can. Trained MBA students doubled their use of charismatic tactics in the same speech, observers rated them as more leader-like, and a field experiment found a charismatic speech raised workers' output without any change in pay.
What are charismatic leadership tactics?
Techniques grouped under framing, such as metaphors, stories, contrasts and lists of three; substance, such as moral conviction and ambitious goals; and delivery, meaning gestures, facial expressions and voice. The seminar counts twelve in total.
Is office politics always negative?
No. The course treats political skill as an underrated predictor of getting things done. Tactics such as building alliances or reciprocity are legitimate, though Mintzberg's model is criticised for blurring legitimate influence and manipulation.
How do I decide who to influence first in a change?
Map stakeholders by their influence on the goal and their current support. People with high influence and low support are where persuasion effort should go, while high-influence supporters can be mobilised as allies.
What is the difference between political tactics and political skill?
Tactics are the moves people make to gain influence, such as building alliances or offering favours. Political skill is the capability that makes those moves succeed: reading people accurately, adapting how you persuade, networking, and being seen as sincere. The course treats skill as the more useful lens.
Assessment move
Record yourself giving a one-minute message, count the charismatic tactics you used, then rewrite it to include three more and compare the two recordings with a partner. Take your lowest political skill dimension and write one concrete action you could try in the next fortnight to build it.
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