Can mystique be cultivated deliberately? I believe that it can be amplified, but it must also be genuine. A leader cannot simply begin to dress, talk, or act differently in order to adopt an aura of mystique. That would be cause for mockery. Instead, he or she develops a sense of mystique naturally or organically, in tune with a greater understanding of life’s own mysteries.
When Jim Collins wrote about Level 5 leaders, he mentioned that many had a “formative experience” which impacted the direction of their lives. Abraham Zeleznick wrote about the same phenomena 15 years ago in his book, Managerial Mystique. He said that “leaders grow through mastering painful conflict during their developmental years, while managers confront few of [those] experiences.”
Charismatic leaders are people who are both like us and better than us – but they are also, at the same time, a bit mysterious or intriguing. There’s something about them which we can’t fully grasp or ever know. That unknowable quality beckons us to try and learn more. Picture a cat in the backyard who hears a rustling behind a bush. It stops, and waits to hear the sound again. Curious, it pokes behind the bush and becomes more engaged and focused. Intrigue or mystique is a powerful aspect of the charisma taboo, a lure that draws us in.
There’s a rationale to charisma, one that explains why we choose the leaders we do. Let me state flatly: charisma plays a critical role in who we come to see as leaderly. People who are impressive have special qualities. Some of that impressiveness has to do with technical competence, but there is also the impressiveness that comes with good looks, communication skills or aura. A few years ago, research about Fortune 500 CEOs revealed that 85% of them are male, above average in height, and tend to be perceived as good looking.
There’s always been a sense that charisma can be dangerous. Sure, we find charismatic leaders appealing, but can our base instincts to follow someone blindly be trusted? There have been plenty of charismatic leaders in history whose desires have been destructive. Hitler had charisma. So did Charlie Manson. Barbara Walters, after interviewing Manson in prison, claimed that she felt almost compelled to follow the man anywhere ¾ his charisma was that powerful. Undoubtedly, there’s a dark side to charisma worth being wary about.
