Exploring Charismatic Leadership in the Public Sector: Measurement and Consequences

• Published date: 01 March 2003
• Date: 01 March 2003
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6210.00282
• Author: David A. Waldman,Mansour Javidan

Exploring Charismatic Leadership in the Public Sector 229

Mansour Javidan

University of Calgary

David A. Waldman

Arizona State University West

Exploring Charismatic Leadership in the Public

Sector: Measurement and Consequences

A survey of more than 203 middle and upper-middle managers that assessed their superiors

(N=51) in the Canadian public sector showed that charismatic leadership in such a setting

comprises four dimensions: (1) energy and determination; (2) vision; (3) challenge and encour-

agement; and (4) risk taking. However, such leadership is only modestly related to motivational

consequences and is not significantly related to unit performance. We discuss our findings in

terms of their theoretical implications for leadership research in general and for the public

sector in particular.

Over the past two decades, there has been an increasing

interest in a school of leadership theory referred to as “char-

ismatic” (Conger and Kanungo 1987, 1998; Waldman and

Yammarino 1999), “transformational” (Bass 1985; Tichy

and Devanna 1986), and “visionary” (Bennis and Nanus

1985; Sashkin 1988). While there are a few differences

among the different theories (Yukl 2002), all share the view

that outstanding leaders have the ability to make a sub-

stantial emotional impact on their subordinates. They go

beyond a simple performance–reward transaction by el-

evating their subordinates’ self-image and self-confidence

and by arousing subordinates’ emotional attachment to the

leader’s espoused values and to the collective. They create

strong employee commitment to the organization’s goals

by connecting them intellectually and emotionally to em-

ployees’ personal goals (Bass 1985; Conger and Kanungo

1998; House 1992). Because the core of all of these theo-

ries is the concept of charisma, several authors have used

the general rubric of charismatic leadership for all of them

(Conger and Kanungo 1998; House 1992; Shamir, House,

and Arthur 1993; Waldman and Yammarino 1999). Fur-

ther, Beyer notes that, as opposed to the term “transforma-

tional leadership,” the concept of charisma does not “nec-

essarily entail behaviors and values that [correspond] to

one particular value system, such as human relations”

(1999, 321).

While this genre of leadership theory has received some

empirical support from a variety of studies (House 1992;

House, Woycke, and Fodor 1988; Howell and Frost 1989),

there is still a lack of rigorous empirical examination of

the proposed theories in public-sector organizations. An

important question is the extent to which charismatic lead-

ership and its consequences are relevant in the public sec-

tor. As we will explore in detail below, there is some cause

for doubt. For example, Pawar and Eastman (1997) pro-

pose that receptivity to visionary or charismatic leadership

may be restricted in organizations that are characterized

by bureaucratic forms of structure and governance, as is

typically the case in the public sector.

On the other hand, public-sector executives are facing

increasing economic and social pressures to reform mana-

gerial and organizational practices. They must deal with

shrinking revenue sources, public criticism, and global

competition, and they need to pay closer attention to per-

formance outcomes and greater client satisfaction. The

Mansour Javidan is the chairman of the strategy and general management

area at Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. He received his

MBA and doctoral degrees from the Carlson School at the University of Min-

nesota. Mansour is the Country Closeup editor of the

Academy of Manage-

ment Executive.

He was recently named in Lexington’s 2001/2002 Millen-

nium Edition of the North American Who’s Who Registry. Email:

mansour.javidan@haskayne.ucalgary.ca.

David A. Waldman received his doctorate from Colorado State University

and is currently on the faculty of Arizona State University West. His research

interests focus on leadership and 360- degree appraisal and feedback, and

his accomplishments include approximately 70 scholarly and practitioner

articles or chapters. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association

and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Email:

waldman@asu.edu.