Leadership Skills – charismatic leadership
Part A
Describe charismatic leadership in your own words.
Part B
Explain what is meant by the statement that charismatic leaders use active impression management with their followers to support their image. Provide and elaborate on one (1) original example.
Part C
Access the following article attached
Elrod, D.J. (Aug 2012). The Importance of Being Authentic. Strategic Finance,(94. 2), pp. 14-16.
Respond to the following:
1. In your own words, describe what it means to be an authentic leader.
2. Why is authenticity important for leaders? Provide two (2) reasons.
Part D
Why is charismatic leadership considered a double-edged sword that requires careful monitoring to avert abuse? Provide two (2) reasons and one (1) original example illustrating this phenomenon.
8/18/2020
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/printviewfile?accountid=45844 1/5
Back to previous page
document 1 of 1
Full Text | Scholarly Journals
The Importance of Being Authentic
Elrod, David J,C.M.A., C.P.A. (2012). The importance of being authentic. Strategic Finance, 94(2), 14-16. Retrieved
from https://ashworth.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/docview/1034607363?accountid=45844
Abstract
Leaders are those individuals who have a vision that can inspire others to work with them to achieve it. Leaders
may be described as confident, charismatic, and passionate, but the reality is that they come in all shapes and
sizes, and, like so many things in life, there isn’t just one right way to be a leader. Yet one trait stands out above all
others: Leaders should strive to be authentic. As a leader, it’s important to remember that no one on your team
expects you to be perfect, but they aren’t as forgiving if you aren’t honest with yourself about your limitations. To
be truly effective, you can’t simply imitate anyone’s ideas — you have to sincerely believe in them and live them in
an authentic way. An authentic leader builds a strong reputation that attracts high-performing people who help
perpetuate that success.
Full Text
Headnote
How many times have you worked with or for a person you thought was being straightforward and honest, only to
find out later that he or she was fooling you and others to achieve some goal? Good leaders don’t do this.
Leaders are those individuals who have a vision that can inspire others to work with them to achieve it. Leaders
may be described as confident, charismatic, and passionate, but the reality is that they come in all shapes and
sizes, and, like so many things in life, there isn’t just one right way to be a leader. And there’s certainly no shortage
of advice on how to be a leader. Countless essays and books have been written on the subject. To the average
person, it can be a little overwhelming and confusing.
Yet one trait stands out above all others: Leaders should strive to be authentic.
What does “authentic” mean? According to Merriam-Webster.com, one definition of authentic is “not false or
imitation; real or actual,” and that’s what it means in terms of leadership.Authentic leaders lead as who they truly
are without imitating others or pretending to be something they aren’t. This doesn’t mean that they don’t learn and
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/docview/1034607363/1421F5DA359502A0DC2/1?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/?accountid=45844
http://www.imanet.org/
8/18/2020
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/printviewfile?accountid=45844 2/5
develop over time or change their leadership style based on their experiences. It means that they stay true to their
real self and lead from that perspective.
Why is authenticity important for leaders? It removes any pretense about who they are and how they should act-
freeing them to leverage their own strengths. It also builds trust across the organization because the team is
getting the real person rather than a leader pretending to be someone else. No organization can succeed in the long
term without trust. Also, authenticity burnishes a leader’s reputation. A highly respected leader attracts highcaliber
talent that helps the organization find further success. This self-reinforcing cycle can help teams reach new heights.
Leverage Your Strengths
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses or areas for improvement. As a leader, it’s important to remember that no
one on your team expects you to be perfect, but they aren’t as forgiving if you aren’t honest with yourself about
your limitations. In most cases, if you’ve been selected as a leader, you probably have significant strengths that
outweigh any weaknesses you may have, so it’s important to leverage these strengths and build on them while you
work on your areas for improvement. If you’re upfront about the areas you’re working on, your team will support
you and even cheer you on as you develop new strengths.
When I became a manager, it wasn’t the first time I had led a group, but it was the first time that I was the official
leader of a sizable team. Everyone on my team knew this, and I readily admitted that I was finding my way. At first,
I was apprehensive because my predecessor was a well-liked and successful manager with many years of
experience. Our team was considered a high-performing team, and I didn’t want to mess things up. Though I had
attended some management and leadership courses, I was still unsure about how I wanted to lead. I was fearful
that the team wouldn’t accept me as their leader and that I would fail as a result, but I was confident in my abilities
and resolved to focus on the things that I knew I could do well.
By focusing on my strengths and leveraging them as much as possible, I was able to excel in these areas while I
learned in other areas. For example, planning and organizing have always been one of my strongest skill sets. As a
frontline manager, my job was more focused on accomplishing the goals set by the senior leadership team, so I
leveraged these skills to help my team accomplish the goals successfully. In the meantime, I developed and honed
my influencing skills by working with my mentor and my current manager to improve in this area.
Had I approached the role as a know-it-all new manager, I would have been dogged by the image I had to uphold
rather than leveraging my strengths to buy time to work on my areas for improvement. My team supported me
because they got the real me, not some impostor, and in the end my first manager role was a success that led me
to increased responsibilities and bigger roles in the future.
Build Trust
At this year’s IMA Annual Conference & Exposition, Stephen M.R. Covey closed out the event with a session called
“The Speed of Trust” that was based on his book by the same name. In his speech, Covey talked about how high-
trust organizations tend to be collaborative, innovative, creative, and effective, while low-trust organizations tend to
be the opposite. In high-trust organizations, things get done faster and at a lower cost. Covey builds a strong case
for trust in organizations, but his advice won’t change a thing if you’re practicing his principles only for the sake of
following the latest things you’ve learned about leadership. To be truly effective, you can’t simply imitate his ideas-
you have to sincerely believe in them and live them in an authentic way. Otherwise, those you lead will surely see
right through your efforts.
One of the best examples I have of an authentic leader occurred several years ago when a new leader took over a
group I was in. The previous group leader was successful and had built the group around her leadership style, which
was very different from the new manager’s style. There was noticeable apprehension among team members as the
new leader took over. But the new manager essentially laid everything on the line in an all-hands meeting focused
on helping the team get to know him. He talked about his values and ideas and answered questions about himself
as a leader. He put himself up for close scrutiny by the team and won a lot of respect and trust in the process.
8/18/2020
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/printviewfile?accountid=45844 3/5
Details
Subject Leadership;
Personality traits;
Honesty
Not only did he explicitly state his values and leadership approach in a single meeting, but he proceeded to live by
them in his successive interactions with the team. Actions do speak louder than words, and as our relationship with
the new leader developed, we realized that his actions were consistent with his words from that first all-hands
meeting. His level of candor and transparency built even more trust with the group. He started with the right idea
and didn’t try to hide who he was or how he wanted to lead. He was authentic, and the trust he earned as a result
helped our group evolve into that high-trust organization that Covey described in his talk.
Burnish a Reputation
Every leader has a reputation. It may be ill-formed from little information, or it may be supported by a long history
of leadership. Regardless of how this reputation is derived, it sticks with you wherever you go in an organization,
and, in some cases, it may follow you to different companies. It may change over time as you gain more experience
or take on different assignments, but it’s always there. Again, one of the surest ways to build a solid reputation is to
be authentic in your approach to leadership. Stick to your core principles. Doing so earns you a lot of respect and
makes people want to work for you. The more people who want to work for you, the more likely you’ll attract
highcaliber team members who can help you reach even greater heights. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle where success
breeds success.
In one of my previous companies, my team in Finance supported a large internal organization that generated most
of the revenue for our company. The leader of that organization was a young, charismatic guy who had spent his
entire career with the company, rising steadily through the ranks to become a senior vice president. Despite his
relative youth, he was a very popular leader who attracted a lot of the top talent in the company, and those who
worked for him were extremely loyal to him, including those on the Finance team who supported his organization.
My first impression of him was that he seemed like an average guy at the company.He had a huge role there, yet he
was down-to-earth and straightforward. There was no bluster or sheen that came with his title. Instead, what you
saw was what you got, and this permeated his leadership style.His authentic approach to his role won him many
fans and made him successful, and that approach helped him attract the top people to perpetuate his success.
Stay Authentic
Authentic leaders focus on their strengths and work on their weaknesses with their team’s support. Because they’re
authentic they can quickly build trust within their team, and this trust lays the foundation for success. An authentic
leader builds a strong reputation that attracts high-performing people who help perpetuate that success. Though
they may develop their leadership style and change it over time, they never lose themselves in the process. So,
remember, despite all the leadership advice out there, above all, be authentic. It can be the difference between
success and failure. SF
AuthorAffiliation
David J. Elrod, CMA, CPA, is a finance director at Microsoftand dean of the IMA Leadership Academy. You can
reach him at [emailprotected]
Copyright Institute of Management Accountants Aug 2012
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/indexinglinkhandler/sng/subject/Leadership/$N?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/indexinglinkhandler/sng/subject/Personality+traits/$N?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/indexinglinkhandler/sng/subject/Honesty/$N?accountid=45844
8/18/2020
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/printviewfile?accountid=45844 4/5
Location United States–US
Classification 9190: United States
2200: Managerial skills
Title The Importance of Being Authentic
Author Elrod, David J, CMA, CPA
Publication title Strategic Finance; Montvale
Volume 94
Issue 2
Pages 14-16
Number of pages 3
Publication year 2012
Publication date Aug 2012
Publisher Institute of Management Accountants
Place of publication Montvale
Country of publication United States, Montvale
Publication subject Business And Economics–Accounting
ISSN 1524833X
Source type Scholarly Journals
Language of publication English
Document type Feature
ProQuest document ID 1034607363
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/indexinglinkhandler/sng/loc/United+States–US/$N?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/indexinglinkhandler/sng/cc/9190:+United+States/Keyword?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/indexinglinkhandler/sng/cc/2200:+Managerial+skills/Keyword?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/indexinglinkhandler/sng/au/Elrod,+David+J,+CMA,+CPA/$N?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/pubidlinkhandler/sng/pub/Strategic+Finance/ExactMatch/48426/DocView/$B/$B/$B/$B?accountid=45844
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/publisherlinkhandler/sng/pubsu/Business+And+Economics–Accounting/$N?accountid=45844
8/18/2020
https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/printviewfile?accountid=45844 5/5
Document URL https://ashworth.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ashworth.idm
accountid=45844
Copyright Copyright Institute of Management Accountants Aug 2012
Last updated 2012-09-17
Database ABI/INFORM Collection
Bibliography
Citation style: APA 6th – American Psychological Association, 6th Edition
Elrod, David J,C.M.A., C.P.A. (2012). The importance of being authentic. Strategic Finance, 94(2), 14-16. Retrieved
from https://ashworth.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ashworth.idm.oclc.org/docview/1034607363?accountid=45844
Database copyright 2020 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions BU450 Leadership Skills
Part A
Describe
charismatic leadership
in your own words.
Part B
Explain what is meant by the statement that charismatic leaders use active impression management with their followers to support their image. Provide and elaborate on one (1) original example.
Part C
Access the following article attached
Elrod, D.J. (Aug 2012). The Importance of Being Authentic. Strategic Finance,(94. 2), pp. 14-16.
Respond to the following:
1. In your own words, describe what it means to be an authentic leader.
2. Why is authenticity important for leaders? Provide two (2) reasons.
Part D
Why is charismatic leadership considered a double-edged sword that requires careful monitoring to avert abuse? Provide two (2) reasons and one (1) original example illustrating this phenomenon.
Grading Rubric
Refer to the rubric below for the grading criteria for your assignment.
CATEGORY
Exemplary
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Unacceptable
Charismatic leadership description (10 points)
10 points
8 points
5 points
2 points
Student provides a clear, logical description of charismatic leadership in their own words.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical description of charismatic leadership in their own words.
Student provides a weak or unclear description of charismatic leadership in their own words.
Student provides a poor description of charismatic leadership in their own words.
Active impression management (15 points)
15 points
12 points
8 points
5 points
Student provides a clear, logical explanation of charismatic leaders using active impression management, along with a clear, logical, original example.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical explanation of charismatic leaders using active impression management, along with a mostly clear, logical, original example.
Student provides a weak or unclear explanation of charismatic leaders using active impression management, along with a weak or unclear example.
Student provides a poor explanation of charismatic leaders using active impression management, along with a poor example.
Authentic leader description (10 points)
10 points
8 points
5 points
2 points
Student provides a clear, logical description of authentic leadership in their own words.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical description of authentic leadership in their own words.
Student provides a weak or unclear description of authentic leadership in their own words.
Student provides a poor description of authentic leadership in their own words.
Importance of authenticity (15 points)
15 points
12 points
8 points
5 points
Student provides a clear, logical description of 2 reasons that authenticity is important for leaders.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical description of 2 reasons that authenticity is important for leaders.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical description of 1-2 reasons that authenticity is important for leaders.
Student provides a poor description of 1 reason that authenticity is important for leaders.
Double edged sword – reasons (15 points)
15 points
12 points
8 points
5 points
Student provides a clear, logical description of 2 reasons that charistmatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical description of 2 reasons that charistmatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical description of 1-2 reasons that charistmatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Student provides a poor description of 1 reason that charistmatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Double edged sword – example (10 points)
10 points
8 points
5 points
2 points
Student provides a clear, logical original example of how charismatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Student provides a mostly clear, logical original example of how charismatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Student provides a weak or unclear example of how charismatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Student provides a poor example of how charismatic leadership can be a double edged sword.
Mechanics -Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling (10 Points)
10 points
8 points
5 points
2 points
Student makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Student makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Student makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Student makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Format – APA Format, Citations, Organization, Transitions (15 Points)
15 points
12 points
8 points
5 points
The paper is written in proper format. All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited correctly. Excellent organization, including a variety of thoughtful transitions.
The paper is written in proper format with only 1-2 errors. All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and most are cited correctly. Adequate organization includes a variety of appropriate transitions.
The paper is written in proper format with only 3-5 errors. Most sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited correctly. Essay is poorly organized, but may include a few effective transitions.
The paper is not written in proper format. Many sources used for quotes and facts are less than credible (suspect) and/or are not cited correctly. Essay is disorganized and does not include effective transitions.
