Communications

Case sTudy 135 a clash between two key employees

syNTHesIs 140 How top performers turn productivity into a habit

LIfe’s Work 148 admiral Mike Mullen on getting out into the field

Experience

Managing Your Professional Growth hbr.org

tial, trustworthy, and “leaderlike” in the eyes of others. In this article we’ll explain these tactics and how we help managers master them. Just as athletes rely on hard training and the right game plan to win a competition, leaders who want to become charismatic must study the CLTs, practice them religiously, and have a good deployment strategy.

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IllustratIon: MCKIBIllo

Transform yourself into the person others want to follow. by John Antonakis, Marika Fenley, and Sue Liechti

ana stands at the podium, palms sweaty, looking out at hundreds of colleagues who are waiting to hear about her new initiative. Bill walks into a meeting after a failed product launch to greet an exhausted and demotivated team that desperately needs his direction. Robin gets ready to confront a brilliant but underperforming subordinate who needs to be put back on track. We’ve all been in situations like these. What they require is charisma—the ability to communicate a clear, visionary, and inspirational message that captivates and motivates an audience. So how do you learn charisma? Many people believe that it’s impossible. They say that charismatic people are born that way—as naturally expressive and persuasive extroverts. After all, you can’t teach someone to be Winston Churchill. While we agree with the latter contention, we disagree with the former. Charisma is not all innate; it’s a learnable skill or, rather, a set of skills that have been practiced since antiquity. Our research with managers in the laboratory and in the field indicates that anyone trained in what we call “charismatic leadership tactics” (CLTs) can become more influen-

Learning Charisma

ManagIng Yourself

Charisma is rooted in values and feelings. It’s influence...