Charisma – Your Leadership Depends on It
Leaders want to influence.
Supervisors want to inspire.
Managers want their team to listen—not because they have to, but because they want to.
Easier to want than to deliver, right? Well, hold on. It might be more accessible than you think!
Some People You Never Forget
For years, we assumed charisma was an inborn trait. Something you either had or you didn’t. The magnetism. The spark.
I remember when I first joined the Metropolitan Police in London back in the late 70s (Warrant #172563, in case there are those of you out there to whom that number means something) and being on the receiving end of an incredibly charismatic leader at Notting Hill Police Station. This person was a phenomenal leader. They were professional and human; they took an active interest in me. They never claimed to know it all, and left me feeling better about myself each time I was around them. It wasn’t just me! The whole office lit up around them.
I thought I was lucky enough to work on the same shift with one of those special people. Someone who was born with this charismatic superpower. A rare gift, indeed.
Charisma is Teachable – Even Trainable
Research from The University of Lausanne Business School, referenced in Paul Jarvis’s A Company of One, shatters the myth of the unique gift that enables one to inspire everyone around them. When managers learn a specific set of behaviors, their teams see them as more engaging, inspiring, and effective—even if they didn’t start “naturally charismatic.”
I consider that good news for us all! Especially those of you who, like me, know you’re introverts and therefore consider yourselves about as far from being charismatic as… well… use any distance analogy you like. As long as it represents a long way away.
The good news is both simple and profound: Charisma isn’t a personality. It’s a practice.
And we can do it by one manageable behavior at a time.
Charisma is not born – It’s Built
The landmark study from Lausanne Business School asked a simple question: Can leaders be taught a specific set of charismatic behaviors to increase their perceived charisma and effectiveness?
It turns out that yes, it can. And the change is substantive.
Managers who received training in a cluster of charismatic leadership tactics were rated significantly higher by their teams on leadership effectiveness and influence. Perhaps, even more interesting? The change happened quickly. These weren’t extroverts in waiting. They weren’t people with big personalities or natural stage presence. They were everyday managers—just like the ones in your organization, just like you.
The takeaway: Charisma is a skill. When you train the skill, the leader changes. When the leader changes, the team changes.
So What Is Charisma Really Made Of?
Let’s strip away the mystique. Researchers found that charismatic leaders consistently demonstrate the following behaviors:
- Use stories and metaphors to make ideas stick
- Express confidence in the team
- Provide compelling, future-focused vision
- Use a warm, animated, and expressive communication style
- Listen deeply and respond intentionally
- Adapt their communication to the needs of their audience
When you look at this list, do you notice something?
None of these choices requires a particular personality. Instead, we practice behaviors and skills – and we do it on purpose.
“Charisma isn’t who you are. It’s how you show up.”
When we deliver our leadership training programs, we often use a similar and highly effective exercise we call Best Boss/Worst Boss. Participants identify the behaviors of each of those two people as vastly different. It is the consistent choices those bosses made that create the experience the team remembers.
And the impact on the participant who sat there thinking about them will never go away. Maya Angelou talks explicitly about this in her famous quote:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Why Charisma Matters for Leaders More Than Ever
These days, we find ourselves working in an environment of constant change. I know this to be true because over the last two weeks, I have delivered workshops for managers and supervisors to help them be more resilient in their workplaces amid increasing uncertainty.
Teams feel stretched. Organizations are trying to do more with less.
In that kind of landscape, teams don’t just need direction. They need energy, clarity, and stability. People need consistency and someone who can ignite belief and momentum.
Charisma is that ignition.
The goal here is not to become someone different.
No, the goal here is to elevate the version of you that already leads with care and conviction.
When your team feels your intentional presence, trust increases.
I am writing this on the way back from delivering a workshop on Vancouver Island, and this is precisely what we talked about in the training session. I spoke about how managers and supervisors need to be a source of:
- predictability for their teams
- stability for their teams
- certainty for their teams.
So, here are some practical tools for you. They are simple, doable, grounded in the research, and any manager can apply them immediately.
And for those of you who read this newsletter regularly, you won’t be surprised at all to see that I have included suggested reading for each tool.
Five Charisma-Build
1. Speak in Pictures, Not Paragraphs
Stories move people. Stories stick, and data supports.
Tool: Think in metaphors.
Next time you explain a goal or change, try turning it into an image.
Example: “We’re not rebuilding the whole house. We’re reinforcing the foundation so it can support what comes next.”
It’s a slight shift with a huge impact.
Try this today: Take one upcoming message you need to deliver. Turn it into a metaphor your team can hold onto.
Book recommendation: Stories That Stick by Kindra Hall (one of my favorite storytellers ever since I saw Kindra speaking at a conference a few years ago).
2. Project Confidence—Especially When Others Are Uncertain
Teams don’t need you to know everything. But they do need to feel your confidence.
Tool: Use assertive, steady language.
“I believe we can navigate this.”
“We’ve handled harder challenges.”
“We have what we need to move forward.”
Confidence is contagious, so let yourself be the source.
Try this today: Start your next meeting with a clear, confident statement of belief in your team.
Book recommendation: Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
3. Use Your Face, Voice, and Body to Lead
Charismatic leaders communicate with their whole presence. They’re expressive. They’re warm. Their energy fills the room—even a virtual one.
You don’t need to be loud – Be intentional.
Tool: Increase your expressiveness—by just a bit.
Slightly more warmth. Slightly more eye contact. Slightly more animation in your voice.
You don’t need to perform. You need to connect.
Try this today: In your next conversation, try to consciously raise your expressiveness up, just one notch. Watch how people lean in.
Book recommendation: Leadership Is Language by L. David Marquet
4. Listen Like It’s Your Superpower
Charisma isn’t only in how you talk. It’s in how you listen.
People respond to leaders who make them feel heard.
Tool: Use the “reflect and respond” technique.
Reflect on what you heard and then respond with intention.
Example: “It sounds like you’re frustrated about the timeline. Let’s look at what we can adjust.”
Simple. Powerful. Magnetic.
Try this today: In your next one-on-one, reflect back the core of what the person says before offering your response.
Book recommendation: We Need to Talk by Celeste Headlee
5. Bring a Clear, Compelling Future into the Conversation
Charisma lifts people out of the weeds. It shows them why their work matters.
Tool: Incorporate future-focused framing.
Instead of: “We need to finish this by Friday.”
Try: “Finishing this by Friday puts us in a strong position for the next phase.”
People follow leaders who paint a picture of where they’re going.
Try this today: End every meeting this week with one sentence that reinforces the future benefit of the work.
Book recommendation: Good to Great by Jim Collins
Bringing This Together: The Charisma Habit
Charisma isn’t a big leap. It’s a series of small, consistent choices that build your presence.
Think about it like fitness training. You don’t become strong by accident. You become strong through practice.
It’s the same with charisma. Practice the behaviors and build the muscle.
As you implement these tools, your team will notice, and they’ll respond differently. They’ll be more engaged and trust more deeply.
And you’ll feel the shift too.
Remember: Charisma is the leadership advantage anyone can build.
Starting today.
Starting with YOU.
