Module 4 – Case
LEADERSHIP
Assignment Overview
Many approaches to leadership stress the role of charisma in
effective leadership. This raises the question of “To what extent is charisma a
personality characteristic that people are born with and to what extent can
individuals develop their own capacity to be charismatic?” In other words, can people LEARN to be
charismatic?
Richardson and Thayer (2000)* have answered this question in
the affirmative and proposed that individuals can become charismatic by practicing
the following actions:
Develop the specific persona or aura of the charismatic
leader—by maintaining an optimistic view; using passion as a catalyst for
generating enthusiasm; and communicating with the whole body, not just with
words.
Draw others in – by creating a bond or a link, a mutual
rhythm, and a “likability factor” that inspires others to follow.
Bring out the greatness in others – by inspiring appropriate
emotions.
*Richardson, R.J. & Thayer, S.K. (2000). The Charisma
Factor: How to Develop Your Natural Leadership Ability. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
This case is designed to help you explore your own charisma
and develop your ability to use charisma to lead others. To do this, you will
engage in an experiential activity, where you will actively try to project
charisma and discover for yourself whether you can learn to inject the power of
charisma into your own leadership style.
To begin this exercise, view several videos of charismatic
speeches on the internet. Here are some
examples, but you may select others:
Malala Yousafzai – The right to learning should be given to
any child https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu3aQMxkrc4
Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have A Dream Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDWWy4CMhE
Dr. Maya Angelou – I Am Human https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePodNjrVSsk
The Speech that Made Obama President https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFPwDe22CoY
President Ronald
Reagan “Tear Down This Wall” Speech at Berlin Wall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1HnWwzmNk
Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address (Especially
after 9 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&t=620s
Then, take a minute to write down you own definition of
charisma, based on what you saw in the videos.
Now you are ready to complete the assignment.
Case Assignment
This assignment has two parts. The first is a video you will
create and the second is a template on developing charismatic leadership that
you will fill out and submit with your video.
Part 1: Create a
video
Step 1 – Create a situation and compose a speech. The nature of the situation is up to you.
There are examples in the videos above, but it will make the assignment easier
if you identify a situation you feel passionate about. In composing the speech, try to incorporate
Richardson & Thayer’s three characteristics of charismatic behavior.
Consider:
What would you need to do to create an aura of charisma?
How can you create a bond that inspires?
How can you convey emotion?
Step 2 – Make a video
It might be easier to make a video before a small audience
so you can try to connect with them better – that is hard to do when making a
speech to yourself! However if you are
unnerved by speaking in front of others, you do not have to.
The ideal speech would be about 2 minutes long, but no
longer than 3 minutes.
Remember, the objective is to portray charisma. Be creative
and have fun!
Part 2: Complete the
Charisma Assessment Template
Access the Module 4 Case Assignment – Presentation. Fill out all sections.
Submit both the completed template and the video in the TLC
dropbox on or before the deadline for this module.
Directions for uploading videos to TLC:
Transferring a video from your phone to your computer is
easy. Here are some instructions if you need
them.
You can also try Zoom, which saves the file to an MP4 format
that you can upload into D2L. Zoom
requires registration, but it is free.
This presentation must be submitted in video format (Webcam
or Smart Device). Please submit an e-ticket via the TLC homepage if you have
problems uploading due to file size. Note: TLC courses only support the
following media formats: SWF, MPG, MPEG, RM, MP3, MP4, M4V, M4A, AVI, WAV, RAM,
ASF, MOV, and RA.
Assignment Expectations
This assignment calls for two separate submissions:
A video in YouTube or Zoom format, 2-3 minutes long
Completed Charisma Assessment Template based on the form to
be found in Table of Contents/Presentations, following Module 4 and above the
Boundless Textbook.
Submit these files in the Case Dropbox on or before the date
due, as indicated on the TLC hompage.
