In Business Charisma counts a lot.
If you want to make great business deals, handling people, negotiations, the way you talk, the way you carry yourself and the way your body "speaks" are the most crucial parts in order to receive trust.
If you have trust you have people with you. From employees to associates to customers.
How to build that trust? Through charisma. When we look into this huge word we can differentiate it in different categories.
In Business we need all types of charisma, but some more than others - that is Authority Charisma - for businesswomen / businessmen.
Authority means people will listen to you and obey. Authoritarian people are not always liked, do not think about that. They also do not bother much about that fact that they aren't necessarily be liked. They bother very much about leading people and to be a leader.
But living only that charisma direction would be not successful, it can lead into a couple of problems:
It can create critical thinking in others- The person itself does not get feedback in this way, nobody will dare. But getting feedback is needed for everybody to grow and become even better
- It also can appear arrogant
But there is a good way out - a combination with some other directions of charisma.
We can call it "charisma of warmth and kindness".
When you add warmth into your authoritarian behavior it will do wonders.
When your team members, or somebody, is supporting you, believing in you and feel safe when following you it is good. But if they are in the urge of help, the emotional part comes into picture. A sheer authoritarian leader might not bother about the people's emotions. But if one has warmth within her/ him, the person which needs help will be handled with understanding, warm words and a body language which stands for "I understand you, and I care for you. I am here for you".
This is a point where magic comes in the picture. People will feel with you they are in right hands, safe, secure, accepted and thus they will do everything for you because you really care about them too.
If you would not truly care and try to fact it, it won't work and people will never believe, nor follow you anywhere, specially not when it comes to 'dead or live'.
If you truly live this combination you will be seen as powerful and being able to affect the world around you. It showcases that goodwill in you towards others.
But only the combination brings you to where you want to be:
If you are only authoritarian or powerful it might impress. But as mentioned earlier, people can misunderstand this fast with arrogant and cold.
If you show only warmth and kindness you will be maybe likeable but not automatically perceived as overeager, desperate, low self-confidence or want to please.
In order to give people the feeling they are important human being, valuable and an important part in your company/ team, the understanding that they are accepted and want to turn them into "followers" you need to combine a few different charismatic characters. Not to create it artificially but to believe it and develop that character in yourself.
As a saying says: "Alone I can do nothing, together we can do everything!"
How to identify the different types of charisma?
Authority:First identification is the appearance - Clothing.
Authority people wear costly looking clothes and accessories. People understand others authoritarian when they simply wear clothes according to their expertise (doctor in white coat). Also people of high authority are almost automatically understood as authoritarian when they are in uniforms.
But fast after the very first impression comes the communication, the body language!
This is the most crucial part since the appearance has to be "proven right".
With amazing cloths but a body language which tells the opposite, nobody will be understood for long as an important person.
Body language means taking space (e.g. the way one sits- making her/himself small or taking up space with arms and legs). Authority people appear confident and display status.
Also facial expressions, the way the body replays to any kind of action.
People get to know within very few seconds who is in front of them, how they feel about themselves, what they thing about the person in front of her/him.
It says, the body can't lie. Words can be very different, but the body can tell sometimes something different.
The watcher understood something is fishy- without being able to make out what exactly. It is called "in-congruent".
When you talk to somebody authoritarian this person does not often reassure she/ he is following, like nodding the head.
But also the title is understood often as a symbol of authority.
MD, ECO, COO, CFO, President, Chairman, … Are often talking for itself.
And last but definitely not least is the way people react to authoritarians. The watcher can make out easily a person is important or not in the way she/ he is being treated by others.
Warmth and kindness:Patience with others
Listening to people,
Acceptance of how people are
Body language without tension, criticism
Feeling love towards others
Instead of coldness- warmth
Love towards others
It will take some time of training and experiences. "Train" on every small occasion and become a great kind, authoritarian leader.
Guest Author
Jasmin Waldmann is an International Life Coach and the MD of JWLCC. She offers private sessions, seminars and workshops, as well as speeches. Jasmin Waldmann is an author of the upcoming book "Change ME!"
