Charismatic and Visionary Leadership
There appears to be a particular trend in research on charismatic leadership. Most of it subsumes vision within charisma. Some scholars even suggest that it is the vision that leads to the attribution of charisma to the leaders in the first place. However, we think that charisma and vision are two distinct concepts and as such a leader may be charismatic but not visionary, or visionary but not charismatic, both charismatic and visionary, or neither. To us, charisma is an emotion-based construct or a ‘heart’ thing and charismatic leaders understand their social environment very well and are masters of social skills. Vision, on the other hand, is a competence-based construct, a combination of intellectual ability and experience, largely a ‘head’ thing.
A charismatic leader is an enthusiastic, self-confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in certain ways. The five common traits of such leaders are: * They have a vision * They are able to articulate that vision * They are willing to take risks to achieve that vision * They are sensitive to both environmental constraints and follower needs * They exhibit behaviours that are out of ordinary
Charismatic leadership is more likely to be in politics, religion, wartime or when a business firm is starting up or facing crisis.

Example of charismatic leaders include: Jeff Bezos, Martin Luther King Jr, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison.
Charismatic Leadership
Quoting from the World English Dictionary, the definition of being charismatic is ” a special personal quality or power of an individual making him capable of influencing or inspiring large numbers of people and a quality inherent in a thing which inspires great enthusiasm and devotion.”
Advantages of a Charismatic Leader
Charismatic leaders have the ability to sense the gap that exists between what an organization is delivering to its followers, and what the followers need from an organization. This allows the leader to create a vision of a future state that everyone believes will be better than today's environment.
The charismatic leader often articulates this vision using metaphors and stories in ways that everyone can understand the vision. The followers see the leader as one that possesses the ability to visualize the future with clarity. The followers are also able to see how they fit into this future state, and believe it will be better than today.
Since followers can see themselves in this future vision, they support the goals of the organization and the leaders more readily. Rather than resorting to coercion, the charismatic leader builds trust among followers.
Visionary Leadership
Visionaries who are successful at manifesting their visions base their leadership on an inspirational, positive picture of the future, as well as a clear sense of direction as to how to get there. Vision is a field that brings energy into form. Effective leaders broadcast a coherent message by themselves embodying their vision, as author Margaret Wheatley notes. They keep communicating the vision to create a strong field which then brings their vision into physical reality. Nelson Mandela clearly held a positive vision of a racially harmonious South Africa during his 28 years in jail and helped bring it into reality peacefully-- to the amazement of the world.

The best visionary leaders move energy to a higher level by offering a clear vision of what is possible. They inspire people to be better than they already are and help them identify with what Lincoln called “the angels of their better nature.” This was the power of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. The creative power of lighted, inspired words can sound a certain inner note that people recognize and respond to. This then creates dramatic social change. Like King, visionary leaders have the ability to sense the deeper spiritual needs of followers and link their current demands to these deeper, often unspoken need for purpose and meaning.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Leaders cast vision and inspire people to get involved. “Effective visions provide context, give purpose, and establish meaning. They inspire people to mobilize, to act, to move in the same direction… Every good leader realizes that effective visions cannot be forced upon the masses. Rather they must be set in motion by means of persuasion and inspiration.”
“A movement is led as much by the idea that symbolises it. The role of the leader is to guide and give direction and philosophical under-building to the movement and this is what I have tried to do in this struggle.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Adolf Hitler
Hitler gained this 'charismatic status' partially because of his political skill and magnetism. He had experienced considerable success in cutting the unemployment figures and this was essential. However, it was somewhat overshadowed by his unshakeable conviction in his own historical role. Hitler often spoke of a 'mission' and claimed 'I go with the certainty of a sleepwalker along the path laid out for me by Providence'. It was this 'mission' achievable only for Hitler, that allowed him to transcend bureaucratic processess and become 'charismatic'.

Despite Hitler's notionally limitless power as Fuehrer, he was in fact acutely aware of how his power could be circumscribed. In order for him to maintain his prophetic status Hitler required the support of the Party and more importantly the German nation. Peterson has stated that Hitler 'never ran counter to the opinion of his Gauleiter, his district commissioners. Each of these men was in his power, but together they held him in theirs'.
Similarly, Hitler was aware of his reliance on the German people and this affected the way in which he defined his role. He boldly declared 'I am not a dictator and never will be a dictator... as a dictator any clown can govern'. As such he conceived of his role in accordance with his unshakeable conviction of his mission; he did not dictate, he was Germany's guide. Unsurprisingly then, he did not believe in the existence of 'unlimited power'. However, he knew his weakness lay in his followers and this explains why in defeat he blamed Germany for his own military errors.
Thus in summary, a charismatic leader is not enough. He has to be both charismatic and visionary. With such, he will be able to lead his people towards a goal and at the same time be able to inspire them, like Martin Luther King. Hitler is a perfect example of a leader that is visionary and charismatic only for a while.

Reference List
Book Review: Martin Luther King Jr. on Leadership | The Practice of Leadership. 2011. Book Review: Martin Luther King Jr. on Leadership | The Practice of Leadership. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2006/10/30/book-review-martin-luther-king-jr-on-leadership/. [Accessed 08 June 2011].
Charismatic Leaders. 2011. Charismatic Leaders. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Leadership-Skill/Charismatic-Leaders/. [Accessed 08 June 2011].
Charismatic-Visionary Leadership | Ashesh R. 2011. Charismatic-Visionary Leadership | Ashesh R. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ramjeeawon.info/HTML/charismatic-visionaryLeadership. [Accessed 08 June 2011].
Dictionary. 2011. [ONLINE] Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/charisma. [Accessed 08 June 2011].
Fest, Joachim C. Hitler (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1977)

Kershaw, Ian, Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris (London: Penguin Books, 1998)
Mclaughlin, Corinne, 1994. Spiritual Politics: Changing the World from the Inside Out. 1st ed. America: Ballentine Books.