Can Charisma Be Taught? Tests of Two Interventions

We tested whether we could teach individuals to behave more charismatically, and whether changes in charisma affected leader outcomes. In Study 1, a mixed-design field experiment, we randomly assigned 34 middle-level managers to a control or an experimental group. Three months later, we reassessed the managers using their coworker ratings (Time 1 raters = 343; Time 2 raters = 321). In Study 2, a within-subjects laboratory experiment, we videotaped 41 MBA participants giving a speech. We then taught them how to behave more charismatically, and they redelivered the speech 6 weeks later. Independent assessors (n = 135) rated the speeches. Results from the studies indicated that the training had significant effects on ratings of leader charisma (mean D = .62) and that charisma had significant effects on ratings of leader prototypicality and emergence.