The Charismatic Leader: Behind the Mystique of Exceptional Leadership

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Developing Transformational Leaders: A Life Span Approach

Bruce J. Avolio

Tracy C. Gibbons

“In archaic societies, the appropriate way to honor progenitors, mythical or actual, is to repeat their gestures and their sacred words. In ‘modern societies,’ the way to show esteem and honor is not to repeat but to build on; not ritually to invoke but productively to extend; not to follow in the footsteps but to widen the path” (Wapner and others, 1983; p. 111).

Much of the discussion in the previous chapters of this book has concentrated on the nature and the limits of charismatic leadership. In this chapter, our intent is to expand the discussion of charisma in the context of transformational leadership within a framework of developmental theory. ...