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Introduction
In his renowned book, Leadership (1978), James McGregor Burns proposed two leadership styles: transactional and transformational. Transactional leadership is task-oriented and exchange-based; followers’ pursuit of objectives is based on potential punishments and rewards (Bass and Steidlmeier, 1999). In contrast, transformational leaders consider followers as full-persons, seek to motivate followers to view group interests above self-interests and emphasize high-level ideals (Conger, 1999). Transformational leadership is a rich topic, one producing many often-cited articles in respected peer-reviewed journals (e.g. Avolio et al., 1999; Bass, 1990; Bass and Avolio, 1993; Dvir et al., 2002; Judge and Piccolo, 2004; Piccolo and Colquitt, 2006; Shin and Zhou, 2003; Yukl, 1999).
Yet, even in the context of the vast transformational leadership literature, one question remains: What traits or attributes must a leader possess or develop to apply transformational leadership? Early transformational leadership theory included charisma, the ability to influence audiences, as a vital attribute (e.g. Burns, 1978; Bass, 1985). Later, Bass and Steidlmeier (1999) argued that ethical behavior, moral character and authentic desire for the betterment of followers and the group—dimensions we capture in a concept termed “credibility”—were vital for transformational leadership. Therefore, in transformational leadership, which is more important: the charismatic presentation of mission and vision, or the credibility of the one presenting mission and vision? Questions such as this are vital to both theorists and practitioners as findings indicate transformational leadership may enhance organizational performance (e.g. Barling et al., 1996; Choudhary et al., 2013; Howell and Avolio, 1993; Wang et al., 2011).
To expand the discussion of what attributes are necessary for transformational leadership, and the attributes that enhance the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance, we consider charisma and credibility. We begin with an overview of transformational leadership and follow with discussions of charisma and credibility. We then provide a model illustrating our propositions. Our closing discussion includes suggestions for future research and practical implications.
Transformational leadership
Burns (1978), in response to what he characterized a “crisis in leadership” (p. 1), presented two leadership concepts: transformational and transactional. Burns proposed transformational leadership included two facets: raising followers’ morals and values and promoting organizational change. In contrast, Burns suggested transactional leadership was based on the exchange of rewards (or punishments) for accomplishments...