What is Charismatic Authority ?
‘Charismatic Authority’ refers to the concept of leadership in which the leader’s charisma is the source of his or her authority. It was developed by the famous German sociologist, Max Weber. Some famous examples of charismatic authority include Hitler, Jesus, etc.
Max Weber defined it as “resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him.”
We can infer from this statement that the personal qualities of the leader are inherent to the concept of charismatic authority. The followers would perceive these qualities to be beyond normal, which results in their acceptance of the authority of the leader.
A major disadvantage of charismatic authority is that it ceases to exist once the authority themselves step down from the position or if they are met with death.