Content and delivery in charismatic leadership: Effects on follower satisfaction, performance, and attributions of charisma

Abstract

Despite differences among theories, both visionary content and an expressive delivery are consistently associated with charismatic leadership (Awamleh & Gardner, 1999; Holladay & Coombs, 1994). The current study investigated the effects of content (visionary, nonvisionary) and delivery (strong, weak, written) on ratings of charisma, performance, satisfaction, and self-efficacy. Consistent with previous research, both content and delivery affected perceptions of charisma. However, only delivery affected performance. Specifically, participants in the high delivery and written delivery conditions rated their leaders higher and performed better than participants in the low delivery condition. However, there were no differences between the high delivery and no delivery conditions, suggesting that the outcomes may have been driven by a negative effect of the low delivery condition, as opposed to a positive effect of the high delivery condition. There was no effect for content or delivery on satisfaction or self-efficacy. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.