This post is dedicated to the power, gift and talent within, and the courage to express it.
6 Attributes of the Charismatic Leader
Speed / Power
Creativity
Confidant Expression
Influence / Collaboration
Inspiration / Vision
Fueling
What is Charisma?
“Charisma is the experience of being totally moved by the raw presence of another human being - their unfiltered, honest, vulnerable, powerful self.”
Magnetic presence. Power. Attraction. Charm. A divinely conferred power, talent or gift. It is that certain Je ne said quios, that powerful force of aliveness and passion in the eyes, voice, and heart that inspires,and connects. Charisma draws us in, and it also pushes us away. It creates, and it destroys. It is the experience of being totally moved by the raw presence of another human being - their unfiltered, honest, vulnerable, powerful self.
The gift of charisma, to which we are all privy when we deeply connect to our own source of passion, is that of pure power, energy, charm, and spirit. Charisma invigorates, inspires and magnetizes. It makes transformation possible. To lead with charisma, a leader must be willing to be unconventional, willing to invoke and express emotional depth, and creativity in a simple, relatable, responsible yet emphatic way.
Below is a personal expression of my experience of charisma. I wrote the words as they came to me.
Power Action Style
Affirms, invigorates, inspires and influences action with captivating energy and presence
The audience senses her presence. They feel it in their bones - they lean imperceptibly toward her even though she's invisible. They don’t know why they do it. All they know is they can’t help it. They are magnetized by her - by every word she says, by the way she says them, by the message of her presence.
She walks in the room. The silence gets deeper, more profound. Her shoes click against the hard wood floor. Poised, powerful, and undaunted by the pressure of the audiences’ clinging, she strides to the podium, asserts herself firmly behind it, clears her voice as if to speak, and then, she smiles. Its the type of smile that puts you at ease, rescuing you from the trance of expectation. That's her welcome, her way of instructing you to take your seat, open your ears, and simply listen. Let yourself be moved, the smile says.
Then, the smile fades, and for a moment deafening silence overtakes the room.
“And then, the lion roars. Words flow from her. She doesn’t say them, she expresses them with the totality of her being - her voice, her body, her eyes - with the courage of her unconventional passion.
”
The lion roars.
Words flow from her. She doesn’t say them, she expresses them with the totality of her being - her voice, her body, her eyes - with the courage of her unconventional passion. She shocks them with her ruthless honesty, and engages them with the articulation of her message, and purpose. She feels every word she says, she lives every word - she expresses each one with the force of her being, deeply respecting and trusting the rawness of her voice.
Confidence oozes from her pores. With every ounce of her being, she believes, and her belief infuses the hearts and minds of those around her with a sense of belonging, power, and promise. She knows the danger of her gift. She fears her gift - its ability to move, spark and inspire. She fears the responsibility that comes with her gift - the gift of freedom and greatness.
She chooses to step into the fear. To let life, and the gift, gravitate toward her and flow from her. She doesn't pursue it. Pursuit pushes the gift away. She welcomes it, and lets it come to her. She understands that to share the gift, she must be responsibility for it. The gift can create and destroy. Power is never neutral. The choice is hers, and hers alone.
Impact of magnetic presence
- Engage through ability to express powerful and passionate message
- Energize through strong emotion
- Express unconventional, courageous vision
- Infuse with Belief
- Connect through powerful presence
- Transforms
So she chooses to use her gift to help others discover their own natural charisma - their personal spark of presence and passion. She knows she mustn’t let them cling. She mustn’t diminish them, or herself. She must use her gift to help them discover their own power, to magnetize them to impactful cause, not to a person, personality, or prestige.
For the gift, the human gift, the gift of energy, of charisma, of power, is a force field - it draws us in and repels us away.Charisma is the gift of grace. It is volatile, and beautiful. It creates. It destroys.
Share your gift. She dares you.
Discover Within, Expand Beyond
Rachel