The Effects of Charismatic Communication Training on Leader Communication Effectiveness

This study investigated whether a two-hour leadership course in charismatic communication would result in improved leader communication effectiveness. Ninety two organizational leaders participated in the study, as well as 955 of their followers. Leader participants were divided into experimental and control conditions and a pretest-posttest research design was used to evaluate the effects of training on leader charismatic communication self-efficacy and charismatic communication behaviors. Follower perception of leader communication effectiveness was evaluated using a simple time series design. Results indicated those in the training condition had significantly greater charismatic communication self-efficacy and behavioral ability than those in the non-training condition. Follower rating of leader communication effectiveness, however, did not show significant change following leader charismatic communication training. This study has implications for charismatic communication research, leader communication effectiveness, and the development of charismatic communication curriculum in organizations. Background, methodology, limitations, results, and implications for future research are discussed