Relational ties that bind: Leader–follower relationship dimensions and charismatic attribution Stacy M. Campbell a, ⁎, Andrew J. Ward b , Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld c , Bradley R. Agle d a Kennesaw State University, Coles College of Business, Burruss Building — BB 303,1000 Chastain Road NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA b Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, GA, USA c Yale School of Management, Yale University, USA d Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA, USA article info abstract Recent research on charismatic leadership has focused on the relationship between the leader and follower. Thus far though, researchers have simply assumed the existence of the relationship or distinguished between strong and weak relationships between the leader and the followers. What have been overlooked are the underlying dimensions of the relationship that may influence a charismatic attribution. The current study identifies two relational qualities and tests the relationship of these dimensions with the perception of charisma in a sample of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and their top management team (TMT) members. Results indicate that a constructive relationship is positively related to the attribution of charisma, while a competitive relationship has a negative relationship with the charismatic attribution. Implications and future directions for the study of charismatic leadership from a relational perspective are discussed. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Charisma Leadership Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Derived from the Greek word “charismata,” meaning “gift from the gods,” charisma has been used to describe leaders who seemed to have a “charismatic gift” of exceptional powers that set them apart from ordinary men (Weber, 1947). Since the first studies on charismatic leadership, researchers have tried to gain a better understanding of the factors that govern attributions of charisma. Early research focused on the traits and behaviors of the leader (e.g. House, 1977) or the situation in which the leader performs (e.g. Schneider, 1937). Later researchers began to consider the importance of the follower (Avolio & Yammarino, 1990; Bass, 1988; Klein & House, 1995; Meindl,1995), arguing that charismatic leadership did not exist separate from the perceptions of followers. As a result, the focus shifted towards the active role of the follower and how traits and behaviors of the followers influenced the perception of charisma in leaders. Today however, the emerging consensus on charismatic leadership is that the focus should be on the dyadic nature of the charismatic relationship (e.g., Klein & House, 1995; Lord & Maher, 1991; Weierter, 1997) rather than just the individual characteristics of the leader or the follower. There is agreement among researchers that rather than being a “gift from the gods” of extraordinary powers, charismatic leadership is located in the relationship between the leader and follower (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995; Groves, 2005; Howell & Shamir, 2005; Klein & House, 1995; Weierter, 1997). In studying the relational basis for charismatic attribution, researchers have thus far simply assumed the existence of the relationship between the leader and the followers (Hollander, 1993; Howell & Hall-Merenda, 1999), or have distinguished between strong versus weak leader–member relationships (Graen, 1976; Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995) and have largely overlooked other qualities of the relationship which may influence a charismatic attribution. Rather than focus on potential antecedents, much of the empirical research in this area has focused on the consequences of transformational leadership as well as potential mediators and moderators of the relationship between charismatic leadership and follower/firm performance (e.g., House & Howell, 1992; The Leadership Quarterly 19 (2008) 556–568 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 678 797 2528. E-mail addresses: stacy_campbell@kennesaw.edu (S.M. Campbell), ajward@terry.uga.edu (A.J. Ward), Jeffrey.sonnenfeld@yale.edu (J.A. Sonnenfeld), agle@vms.cis.pitt.edu (B.R. Agle). 1048-9843/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.07.009 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The Leadership Quarterly journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/leaqua