| Peer-Reviewed

A Close Look at Abiy’s Charismatic Leadership in Ethiopia

Received: 9 May 2022     Accepted: 6 June 2022     Published: 27 June 2022
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Charisma is a Greek term that means "gift". The word charisma used in the Christian bible to express several Devine gifts. The discussion of charismatic leadership in organizations began with Max Weber, who used the word charismatic to secular application. One of the most challenging issues in studying charismatic leadership is the lack of agreement on its definition. Academicians characterized charismatic leadership in several ways, and there is no consensus on which description is the most exhaustive. The distinguishing qualities of charismatic leadership may be perceived from two angles: leader behaviors and follower impacts. In the early years of Abiy’s leadership, he demonstrated some characteristics of charismatic leaders such as rhetorical ability, motivational power, and graceful figure. In addition, there was some indication of a risk-taking personality, a revolutionary attempt, and a vision in his first year. However, there is a counter-argument for this, especially his lack of consistency made him susceptible to skeptics. His self-centered leadership style, lack of paradigm-shifting decisions, inability to put into action his visions, and lack of ethics were some of the counter-arguments against his charismatic nature. Nonetheless, it is premature to forward conclusive evidence to claim whether he is a charismatic leader or not.

Published in American Journal of Management Science and Engineering (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11
Page(s) 18-23
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Charisma, Leadership, Abiy’s Leadership

References
[1] Ann. R Willner, Charismatic Political Leadership (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985).
[2] Krume Nikoloski, “Charismatic Leadership and Power: Using the Power of Charisma for Better Leadership in the Enterprises,” Journal of Process Management. New Technologies 3, no. 2 (2015): 18–26.
[3] Jay Alden Conger and Rabindra Nath Kanungo, Charismatic Leadership in Organizations (Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London: SAGE, 1998), http://sk.sagepub.com/books/charismatic-leadership-in-organizations.
[4] Penpoin, “Charismatic Leadership: Meaning, Examples, Characteristics, Pros, Cons -,” Penpoin, October 26, 2020, https://penpoin.com/charismatic-leadership/
[5] Robert J. House and Jane M. Howell, “Personality and Charismatic Leadership,” The Leadership Quarterly 3, no. 2 (1992): 83.
[6] Jay A. Conger and Rabindra N. Kanungo, “Toward a Behavioral Theory of Charismatic Leadership in Organizational Settings,” Academy of Management Review 12, no. 4 (1987): 637, https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1987.4306715.
[7] E. F Borgatta, A. S. Couch, and R. F Bales, “Some Findings Relevant to the Great Man Theory of Leadership,” Merican Sociological Review, 19 (1954): 399.
[8] Gary Yukl, “How Leaders Influence Organizational Effectiveness,” The Leadership Quarterly 19, no. 6 (2008): 207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.09.008.
[9] James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge, 3rd ed., vol. 3 (John Wiley & Sons, 2006), 123.
[10] Bernard M. Bass and Bruce J. Avolio, “Transformational Leadership: A Response to Critiques.,” 1993, 49–80.
[11] Robert J. House, “A 1976 Theory of Charismatic Leadership. Working Paper Series 76-06.,” Southern Illinois University Press, 1976, 189–207.
[12] Boas Shamir, Robert J. House, and Michael B. Arthur, “The Motivational Effects of Charismatic Leadership: A Self-Concept Based Theory,” Organization Science 4, no. 4 (1993): 577–94, https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.4.4.577.
[13] Alemayehu Weldemariam, “Ethiopia’s Charismatic Leader: Riding the Wave of Populism or Reforming Ethnic Federalism?,” Ethiopia Observer (blog), July 4, 2018, https://www.ethiopiaobserver.com/2018/07/04/ethiopias-charismatic-leader-riding-the-wave-of-populism-or-reforming-ethnic-federalism/.
[14] Jonathan Fisher, “Abiy Ahmed’s Surprising Leadership in Ethiopia | ISPI,” Italian Institute for International Political Studies, October 11, 2019, https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/abiy-ahmeds-surprising-leadership-ethiopia-23969.
[15] Naol Befkadu, “Ethiopia: Fellow Evangelical Finds PM Abiy ‘Morally Unfit and Unqualified,’” The Africa Report, October 12, 2021, https://www.theafricareport.com/135123/ethiopia-fellow-evangelical-finds-pm-abiy-morally-unfit-and-unqualified/.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Henok Jemal Aman, Mulat Abebel Reta. (2022). A Close Look at Abiy’s Charismatic Leadership in Ethiopia. American Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 7(3), 18-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Henok Jemal Aman; Mulat Abebel Reta. A Close Look at Abiy’s Charismatic Leadership in Ethiopia. Am. J. Manag. Sci. Eng. 2022, 7(3), 18-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Henok Jemal Aman, Mulat Abebel Reta. A Close Look at Abiy’s Charismatic Leadership in Ethiopia. Am J Manag Sci Eng. 2022;7(3):18-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11,
      author = {Henok Jemal Aman and Mulat Abebel Reta},
      title = {A Close Look at Abiy’s Charismatic Leadership in Ethiopia},
      journal = {American Journal of Management Science and Engineering},
      volume = {7},
      number = {3},
      pages = {18-23},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajmse.20220703.11},
      abstract = {Charisma is a Greek term that means "gift". The word charisma used in the Christian bible to express several Devine gifts. The discussion of charismatic leadership in organizations began with Max Weber, who used the word charismatic to secular application. One of the most challenging issues in studying charismatic leadership is the lack of agreement on its definition. Academicians characterized charismatic leadership in several ways, and there is no consensus on which description is the most exhaustive. The distinguishing qualities of charismatic leadership may be perceived from two angles: leader behaviors and follower impacts. In the early years of Abiy’s leadership, he demonstrated some characteristics of charismatic leaders such as rhetorical ability, motivational power, and graceful figure. In addition, there was some indication of a risk-taking personality, a revolutionary attempt, and a vision in his first year. However, there is a counter-argument for this, especially his lack of consistency made him susceptible to skeptics. His self-centered leadership style, lack of paradigm-shifting decisions, inability to put into action his visions, and lack of ethics were some of the counter-arguments against his charismatic nature. Nonetheless, it is premature to forward conclusive evidence to claim whether he is a charismatic leader or not.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A Close Look at Abiy’s Charismatic Leadership in Ethiopia
    AU  - Henok Jemal Aman
    AU  - Mulat Abebel Reta
    Y1  - 2022/06/27
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11
    T2  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
    SP  - 18
    EP  - 23
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1379
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20220703.11
    AB  - Charisma is a Greek term that means "gift". The word charisma used in the Christian bible to express several Devine gifts. The discussion of charismatic leadership in organizations began with Max Weber, who used the word charismatic to secular application. One of the most challenging issues in studying charismatic leadership is the lack of agreement on its definition. Academicians characterized charismatic leadership in several ways, and there is no consensus on which description is the most exhaustive. The distinguishing qualities of charismatic leadership may be perceived from two angles: leader behaviors and follower impacts. In the early years of Abiy’s leadership, he demonstrated some characteristics of charismatic leaders such as rhetorical ability, motivational power, and graceful figure. In addition, there was some indication of a risk-taking personality, a revolutionary attempt, and a vision in his first year. However, there is a counter-argument for this, especially his lack of consistency made him susceptible to skeptics. His self-centered leadership style, lack of paradigm-shifting decisions, inability to put into action his visions, and lack of ethics were some of the counter-arguments against his charismatic nature. Nonetheless, it is premature to forward conclusive evidence to claim whether he is a charismatic leader or not.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Africa Leadership Excellence Academy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Africa Leadership Excellence Academy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Sections