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The Myth of Charismatic Leadership and Fantasy Rhetoric of Crypto-Charismatic Memberships Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2004 The ym th of charismatic leadership and fantasy rhetoric of crypto-charismatic memberships Shaun Robert Treat Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Treat, Shaun Robert, "The ym th of charismatic leadership and fantasy rhetoric of crypto-charismatic memberships" (2004). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3322. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3322 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE MYTH OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP AND FANTASY RHETORIC OF CRYPTO-CHARISMATIC MEMBERSHIPS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in The Department of Communication Studies by Shaun Robert Treat B.A., University of Arkansas- Fayetteville, 1991 M.A., University of Arkansas- Fayetteville, 1994 May 2004 I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Bob and Donna Treat; my brother, Stacey; and my children, Kaitlynn and Austin. They have all been a constant source of inspiration and support, and are proof that with love all things are possible… even a dissertation on charisma. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I’d like to express my undying gratitude to my family, friends, mentors, and colleagues without whom this dissertation would not have been possible. First, my mentors at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville who convinced me to continue my academic studies through their example and encouragement: Thomas Frentz, Janice Rushing, and Stephen Smith. Second, my mentor at LSU, Andy King, who taught me as much about being kind and humane as he did about being a scholar. Next, my many friends and colleagues at LSU, who have provided invaluable feedback and support over countless pints at The Chimes and endless hours in the Quad listening to me ramble about charisma. My family has also been a constant wellspring of inspiration and encouragement, instilling in me the values of an education. I’m especially grateful for all the love and support I’ve received as I have clumsily fumbled to finish my epic dissertation amidst the emotional turmoil of divorce. There are several special people I’d like to thank specifically for their friendship as I’ve splashed in the oceans of ink spilt on charismatic leadership. Dan and Kelly Schowalter, who showed me what lasting friendship and a good bratwurst are supposed to be like; the mythic Tom Frentz and Janice Rushing, for proving to me that academics can also be rock stars; David Lambkin, who has convinced me that every department should have a resident Canadian as devil’s advocate; Dan Grano and Jon Croghan, who have provided invaluable guidance and advice in matters ranging from dissertation formatting to trout fishing; Josh Gunn and Laura Sells, who inspire me to be a better scholar with friendship and intellectual violence; Lisa Landry and Susanna Dixon, who prove that kindness and humanity can flourish amidst ass-numbing bureaucracy; and the faculty and staff of the LSU department of Communication Studies, a humane department culture where those who think together, drink together. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.……………………………………………………………..… iii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………….. vi ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………….....vii CHAPTER 1. THE RETURN OF CHARISMA ………………………………………………. 1 Introduction ………………………………………….………………………… ... 1 Rationale and Significance of Study …………..…….………………………… ... 3 Paradoxes of Pseudocharismatic Management …….………………………… 6 The Weberian Myth of Charismatic Leadership…………..…………….…... 9 Organizational Fantasies as Mythic Rhetoric …………………………………... 14 Preview of Chapters …………………………………………………………… . 18 Endnotes ………………………………………………………………………… 19 2. THE MYTH OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP ………………………... 24 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 24 Greek Charisma and Early Christianity………………………………………... 25 Max Weber and the Social Science of Leadership…………………..………...... 38 The McDonaldization of Pseudocharismatic Management….……………….... 66 Something Myth-ing in Leadership Studies.………………………………….… 78 Endnotes ………………………………………………………………….…….. 90 3. MYTHIC RHETORIC AND FANTASY CULTURETYPES OF THE CHARISMATIC SUPERHERO ...………………………….………… 101 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 101 Textual Charisma as Constitutive Rhetoric…………………………...……….. 102 The Dark Side of the Charismatic Ubermensch…...……………….……… 111 The Fantasy Script of Charismatic Rhetoric and Culturetypes of Charismatic Redeemers……………..………………….…. 125 Texts for Analysis: Vision Quests of Management Gurus…………………….. 137 Endnotes………………………………………………………………………... 148 4. THE PROPHET MOTIVE IN STEPHEN COVEY’S “PRINCIPLE CENTERED LEADERSHIP” ……………………….……... 151 Introduction……………………………………………………………………. 151 The Principle-Centered Paradigm……………………………………………... 152 The Born-Again Fantasy of Principle-Centered Leadership…………….…….. 160 Setting Themes: Reborn to an Agrarian Paradigm…………………….…... 162 Action Themes: “Inside-Out” Transformation…………………………….. 167 Character Themes: “True North” Stewardships…………………………… 173 “Prophet Motive” as Rhetorical Vision: The Gift of Grace……………………. 178 iv 5. STATISTICAL MYSTICISM IN JIM COLLINS’ “LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP” ………………….……………………………... 192 Introduction……………………………………………………………………. 192 The Data Speaks……………………………………………………………….. 193 The Charismatic Fantasy Script of Good To Great……………………………. 197 Setting Themes: The Odyssey from Good to Great………………………... 198 Action Themes: Architecture of Level 5 Leadership…………………….… 204 Character Themes: Creators vs. Reactors………………………………….. 211 A “Genetically Encoded” Ubermensch Prince Built to Last…………………... 215 Works Consulted……………………………………………………………….. 218 Endnotes………………………………………………………………………... 218 6. EMPOWERED SUPERTEAMS IN MANZ & SIMS’ “SUPERLEADERSHIP”…………………………………………………….. 219 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 219 Beyond the Myth of Charismatic Leadership………………………………….. 221 The Charismatic Fantasy Script of Empowered Superteams………………….. 222 Setting Themes: Ghosts of Charismatic Leadership……………………….. 223 Action Themes: Leading the One in the Mirror………………………….… 226 Character Themes: The SuperLeadership of Empowered Superteams…….. 230 Superleaders Manufacturing Superheroes or Slaves?………………………….. 235 Works Consulted……………………………………………………………….. 239 7. CONCLUSION—FANTASY RHETORIC OF CRYPTO-CHARISMATIC MEMBERSHIP: MYTHIC FANTASY RELOADED ……………………. 243 Review of Study……………………………………………………………….. 243 Research Findings……………………………………………………………… 247 The Fantasy Rhetoric of Crypto-Charismatic Memberships………………. 250 Implications and Future Research……………………………………………... 252 Fantasy Reloaded…………………………………………………………... 258 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………………... 264 APPENDIX A: FANTASY THEME ANALYSIS CONCEPTS……………………….. 293 APPENDIX B: MODEL OF CRYPTO-CHARISMATIC CITIZENSHIP…….……... 300 VITA ……………………………………………………………………………………… 301 v LIST OF TABLES 4.1 Fantasy Themes of “Principle-Centered Leadership” …………………………………162 5.1 Fantasy Themes of “Level 5 Leadership”…………………………………………...…198 6.1 Fantasy Themes of “SuperLeadership”………………………………………………...223 vi ABSTRACT This study will analyze the relationship between myth and the fantasy rhetoric of charismatic leadership by employing Fantasy Theme Analysis to examine the pervasive discourses invoking this enduring folk belief. Fantasies of the Charismatic Superhero are explored within the popular leadership treatises of successful “management gurus” and in our popular culture entertainments. The rhetorical visions of Stephen Covey’s “Principle-Centered Leadership,” Jim Collins’ “Level 5 Leadership,” and Manz and Sims’ “SuperLeadership” are examined for their displacement of charismatic leadership in favor of the empowered crypto-charisma of self-leading memberships. Findings suggest “empowerment” rhetorics, like the rhetorical visions championed by many populist “gurus,” bear striking similarities to the fantasy script of charisma and tacitly champion mythic culturetypes that are variations on known routinizations of charismatic leadership: the Visionary Prophet, the Messianic Prince, the Servant Superhero, and Technocratic Superteams. vii CHAPTER 1 THE RETURN OF CHARISMA INTRODUCTION Cultural Myths are like scripts embedded in the American psyche.1 Myth unconsciously structures our most basic understandings of social relationships, whether between parent and child, neighbor and friend, employer and employee, or leader and follower. John Fiske (1990) explains that myth is “a way of circulating meanings in society,” and can thus provide “unique insights into the way a society organizes itself and the ways its members have of making sense of themselves and of their social experience” (133). Myth is always “in the background,” Reich (1987) observes, as “disguised, unarticulated” beliefs and “the unchallenged subtexts of political discourse” (6). Myths form the very foundations of culture and community but, because they function below consciousness, they are accepted as “common sense” and seldom interrogated. This dissertation is about one of these powerful social
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