At the turn of the last century and on the heels of the vacillating leadership of Emperor Wilhelm II, the political and social theorist Max Weber forecast that if a “charismatic leader” didn’t emerge in his industrialized Germany “not summer’s bloom [would] lie ahead of us, but rather a polar night of icy darkness and hardness.” Well, he got more than he bargained for. From the chaos of War World I, emerged one of history’s most charismatic leaders: Adolf Hitler (watch what you wish for!). Before Hitler’s dictatorship, the Germans—indeed, the world—yearned for strong leadership; after Hitler they dreaded it. Scholars have long considered charisma, intelligence and a dominating character to be the key to effective leadership. Academics postulated that good leaders used their inborn talents to influence their followers by injecting them with enthusiasm and willpower, otherwise lacking; that a good leader had sufficient character and will to triumph over whatever reality they confronted by exercising their authority over others.
