Week 7- Charismatic Theories in Action

This week I have experienced how different leaders of different levels in Wells Fargo portray themselves to others in certain situations and presentations. There are two individuals in the organization that I think are excellent examples of leaders who have exhibited charismatic leadership theories. The first individual that I recognized to exhibit charismatic qualities to help their leadership skills is my program manager. The second person who represents many charismatic qualities is Wells Fargo’s CEO, Charlie Scharf. 

First, I have been in constant contact and have had many meetings with my program manager. She is very outgoing and has a very dynamic presentation style, which affects me positively, and therefore has most likely affected the other interns positively as well. In every meeting, when delivering her messages and presentations for the interns, she often inspires us, by expressing ideas that are appealing as well as easily understood. She inspires us in a way with her language and style to make us believe that we will succeed. In addition, if there is an intern who does not understand something in the program or needs a point about the curriculum clarified, she makes sure that every intern in the program is on the same page. She delivers answers to questions with clarity and effectiveness that gives confidence to the interns. With her charismatic personality, she influences many of the interns to believe that they can be successful when they graduate and move on towards a full time job position.

The second individual that I feel exhibits charismatic leadership, and needs this personality for his position at the company, is the CEO of Wells Fargo. Mr. Scharf needs to have a charismatic quality about himself that he places on others because he is the most influential leader at Wells Fargo. He is the top of the company and the person that everyone looks to for advice or decisions that affect the entire company. If he did not exhibit these qualities, he would not be able to effectively make the thousands of employees at the company have the confidence needed to be successful in their own individual roles. When I attended a town hall that featured him talking about the recent earnings update for the company as well as other updates around the company community, he showed these qualities to the fullest extent. It made me feel proud to be working with a company who has a leader that represents and leads the company so well.