Charismatic people are can be very powerful as they have great influences on the people that they attract. For example, Hitler is constantly described as a charismatic leader and the result of that was a massive genocide. On the other hand, there are many other charismatic leaders who have promoted peace such as Gandhi and played a positive role on the people who followed them. It is obvious that the great influence that charismatic leaders possess can be used to persuade massive amounts of people to act a certain way, whether good or bad.
In my experience, you can tell how charismatic someone is upon meeting them, there is something in the way the speak, act, and carry themselves. However, I am interested in the question of if it is learned or innate, and if it even matters. If someone dedicates themselves to practicing the six traits of becoming charismatic, how much would it differ from someone who seems to be naturally charismatic? How many “naturally charismatic” people are genuinely that way, or do they too work on it from day to day? I would think that even if someone is not naturally charismatic, working towards those six characteristics can be a great help and can play a huge role in becoming an effective leader.
Using Hitler and Gandhi is a great way to show how charismatic leaders can persuade people to join a path of either good or bad. I also agree when you say you can tell how charismatic someone is upon meeting them. You can tell how much charisma a person has just by seeing how outgoing they are and how persuasive they can be.
I used to think of charisma as an undefinable quality, but RIggio’s six components are all something that I believe charismatic people have. I think with these components defined, people can teach themselves to be more charismatic by studying, imitating, and adopting these characteristics. That is where the 1/3 born + 2/3 made equation becomes most relevant. It is entirely possible that the notorious leaders that we talked about were taught charismatics opposed to born, but the only people who know that for certain are the leaders themselves.