Charisma, positive emotions and mood contagion

In a series of studies, we examine the role of positive emotions in the charismatic leadership process. In Studies 1 and 2, ratings of charisma in a natural work setting were linked to leaders' positive emotional expressions. In Study 3, leaders' positive emotional expressions were linked to mood states of simulated followers. Results suggest that mood contagion may be one of the psychological mechanisms by which charismatic leaders influence followers. In Study 4, we used a trained actor and manipulated leaders' positive emotional expressions to isolate the effects of positive emotions from the potential effects of non-emotional aspects of effective leadership (e.g., vision, other inspirational influence processes). A positive link between leader emotions and follower mood was found. Results also indicate that both leaders' positive emotional expressions and follower mood influenced ratings of leader effectiveness and attraction to the leader.