Introduction: Charismatic Leadership

General Sudirman was born on January 24, 1916 in Rembang, Central Java. He was one of the well-known national heroes of Indonesia. Sudirman led Indonesian troops in the war against the Netherlands during Indonesia’s struggle for independence. He passed away on January 29, 1950, due to heavy pneumonia (TBC). Sudirman is recognized as a hero who had a high fighting spirit and fought fiercely for Indonesia’s independence. During his life, he never defeated yet gave up. His spirit lived through his wise word, act in a great manner so the troops never betrayed him. Although he was severely ill and need to be lifted on a stretcher in the very wild forest with minimum military equipment, he was never found by the enemy and always fought back. He led the guerrilla tactic with near-death illness in 4 big cities in Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Keresidenan Surakarta, Madiun, and  Kediri. The question may appear like what makes the troops trust him so much? He was very ill, and the environment was very dangerous and daunting to them. Why did they keep following his order? He is known as a charismatic leader who had a persistent vision, encourage his follower to achieve the goals together, and very close to his follower. A Charismatic leader posses unique traits including:

1. Visioner. A leader with great vision has the ability to convey the vision effectively to the follower. People are often drawn to charismatic leaders because they able to create a sense of unity, which can lead to increased team performance and success.
2. Superb communication skills. They pose great communication skills, great confidence, and know how to use suitable communication channel.
3. Self-confidence and moral conviction. A leader with this trait has the ability to motivate the follower because they know their capability to enhance performance. Their self-confidence make them to take risks and make bold decisions, while their moral conviction ensures that they act with integrity.
4. Ability to inspire trust. This type of leader can inspire trust and confidence among their followers by their dynamic and persuasive communication skills. They are known for their ability to motivate and influence others through their words and actions.
5. High-risk orientation. Leaders are known for risk taker, they are capable of identifying risk, analysing and responding the risk effectively. They have a full confidence to decide with great risk management skills.
6. High energy and action orientation. They responsible for many things, organizational vision, followers’ needs, and threats so a great leader exhibits high energy to manage things all together.
7. Relational power base. This type leaders exhibit influence and authority due to their personal connections and relationships with others. This type of power is often built through trust, respect, and a sense of shared goals or values.
8. Minimum internal conflict. Since the leadership style goes on a relational power base, sharing common goals, and prioritizing trust and respect then the conflict is minimal. Mostly it can sustain long period of time
9. Ability to empower others. Since they must go to the same vision, a leader must empower his follower to achieve the goals together with persuasive motivation and strong communication. Charismatic leadership has the ability to empower others due to the leader’s strong personality, confidence, and ability to inspire and motivate followers.
10. Self-promoting personality. The key to building and maintaining trust among followers is for leaders to act with integrity and high morale. When leaders behave in this way, it helps to create a perception that they are the right person to be leading the group.

Definition.

Transformational leadership is a leadership style that focus on inspiring and motivating followers to reach their full potential, often by using modeling behavior (Burns, 1978). It builds a vision for the future, fosters a positive and supportive culture, empowers and develops individuals, and effectively communicates and manages change. This approach may improve performance and job satisfaction for both the leader and the team. The troops believed that Jendral Soedirman never surrendered and always motivated them through powerful speeches that ignited their spirits. He also maintained his religious practices by performing ablution and praying regularly. He became a model of a righteous leader during that time until It appears that Jendral Soedirman’s image was used on a stamp in Ukraine right now. The powerful words like: “The best place is near with the troops”, was said during President Soekarno ordered him to step back since the aggression was big. The president was very worried about his safety so he expected him to come back from guerrilla. Surprisingly, he declined the order politely and  kept staying with the troops although he knew the TBC kept infected in his tragic lungs. He also added, “Someone who wants to give orders must be willing to receive orders.”. Since he was very closed to their troops, then betrayal never happened, and the spirit rose to the maximum level.

When it comes to Jendral Sudirman history, it aligns with Transformational leadership (TL) since this is a style of leadership where the leader motivates and inspires consistently their followers to achieve their full potential and work towards a common goal. In addition, this style focuses on developing the skills and abilities of individuals to help them reach their full potential. If we can relate to Jendral Sudirman’s case, he once said: “Evil will prevail when the righteous do nothing”, afterward the troops perform with full potential.

Transformational leaders are able to achieve this by creating a vision for their followers and inspiring them to work towards that vision. They also provide support and encouragement to their followers, helping them to overcome any obstacles that may arise and pursue to think out of the box. Indonesian troops was lack of modern equipment so face to face battle was not good option. Instead of facing the opponent directly, General order to make silent battle in the forest since Indonesia has heavy forest. No troops disobey the General directions, because they already put the higher trust toward him. They see the role model, what their leader’s belief and a consistent goal.  TL is identified with team buy-in. Jendral Sudirman not only talk but also lead by act. He kept near with the troops, made strategy, support his troops and keep motivating. The obstacle was very vivid at that time, but it never limited his vision to reach Indonesian freedom. This leadership style is highly effective in creating a positive work environment and increasing the productivity of teams.

Furthermore, transformational leaders often presented several key traits such as charisma, passion, and empathy. They are able to connect with their followers on a personal level and understand their needs and motivations. This enables them to create a strong sense of trust and loyalty among their team members.

The Model and Dimension

According to Burns (1978), transformational leadership require a mutually beneficial relationship between the leader and followers, where they complement each other and achieve higher levels of motivation and morality. This could be achieved by building common goals. Leaders must envision the common goals with persuade way toward the followers with higher moral and ethic. As consequence, follower will follow what leader’s direction easily. At the beginning, both of the party has different value and personal goal, however being in the same position, they must have the similar goals and leaders leader must deliver it in effective way.

Figure 1 Transformational Leadership Dimensions.

Transformational leadership is divided by four dimension according to Alvolio and Bass (2004) including: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration.

1. Idealized influence means leaders influence loyalty to their followers, carry out the task with full dedication toward a common vision, and identify among their followers without focusing on their own self-interest. It is believed that follower can achieve their full potential to reach the goal with leader guidance. The first dimension refers to a leader who set high standards of behaviour and become a role model for employees, inspiring their trust.
2. The second dimension is inspirational motivation. inspirational motivation, need leaders who can create a vision that inspires their follower to play a significant role within the organization. It also involves communicating a compelling vision to followers through words, action, and body language.
3. The third dimension is Intellectual stimulation. It involves leaders who can encourage their employees to be more innovative and take risks. This type of leaders also favorable to search an input from employees for personal growth and considering a range of opinions when making decisions.
4. Lastly, individualized consideration involves addressing to employees’ unique needs and coaching or mentoring them to reach their maximum potential.