The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader | Charisma: The First Impression can seal the deal

2.       Charisma: The First Impression can seal the deal

 

A comparison of the charismatic quality of William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli opened this chapter.  A young woman, who had dined with both men declared that Mr. Gladstone was the cleverest man in England, but Mr. Disreali made her felt that she was the cleverest woman in England.  Maxwell shared on the roadblocks to charisma: pride, insecurity, moodiness, perfectionism and cynicism.  Maxwell declared that Perle Mesta (“the greatest Washington hostess since Dolley Madison) was successful in getting rich and famous people to attend her parties due to her charisma.  Mesta would greet each guest with “At last you’re here!” and “I’m sorry you have to leave so soon!” when they left.

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Webster’s definition

a special magnetic charm or appeal

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My thoughts

Maxwell raved about the accomplishments of Gladstone and Disreali, but I failed to be convinced, from the one-and-one-third page of narration, that Disreali had charisma.  So a young woman thought she “was the cleverest woman in England” after sitting next to Disreali and Maxwell believed that Disreali “had charisma”.  What I came away feeling at the end of the narration was that Disreali was either very witty/charming, or the young woman was really ditzy.  I was not able to understand what was the special magnetic charm or appeal that Disreali had, and the rest of the chapter did not make much sense to me.  Most disappointing was Maxwell’s choice of Perle Mesta to close the chapter.  How are her mechanical greetings charismatic?  When the same words are said to every single person, I do wonder if sincerity factors in Mesta’s charisma.