Charismatic leadership: A study on delivery styles, mood, and performance

Words are very important to share ideas, but less is known regarding the way the message is communicated in the leadership process. The present study explored how nonverbal delivery factors might impact leaders’ charisma, followers’ mood, and followers’ performance. The research specifically focused on how immediacy and dominance impacted the relationship between leaders’ delivery styles and followers’ mood, perceptions of charismatic leadership, and performance. Results showed that immediate and dominant leadership behaviors were critical in eliciting positive mood and reducing negative mood in followers. In the absence of immediate and dominance behaviors in leaders, followers’ negative mood increased and positive mood decreased. Moreover, the dominant and immediate displays also led to higher perceptions of charismatic leadership. Crucially, only simple or mixed dominant delivery styles led to an enhancement in the performance of followers. The mediating role of followers’ positive mood on the relationship between leaders’ delivery styles and followers’ performance was also examined. More importantly, positive mood explained the link between leaders’ delivery styles and performance. Theoretical and practical implications of the role of delivery styles in the leadership process were discussed.