Leading with Charisma

Charismatic leadership can be learned

Charismatic leaders provide direction and win people over—not through manipulation, but through credibility. This impact is not an innate talent, but can be learned: with five concrete principles that hold up in everyday leadership.

Service Overview:

Positive charismatic impact can be learned—we support you with practical principles. Charismatic leaders provide orientation and stability, win people over to shared goals, and lead through credibility rather than pressure.

Suitable for:

This service is aimed at:

What you will be able to do after the training:

Charisma can be learned—and shows in tangible impact. This is what you will take away from Peter Tümmers von Schoenebeck Coachings:

Charisma is not a talent you either have or you do not. It is an attitude you develop.

Topics and Goals:

Charisma Leadership develops three levels—understanding what creates charismatic impact, training it in yourself, and applying it credibly in everyday life.

Understanding impact

What charismatic people do differently—and why positive impact can be learned. The fundamentals of presence, language and charisma.

Training the 5 principles

Proactive, purpose-driven, principled, empathetic, consistent—working step by step on your own impact.

Credibility & loyalty

Charisma only works on a foundation of integrity. Those who enjoy loyalty lead from a comfortable position—followership without case-by-case scrutiny.

Included in every seminar:

Our quality promise: Every charisma training follows the same standards—methodologically sound, individually tailored, and sustainably effective.

Expectation Survey:

We ensure that we work on the specific needs of the participants. Flexibility in execution is our core philosophy.

Seminar Materials:

Every participant receives our method manuals & work tools in physical and digital form, as well as e-learning videos where applicable.

Method Mix:

We use modern, field-tested, agile, and stable methods that integrate optimally and are compatible with all industries.

Online Seminars:

A meaningful combination of in-person seminars, webinars, and e-learning means optimal resource use with maximum effect. Fast, lean, effective.

Feedback:

Your feedback is our quality assurance. We look forward to reflecting with you for our continuous improvement process.

Free Bonus Material:

PDF download: Situational Leadership

Practical handbook with leadership tools for situational leadership—from communication and personality typology to mental training, force-field analysis and transformational leadership.

Schedule a Consultation

Peter Tümmers von Schoenebeck

CEO & Head Consultant ICO GmbH

What charisma really means

Charisma literally translates as “gift of grace”. “Grace” comes from the Old High German “gnähen”—today translated as “to draw closer”. This means: those who set out on the path and continually draw closer to becoming better are rewarded.

Charismatic impact is therefore neither coincidence nor an innate talent—it is the result of conscious development. Those who not only know the five principles but live them are rewarded with impact: with trust, followership and the ability to bring others along.

Be credible

Being authentic means staying true to yourself. Being principled means staying true to a goal—even where it hurts you personally.

Charisma in the VUCA era

In uncertain times, people seek orientation. Those who can provide it credibly gain followership—not through position, but through impact.

Learnable, not innate

Charisma is not a talent you are born with—it emerges in decisive moments in life and can be trained. Anyone can learn it.

5 charisma principles of successful leadership

In times of transformation, economic uncertainty and high pressure to change, leaders are needed who provide orientation. Charisma, resilience and mental strength are crucial competencies for effective leadership in times of crisis. In our leadership training, you will develop presence, clarity and persuasive power—so your team remains capable of performing even under pressure.

Providing direction in uncertainty

Charismatic people provide direction in uncertainty. They inspire in unattractive and seemingly hopeless situations. Good news: Anyone can learn this.

Because charisma is not innate, but acquired in decisive moments in life (see ICO FB from June 6). ICO head coach Peter Tümmers von Schoenebeck provides a guide for “ordinary people”. Applicable in all situations in life. Give it a try. Enjoy!

Charisma Principle 1: BE PROACTIVE

In crises, swift action is considered the order of the day. The reason is the human brain, which cannot tolerate the combination of confusion and threat for long. Even if intensive reflection and differentiated action would be more effective, the reptilian brain quickly takes over. Under pressure, simplistic decisions and slogans appear attractive.

The law of action determines the strategy.

What would be better now is smart action and excellent networking with your “herd”. You need to know quickly what is going on and what is moving people. Leadership now takes place in direct contact with people, not at your desk.

As British Prime Minister during the war, Sir Winston Churchill rode the Underground for hours at night—criss-crossing London—to speak with so-called “ordinary people” to find out what was on their minds.

For leaders, this means:

Bundle ideas and needs into initiatives and proposals—and do it quickly, before populists strike, who have the advantage of easily digestible one-size-fits-all solutions on their side. Simple solutions for complex situations usually create further follow-on problems.

From the populist’s perspective, however, others are then to blame. Another advantage for the populist: scapegoats distract from their own actions. Do not allow that. Be proactive. Take interpretive leadership based on good listening.

Charisma Principle 2: BE PURPOSE-DRIVEN

In uncertainty, people’s so-called “emotional need for interpretation” increases. Where people would otherwise remain relaxed observers—echoing Franz Beckenbauer’s “Let’s wait and see”—in crises the brain pushes for rapid meaning-making. People want to classify, catalogue and assign in order to escape the looming feeling of powerlessness.

The classic motto:

“If I cannot control the situation, then at least I understand it.” Psychologically, this really does calm people, because clarity is calming—even if it is deceptive. In uncertainty, the brain readily accepts the first solution that sounds plausible, without reflection. And it must be easy to rally around.

Principle: “What people can agree on quickly seems to be true.” This is why, in crises, two camps usually form over time, irreconcilably opposed. As so often, the truth would lie somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, there is now a lack of patience and perspective for nuance.

Prevent this polarisation by moderating—otherwise the herd is split and has at most half its strength. As someone who understands these mechanisms, take charge of the process of interpretive leadership.

The magic word is "framing":

At present, it is often seen in the media and has fallen into disrepute because politicians use it as a method of manipulation. At its core, however, framing is valuable.

Tip: Provide each initiative with several meanings, so-called “context frames”. Better still: ask the herd about their needs and make a combined offer of “initiative + meaning” from the recipients’ perspective. Remember: “The dog food has to taste good to the dog, not the owner.”

Charisma Principle 3: BE PRINCIPLED

Being sincere is currently very much in vogue. Be yourself, and you are real: authentic, in other words. Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with integrity. Because those who are authentic follow their impulses and their own needs. “That’s just how he is,” the environment indulgently comments on the boss’s missteps or the crafty footballer’s “dive”. In crises, however, people look very closely at whether a leader is credible.

And that means:

Is he or she willing to put their own needs aside, fully integrate into the goal, and place themselves in the service of the common cause? In Denglish: “Walk your talk”. Old-fashioned term: integrity.

The difference: Being “authentic” means staying true to yourself. Being “principled” means staying true to the issue.

The recommendation:

After you have successfully launched initiatives with meaning and purpose, lead by example and behave entirely in line with the goal you have set. Especially where it hurts you personally—because that is when it is real.

How to be credible:

If you make the recommendation a general law of your actions, you will reap loyalty in the long run—i.e., followership without case-by-case scrutiny.

Those who enjoy loyalty are in a comfortable leadership situation. As explained under Charisma Principle 1, you are to be proactive. That is easier when people follow you because you have proven yourself worthy. That creates momentum. In German: “It’s working!”

Charisma Principle 4: BE EMPATHETIC

Meaning always lies in the eye of the beholder, and there are many beholders. Today, you have to win people over to an opinion. In the feudal Middle Ages, that did not matter. For serfs and prisoners of war, the rule was: “Whose bread I eat, his song I sing.” In modern society, however, many individuals’ search for meaning creates a drifting apart that must be contained.

Commitment to mission statements and goals:

Those who are convinced do more than just their work, because they are “intrinsically” motivated—the supreme discipline of leading people. Such “commitments” often count for nothing in crises. Because now “a shirt is closer than a coat.”

Relying on an employer who is himself under pressure does not look like a model for success. Forces of flight are unleashed now. As a manager, you often learn about this last.

How to prevent it?

By staying close to the individual person. Find out where the shoe pinches, and do not focus only on factual issues. In times of urgency, this is a common mistake, because quick and practical solutions promise success. But for people in change, what matters far more now than the “what and how” is the “where to and what for”.

What should I ask?

Above all, ask about personal motives and emotions. Do not judge such conversations as time-wasters. They are valuable investments. Because: If you yourself appear increasingly powerless, why should your employees still follow you? At best because, from their perspective, you organise the herd well and provide a direction that many consider relevant.

Charisma Principle 5: BE CONSISTENT

By acting consistently according to, for example, these four principles, the people around you have the opportunity to recognise what you are made of—in plain terms: how you are wired.

Motto: “Words become actions, actions become attitude, attitude becomes character.” And character can be felt. And in the best case, you have infected others around you with it. No—not with the coronavirus—but with an attitude in line with the charisma principles mentioned.

Would you like to develop charismatic impact?

Contact us for a non-binding consultation—we will clarify how you can make the five principles work for you and your team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can charisma really be learned?

Yes. Charisma is not an innate trait, but is acquired in decisive moments in life. With the five principles, we provide guidance that can be applied in all situations in life.

What is the difference between charisma and manipulation?

Manipulation uses people for one’s own purposes. Charisma in the ICO sense is based on integrity—you lead through credibility and by putting your own needs aside in favour of the common cause. This creates genuine loyalty rather than short-term followership.

Who benefits from charisma training?

Anyone who has to lead, convince or win people over—leaders, sales professionals, project managers. Anywhere impact determines success.

How does charisma training work?

Assessment (presence profile), training the five principles, and transfer into your everyday life—one-to-one or in a group, in person, as a webinar or combined.

What sets ICO apart when it comes to charisma?

Five scientifically grounded principles, a trainer with an Olympic mental training and sociology background, and more than two decades of practice with leaders and corporations.