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The aim of this chapter is to argue that charisma is a collective representation, and that charismatic authority is a social status that derives more from the “recognition” of the followers than from the “magnetism” of the leaders. I contend further that a close reading of Max Weber shows that he, too, saw charisma in this light.

I develop my argument by a close reading of many of the most relevant texts on the subject. This includes not only the renowned texts on this subject by Max Weber, but also many books and articles that interpret or criticize Weber’s views.

I pay exceptionally close attention to key arguments and texts, several of which have been overlooked in the past.

Writers for whom charisma is personal magnetism tend to assume that charismatic rule is natural and that the full realization of democratic norms is unlikely. Authority, in this view, emanates from rulers unbound by popular constraint. I argue that, in fact, authority draws both its mandate and its energy from the public, and that rulers depend on the loyalty of their subjects, which is never assured. So charismatic claimants are dependent on popular choice, not vice versa.

I advocate a “culturalist” interpretation of Weber, which runs counter to the dominant “personalist” account. Conventional interpreters, under the sway of theology or mass psychology, misread Weber as a romantic, for whom charisma is primal and undemocratic rule is destiny. This essay offers a counter-reading.

This chapter explores the development of middle leaders in the specific context of Catholic schools. It considers the interplay between contemporary thinking on educational leadership and the insights of Catholic theology and ministry. Two key themes foundational to this interplay are examined: the connection between leading and following, and the central importance of relationships for leadership. For each of these themes, the reader is provided with related questions for middle leaders in a Catholic school context, an activity for engaging with leaders, and an exercise inviting middle school leaders to reflect on their own experience and the context within which they lead.

Teachers are more than just instructors. Teachers are counselors and mentors; teachers guide students and prepare them for the world. Part of that preparation includes being transparent about the challenges that await them in addition encouraging students that they are capable in overcoming them all. Preparing students in that way requires teachers understand both the socioeconomic and sociohistorical psychology of their students, which impact their experiences and circumstances. For African American male students, an African American male teacher provides a natural harmony of understanding these very experiences and circumstances. This is not to say that only an African American male can teach African American male students, rather the unique experiences central to the Black male experience in America require educators who desire to speak of those experiences in the classroom in an attempt to both equip students with the necessary academic and interpersonal skills for their success in life. In the case of the African American male teacher, he not only can speak to the Black male experience in America, he lives it daily. This testimonial is from an African American male teacher who believes that as an African American male who teaches, he has the unique opportunity to mentor and disciple his Black male students through honesty and transparency rather than through “protecting” them from the realities that await them.

It is possible that the universe of available information will become so large that some teachers might actually control their students' command of it the way the mapmaker controls the explorer in the wilderness. We must resist this temptation: our interest should not be to limit the alternatives that students see, but to make sure that they are able to make responsible judgments. We must educate students for intellectual autonomy, not discipleship, so they can navigate for themselves in the wilderness of information. We must present our considered views, of course, but for an audience that more and more will judge them in light of their alternatives. Enhanced access to information will make us comic figures if we present our own views as if our critics were silent. Educating students for autonomy is not as easy as typing keywords at a terminal and catching a cascade of citations in a basket; it requires real teaching.

The Beagle Bay Immersion Program is a Christian Service-Learning experience, which facilitates opportunities for secondary school students to experience unique expressions of cultural diversity found in remote Aboriginal communities of Western Australia. Through engagement in the program, students undergo a process of experiential learning, identifying core social justice issues present in a broader Australian social context, and helping to address identified community needs. This immersion program is conducted as part of the Christian Service-Learning Program at a Perth-based Catholic Secondary College in Western Australia. The Beagle Bay Immersion Program serves as an opportunity for students to engage in acts of discipleship, modeling values of social and cultural inclusivity as a means of enriching their own communities. Underpinned by core Gospel values, the program aims to actively promote a “spirit of solidarity and service to others” (Prendiville, 2016, p. 42) both among the immediate participants and the wider school community. Presented in this chapter is an examination of the values which guide the College’s Service-Learning Program and the ways in which the Beagle Bay Immersion Program facilitates attitudes of inclusivity by exposing students to diverse populations. Christian Service-Learning can serve as a means through which students can circumvent barriers that preclude exposure to diversity. The Beagle Bay Immersion Program seeks to build relationships through service, which benefit both the College and Beagle Bay Communities, providing students opportunities for personal, spiritual, and academic growth while fostering a culture of inclusion.

Jerry feels good as he leaves his office for the day. He takes pride in being CEO of a Healthcare System that provides much-needed services to the urban poor often in difficult circumstances. He reflects that his career has been an interesting journey. He had started as an accountant with Price Waterhouse, but found the work and time pressures very heavy. Wanting to spend more time with his family, he moved to the a health care system and rose to Controller. There had been a period while Controller when he wondered whether he had made an error in making the change, given the financial turbulence his health care system experienced with the transition to managed care. He experienced no less stress than at Price Waterhouse as he assisted his new employer to manage a turnaround to eliminate waste and reposition the system within a solid financial model. But he emerged from the turnaround with a new sense of direction and drive. Subsequently, seven years ago Healthhelp chose him as its Chief Financial Officer and he’s been CEO for almost three years. Today he’s excited about the new marketing plan he just reviewed which promises to give Healthhelp a bigger share of the home care market.

In this article we consider how cultural resources rooted in religion help to constitute and animate people working in industrialized societies across both religious and nonreligious domains. We argue that redemptive self-narratives figure prominently in the symbolic constructions people attach to their experiences across the many domains of human experience; such redemptive narratives not only can shape their identities and sense of life purpose, they inform their practices and choices and animate their capacity for action. To consider how redemptive self-narratives can provide a basis for agency in organizations, we analyze and compare the career narratives of a retired Episcopal Bishop and a celebrated CEO.