Charismatic leadership perceptions of resident advisors at the University of Wisconsin-Stout based on the amount of prior training and/or previous experiences

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of correlation between the perception of charisma within leaders as measured by a charismatic leadership questionnaire and the amount of experience and training leaders have had as measured by a leadership training and experience questionnaire for leaders (Resident Advisors) at UW-Stout. The subjects for this study were thirty Resident Advisors and five residents from all thirty of the Resident Advisor’s floor, from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. There were approximately 30 residents per floor, and five of them were randomly selected. The Resident Advisors were given a questionnaire regarding the amount of training and experience they had on leadership. The residents were given a questionnaire so they could rate the charismatic leadership of their RA. The two sets of scores were correlated using Pearson r. The null hypothesis was that there was no statistically significant correlation between level of perceived leader charisma and the amount of prior training for leaders at UW-Stout. Also that there was no statistically significant correlation between level of perceived leader charisma and the amount of leadership experience they have. Both null hypotheses were accepted at .05. The research hypothesis for this study was that there would be a low correlation between followers’ perceptions of charismatic leaders and both the amount of prior training and previous leadership experience that leaders reported. The hypothesis was correct, since the review of literature indicated that leadership training might be related to charismatic qualities. Previous research also showed that leadership experience might stimulate charismatic qualities. Retrospectively, the previous charismatic leadership research was primarily conducted with older groups of specifically groomed charismatic leaders. Overall, the research hypothesis was confirmed by the results of this study. While no statistical significance was found, further investigation should be done with an older population who has been through intentional long-term leadership training, or perhaps a longitudinal study should be conducted with this same group of leaders over an extended period of time.