Abstract
•Charisma is a leadership vitamin that drives performance at all levels of the organization, yet the behaviors underlying leader charisma remain elusive.•Across two studies, we connect to initial findings on the effect of eye-directed gaze in leadership and show that it acts a charismatic signal that drives managers’ approval and effectiveness.•In study 1 we used unobtrusive mobile eye-tracking in a natural negotiation and showed that leaders who looked more frequently at the eyes of the negotiators were perceived as more charismatic and gained greater approval.•In study 2 we surveyed managers and two of their subordinate employees and showed that managers’ gaze behavior can stimulate impressions of charisma and extra effort in their employees.•Findings show leaders’ eye-directed gaze to act as a charismatic signal, that not only affects followers’ charisma impressions, but motivates them to approve the leader and show extra-efforts at work.
Charismatic leadership significantly influences organizational performance, with recent research emphasizing the pivotal role of leader behavior in conveying charisma to employees. In two studies we explore the underexplored concept of eye-directed gaze as a charismatic leadership signal and its impact on team leadership effectiveness. The first study employed mobile eye-tracking during interactive negotiations, while the second relied on observer reports in leader–follower groups. Consistently, our results indicate that leaders exhibiting more pronounced eye-directed gaze are perceived as charismatic, dominant, assertive, and competent by their employees. Furthermore, these leaders receive higher approval from their followers and inspire them to surpass performance expectations. In conclusion, our findings underscore the effectiveness of employing eye-directed gaze as a tactic for charismatic leadership, empowering leaders to amplify their influence and message reception within their teams.