During his term as CEO, Lee Iacocca rescued the Chrysler Corporation from the brink of disaster and simultaneously made a name for himself as one of the greatest exemplars of crisis leadership in the history of the nation. In his article on what he terms "level 5 leadership," Jim Collins (2001, n.p.) describes level 5 leaders as "powerfully transformative executives [that] possess a paradoxical mixture of personal humility and professional will." He calls them both "timid and ferocious," "shy and fearless," and he deems them "rare-and unstoppable" (Collins, 2001, n.p.). Collins (2001, p. 6) identifies Iacocca as a level 5 leader who was instrumental in Chrysler's turnaround and responsible for the company's stock rising 2.9 times higher than the general market. Iacocca (2007) himself once remarked that a vital quality of leadership is charisma, which, he noted, "makes people want to follow you. It is the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him" (as cited in Bao, 2010, p. 23). Business acumen is essential for a corporate leader, but it is not what makes the leader compelling enough to turn around a failing company during a crisis; the ability to attract followers is.
Woelfel (2008) contends that the "attraction attributes" of "encouragement, enthusiasm, praise, humor, and dramatizing" are the key factors in leadership success. In Iaococca's own book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, he identifies the "9 C's of Leadership," which include "curiosity, creativity, communication, character, courage, conviction, charisma, competency, and common sense" (Woelfel, 2008). Woelfel (2008) points out that three of Iaococca's Cs-communication, competence, and charisma are attributes that foster attraction. Taken together, they inspire people's confidence in the leader and lead them to trust and follow him (Woelfel, 2008). Per Collins (2001, p. 13), a business le
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