"Aura of command"

[asterroc]

I've often heard individuals described as having an "aura of command", "aura of power", or "aura of leadership". Such people are described as having a magnetic personality, of drawing people to them, of entering a room and everyone immediately snaps to attention, of having their every word paid attention to.

I have never met such a person. Do these people, does this quality, really exist? Or is it just a literary hyperbole that people have bought into and pretend exists in real life? Is it just really rare and that's why I haven't encountered it? Is it really common and it's just been the luck of the draw that I haven't met such people? Or am I just insensitive to it?

Comments

[galbinus-caeli.livejournal.com]

There are people whose personality seems to cause others to want to put them in charge. They get looked to for semi-arbitrary decisions and for social conflict resolution.

[seekingferret.livejournal.com]

I mean, it's not a magic trick. There's nobody who literally snaps a room to attention just by walking in. But I've met people with magnetic personalities.

I've seen speakers who have held a room of hundreds rapt for two hours and then, as the applause died down, I've thought to myself, "There was every reason for this audience to be hostile to that message. Only force of personality can explain why they weren't." Al Gore, in An Inconvenient Truth, flashes moments like that, to note an example I'm fairly sure you've seen.

I think most successful politicians have it to some degree or other. I saw John Bolton speak at NYU and while there were a few protesters who weren't going to listen to anything from him, I was surprised by how powerful his hold over the audience was. When you have a private or small group meeting with a person like that, it can be overwhelming. When my high school class met with Rush Holt, our congressman, all the jokes we'd made about the outlandish positions we were going to take vanished out the window.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

The closest thing that comes to mind right now is when I was in the military, where the senior person in the room/situation was generally looked to as, well, the leader. But that's not quite the same thing as what you're asking, really.

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

I think those people do exist and I have met many of them. My manager from Minnesota has a very magic and magnetic way about her. Everyone just swoons when she's around and she has such a nice way of saying "No" that you don't feel small or disagreeable about it at all (she's also one of those people that see letters as colours).

[sildra.livejournal.com]

Think back to grade school; think of the most popular clique. Was there a center person in that clique? A sort of founder? Maybe there was even a second-tier clique (especially in middle school, perhaps) where everyone hated this person... but it's always about this same person. That's the sort of person these sorts of descriptions are talking about. It's also sometimes the same thing that makes some people really interesting to talk with, even if they're talking about really mundane topics. It's really a pretty common trait, and a lot of people have it to greater or lesser degrees.

They're the sort of people where, whether or not they have actual tangible power (a management position or whatever), other people want their approval, and want to be liked by them. Failing that, other people at least want to be acknowledged by them, whether in a positive or negative way. They're the sort of people whom everyone has a strong opinion about, whether or not everyone likes them, because you can't help but notice them (although saying "[they enter] a room and everyone immediately snaps to attention, ...their every word [is] paid attention to." is certainly hyperbole).

[bobdeloyd.livejournal.com]

Maybe you are one of those "aura of command", "aura of power", or "aura of leadership" kind of person and just haven't realized it. That may be why you haven't seen one before. Most teachers are like that ;)
//bob

[jmgold42.livejournal.com]

There are definitely people who have a natural way of attracting attention, but I think something like an "aura of command" has to be earned and not just intuited by those around such a person. Someone brought up military command earlier and I think that sort of a background can lend a person some added authority in their mannerisms (it certainly does for my boss), but that too is based on experience and isn't just an innate skill.

[cartoonmayhem.livejournal.com]

Apparently not only does Steve Jobs have this aura of personality, he has a "reality distortion field" that leaves people positively bowled over. I have yet to meet somebody who has such a cult of personality. But maybe it's because when I was in high school there was a student religious leader—of college student age whom a bunch of girls my age just swooned over and brought me to him in a "you have to meet him *gush* manner. Well, I met him and I was quite unimpressed. It left me skeptical and cynical.
Incidentally, I cannot be hypnotized either. People have tried and can't do it.
I also have another question: do you people who are atheists are less likely to be attracted to a cult of personality type than the religious minded?