One of the most common ways of describing a cult is that it has a charismatic leader, but just what does that mean. Charisma has been studied or decades in organizational psychology so Stephen and Celine explore some of the research and discuss whether it's a good or a bad thing. 

References

Bass, B. M., & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. The leadership quarterly, 10(2), 181-217.

Shamir, B., House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1993). The motivational effects of charismatic leadership: A self-concept based theory. Organization science, 4(4), 577-594.

Moving forward with Charisma

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323705542_Moving_psychology_forward_-_With_charisma