Since 1960 Ikeda Daisaku has been the leader of Soka Gakkai, one of the largest lay Buddhist movements in the world. He is also the founder of Japan's third largest political party, the Komeito, and of two universities, including Soka University of America in California. Millions of people in Japan today and hundreds of thousands outside it consider themselves his disciples. How has Ikeda been able to attract such a large number of devout followers? The answer can be found not simply in is his charisma, but rather in his transformative leadership methods that lead people to construct self conceptions that tie their identities to him and his goals.