Running head: BONO THE LEADER 1

Bono: Why He Is an Effective Leader

Robert M. Clarkson

Virginia Commonwealth University

EDLP 715 Principles of Professional Writing 1

BONO THE LEADER 2

Bono: Why He Is an Effective Leader

Paul Hewson (Bono), of the critically acclaimed rock band U2, became well-known to a wide audience of music lovers and humanitarians over the last thirty-five years. In addition to his band having accumulated more Grammys than any other band, Bono has received much critical acclaim as a leading humanitarian, including Time magazine’s person of the year, along with Bill and Melinda Gates (Fry, 2010) and a knighthood from the queen of England (BPI & Midman,

2007). There are two reasons why Bono became one of the most respected humanitarian leaders of our time. First, his accomplishments were many in the areas of “famine relief, debt forgiveness, Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Anti-Apartheid and disaster relief”

(Petit, 2011, p. 17). Second, Bono used his emotional intelligence (EI) traits, referred to herein as skills, to convince global leaders to support his causes (Itano, 2002). The examples in this paper prove that while Bono may have taken advantage of his charisma to get a foot in the door as an advocate for global humanitarian causes, it was his EI skills which elevated him to be a truly transformational world leader. Commented [JA1]: Solid intro

Definition of Emotional Intelligence

According to the Oxford Electronic Dictionary (OED Online, 2015), the definition of emotional intelligence is “perceptiveness and skill in dealing with emotions and interpersonal relationships; the capacity to be aware of, manage, and express one's emotions, and to handle a variety of interpersonal situations in an intelligent, judicious, and empathetic manner.”

Significant research has been conducted linking EI to leadership abilities and success.

According to Hui-Wen, Tang, Mu-Shange, and Nelson (2010), the model developed by Nelson and Low (2003) is the most relevant in measuring and predicting success in a leader that has high

EI. Hui-Wen et al. (2010) came to the conclusion that EI is a “learnt ability through a BONO THE LEADER 3 transformative learning process to identify, experience, understand, and express human emotions in healthy and productive ways” (p. 904). The EI skills reported on by Hui-Wen et al. (2013) were integral in Bono’s transformation from a music artist to a highly regarded humanitarian leader. The self-training structure, which Nelson and Low (2003) researched and proved effective, includes:

Knowing and valuing self; building and maintaining a variety of strong, productive, and

healthy relationships; getting along and working well with others in achieving positive

results; and effectively dealing with the pressures and demands of life and work (p. 68). Commented [JA2]: Good use of block quote, although it’s typically over 40 words in length. This is close These areas of EI are explored further below. enough.

Know and Value Self

Bono’s evolution as a leader started early on in his career when he applied the EI skill of social awareness by asserting himself on the global stage where he generated awareness and support for famine in Africa (Petit, 2011). While Bob Geldof, a man with few social skills and an intimidating personality, threatened fellow music stars to participate in Band Aid and Live Aid, behind the scenes, Bono became comfortable as the charismatic front man, connecting with the public to bring awareness to famine relief, as a leading participant in this song collaboration and concert series (Itano, 2002). Bono demonstrated comfort in “knowing self” when he trusted his gut by going off stage and into the audience at Live Aid, a global concert to raise funds and support for famine in Africa (Petit, 2011). The time required to do this meant that his band, U2, could only play two of the three songs allotted to them, losing a huge marketing opportunity to promote an additional song in front of millions of people (Petit, 2002). Although chastised by his band members and manager, Bono’s comfort level to deviate from an original plan proved BONO THE LEADER 4 extremely fruitful, as Petit (2002) reported that “U2 stole the show and as a result became an international music sensation that day forward” (p. 20).

The outcome of this global concert and the Band Aid song collaboration with other music stars brought awareness and relief for famine in Africa (Petit, 2011). Bono’s learnt ability to be assertive and comfortable making decisions instantly showed that “by following one’s instinctive gut, while risky, can allow for a historic moment within one’s career and/or brand development”

(Petit, 2011, p. 20). Research conducted by Kiev (2009) pointed to the relationship between transformational leaders and their willingness to trust their gut instinct. Bono’s social awareness was such that he could make these pivotal life-changing decisions with minimal leadership experience. However, in order for Bono to be successful in the next cause he tackled, he needed to not only focus on his social awareness skills, but also build strong, productive and healthy relationships with stakeholders (Nelson & Low, 2003).

Build and Maintain a Variety of Strong, Productive, and Healthy Relationships

The AIDS epidemic became Bono’s next big next test as a leader. At the time in 2001, researchers predicted that within five years, AIDs would kill 155 million worldwide (Admed,

2001). In order to find a resolution to this catastrophe, a well-recognized leader with empathy and a positive influence with heads of countries, drug companies and relief agencies (Bergstein,

2013) was required – Bono became such a leader. In private meetings, he persuaded leaders of developed countries to act to stem the spread of AIDS (Bergstein, 2013). One such meeting with

Senator Jesse Helms resulted in “changing the senator's mind about federal funding for AIDS programs in the developing world (Itano, 2002, p. 2). In addition, Bono and his fellow allies convinced pharmaceutical companies to develop a “complex 15-drug AIDS regimen compressed into one pill a day, now saving eight million lives” (Bergstein, 2013, p. 22). As reported by Petit BONO THE LEADER 5

(2011) “Bono and U2 have been all about corporate social responsibility before it became the new buzzword in business” (p. 20). Bono’s EI skills – his ability to seamlessly persuade decision makers and forge relationships with key stake-holders had a significant impact in the fight Commented [JA3]: Add the dash again against AIDS (Hui-Wen, et al., 2010). Carmeli and Tishler (2006) reported that, of the nine Commented [JA4]: AIDS leadership traits they identified which related to a company’s performance, “the most important managerial skill is persuasiveness” (p. 29). Due to Bono’s ability to utilize these EI skills, the fight against AIDS made significant progress, to the point of near eradication, according to The

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF, n.d.).

Get Along and Work Well with Others in Achieving Positive Results

With significant progress made in the fight against AIDS and in a major step towards eradicating global hunger, Bono was successful in convincing most of the wealthiest nations in the world to forgive $40 billion in debt owed to them from the world’s eighteen poorest countries

(Cowell, 2015). This complex issue, described by Itano (2002) as being “broader and more complex than any previous pop-star campaign” (p.1), required EI skills of setting goals, holding people and entities personally responsible, having a very strong inner drive and a significant commitment to ethics (Hui-Wen, et al., 2010). Bono’s skill of goal-setting was utilized to

“persuade developed countries to give Africa more aid, sweeping debt relief, and better access to international markets” (Itano, 2002, p.1). Bono felt personally responsible for the devastation

AIDS was causing, so he willfully made other leaders feel responsible by “quietly bending the ears of the rich and powerful” (Itano, 2002, p.2) behind closed doors versus the traditional mass media approach.

In addition to attribute of personal responsibility, Bono applied the EI skills of a strong drive and commitment to ethics (Hui-Wen, et al., 2010), with heads of state and CEO’s of BONO THE LEADER 6

Fortune 100 companies when he took his case to the “halls of power, meeting with senators and even prime ministers” (Itano, 2002, p. 1). They soon saw Bono as a confidante and partner,

“extremely knowledgeable about the topic and able to speak the language of conservatives, despite his different political views” (Itano 2002, p.2). As Burmann and Zeplin (2005) report, a person – just like a brand – “needs to have a consistent and continuous identity in order to be trusted” (p. 279).

As a result of Bono’s EI skills, he convinced the Republican-held (and Christian-led right) U.S. Congress to enact legislation because it was the correct ethical Christian thing to do

(Itano, 2002). Bono’s EI skills helped forge a partnership with a group considered unlikely allies and resulted in laws passed that were pivotal on the road to eliminating global poverty (Itano

2002).

Conclusion Commented [JA5]: Centered. Another level 1 heading.

Bono’s success as a leader can be attributed to the strong leadership skills he applied. He took on projects that were emotionally trying and politically charged but were successful because he utilized his EI leadership skills proven to be integral to effective leadership. While Bono may have taken advantage of his charisma to get a foot in the door as an advocate for global humanitarian causes, it was his EI skills which enabled him to cause real change in the world.

Bono’s leadership resulted in outcomes that have impacted the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide (Bono, 2015). By studying Bono and his traits, others can learn what it takes to be a successful leader and be inspired to tackle “big projects” where change is hard to make happen.

BONO THE LEADER 7

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http://www.unicefusa.org/mission/survival/hiv-aid Running head: BONO THE LEADER 1

Name Clarkson Date

EDLP 715 Paper 3 Evaluation Rubric

20 points Target Acquiring Developing Entry

Organization Crystal clear focus that Clear focus with minor Focus has several Lack of singular focus; does not stray; all digression(s); most digressions; some most paragraphs have paragraphs fully paragraphs well- paragraphs incompletely little/no focus; intro developed; strong intro developed; logical intro developed or contain off- and/or conclusion, and satisfying and conclusion; reader point info; intro and/or disconnected, or conclusion; reader is can see where writer is conclusion brief/cursory; missing; reader must skillfully guided headed reader experiences make inferences through gaps/confusion but still based on inadequate (3 points) sees main idea details (4 points) (2.5 points) (0 – 2 points)

Critical Clear, strong, logical Appropriate logical points Some points unclear or Many/most points lack points supported with developed using quality weak with irrelevant or quantity/quality Thinking rich and relevant details with minor gaps; unconvincing details; details; supporting details; supporting supporting sources supporting sources weak sources irrelevant or sources credible, credible, timely, and inappropriate timely, and appropriate appropriate with minor (5.5 points) gaps (0 – 5 points) (8 points) (7 points)

Grammar*, No major or minor No major errors; one or Repeated one major or several minor errors that errors two minor errors that do distract Punctuation, not distract and Spelling (4 points) (0 – 2 points) (3 points)

APA Format Impeccable use of Some minor errors in use Errors or inconsistencies in the use of APA; e.g. APA conventions of APA conventions; e.g. missing or erroneous information or formatting punctuation, indentation (4 points) (0 – 2 points) (3 points)

Plagiarism, intentional or not, will result in an automatic zero on the assignment.

Examples: No citation for any material that should be cited; paraphrasing that contains copied key words, phrases, or structure from the original source which should be quoted; or any other type of intellectual dishonesty that uses others’ word or ideas without appropriate acknowledgement BONO THE LEADER 11

*Major errors: fragments, run-ons or improperly fused sentences; subject-verb agreement; Minor errors: Pronoun errors, lack of parallelism, spelling, general punctuation

19 Arkin

Robert An excellent paper! It was easy to follow your points, and they all made sense. Here are the things to tweak moving forward: 1. Don’t use so many direct quotes. Paraphrase as much as you can and use quotes for only the most compelling. 2. Minor clean-up on reference page. (And, you used an incredible number of sources. I didn’t go back to check for each one, but be sure that only those that you cited in the paper are listed.) 3. Next paper will be evaluated for stylistic issues. I noted several places that need some attention. These did not detract from your score this time, but it will next time. We will go over some tips on Wednesday.

Great transformation from Paper 2 to Paper 3. Well done!