Paul David Hewson - A Philanthropic Musician
Paul David Hewson is a 56-year-old Irish vocalist and composer. His stage name is Bono, and many individuals in the music industry prefer to refer to him as such. Aside from his passion for music and his leadership of the well-known Irish rock band U2, Bono is a philanthropist who participates in community-based initiatives and mobilizes people to contribute to global problems. Bono frequently emphasizes the importance of reducing new HIV/AIDS infections as well as addressing poverty and hunger. His charitable initiatives have frequently been recognized by renowned institutions such as TIME magazine and Queen Elizabeth. He earned the Person of the Year award and honorary knight from TIME magazine and Queen Elizabeth. He earned the Person of the Year award and honorary knight from TIME magazine and Queen Elizabeth, respectively. Paul David Hewson is a singer who came to limelight in 1987 when the U2 band that he leads won a Grammy award, therefore, affirming the talent that he exuded in music and the passion that he had for music and various music activities.
Focus on Social Activism and Humanitarian Work
The central themes of the songs that are often written and produced by Paul David Hewson tend to focus on social activism and highlight the plight of the poor in the world. Some of the sub-themes that the singer lays emphasis on include religion and politics. During Hurricane Katrina that destroyed vast amounts of property in the United States and led to the loss of lives, Bono pioneered the "The Saints are Coming" art and the proceeds were intended to help rebuild New Orleans. Bono has often been moved to help with the stability of peace within the Sub-Saharan region, Darfur in particular. Through his performance, Bono was part of the artists who contributed to Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Darfur. The proceeds from the production of the Instant Karma had the primary motive of enlightening the world on the work that was being done by Amnesty International and calling for action from the global leaders to help rebuild and save Darfur. From his performances of Instant Karma, the money that was raised was channeled to the Amnesty International, a leading organization that has worked for long in the Darfur region to restore peace and has helped in the building of reputable institutions in the society. The global campaigns that have often been led by Bono have attracted great quotes that have often been used to move to the world. One of the quotes that were made by Bono in the course of calling for peace building is "There are potentially another 10 Afghanistans in Africa, and it is cheaper by a factor of 100 to prevent the fires from happening than to put them out" (Morreale, 2010). The quote was made about the instability in the Darfur region and calling for global action to call for peace in Darfur. Another quote that was made by Bono is "Celebrity is currency, so I wanted to use mine effectively" about why he is passionately using his celebrity status in mobilizing people and resources for international causes (Burke & Taylor, 2006).
Leadership Traits of Bono
The major leadership trait that is exuded by Paul David Hewson is the ability to have a vision and to rally his team members into buying into that vision. The vision that Paul David Hewson has for the world is to have a religion that promotes humanity and responds to the plight of the majority and the needs of the suffering. Additionally, Paul David Hewson has the vision of having the world that is free from hunger and suffering where people live in peace and harmony. The vision that is instilled in Paul David Hewson is evident in how he leads the U2 band and the way he uses the band as a platform through which he can enlighten the world on the needs to maintain peace and stability for the human race.
Mobilization and Building a Strong Brand
The second leadership trait that Paul David Hewson exudes is mobilization. Paul David Hewson has had the opportunity to inspire Presidents of the United States of America to increase the amount of aid that they send annually to the African continent, the sub-Saharan region in particular. The mobilization has often focused on the need to increase the funding from the United States of America to Africa to help fight hunger, restore human dignity, and promote peace-building initiatives within the Sub-Saharan region. Paul David Hewson is known to have motivated both Bill Clinton and George Bush to increase the amount of aid that they send to the African continent fourfold, therefore, affirming his strong mobilization skill.
Another leadership attribute that can be ascribed to Paul David Hewson is the ability to build a brand that is liked by many people and that is inspirational to the society. Paul David Hewson has created the U2 band as a brand that is loved by many owing to their ability and quest in responding to the needs of the populace. The firm name of the U2 band is the leading cause as to why many people buy tickets to the concerts that are held by the U2 band and the tours of the U2 band also attract high revenues. Notably, the income that has been earned by the U2 band in the Vertigo tour is $389 million affirming the extent to which the global populace appreciates the strong brand that is associated with the U2 music group. Branding is the way through which an organization packages the information of their activities and appeals to the needs of the audience. The U2 brand is visible to the lovers of music owing to the likability of their leader, Bono.
Delegation and Addressing Healthcare Issues
One other leadership trait that is evident from the life of Bono is his ability to delegate. Bono works with a team of professionals and management team in the U2 band. The management team highlights the promotion of the activities set to be conducted by the organization. The band members are also granted an opportunity to share the promotional activities that they feel are appropriate and fit within the plans of the organization. The ability to delegate is a measure that has been undertaken to ensure that there are teamwork and synergy in the band. The running of any successful band and organization involves having the capability of having faith in the professionalism of every team member. All team members must have the mutual feeling that their contributions are appreciated in the organization. The ability to delegate has often been evident in the acceptance speeches that are made by Bono when accepting international awards. Notably, Bono has often noted the contribution of other band members and the management team in ensuring that the band influences the lives of humanity.
Bono is a notable figure who stands a chance in handling the problems of healthcare with which the society is faced. Some of the significant problems that are facing the health system include an increasing number of people without medical insurance, the ballooning cost of healthcare that is not affordable to many, a relatively small number of health care providers, aging population, and few mental health facilities. The style that Bono has put in place to highlight the plight of the healthcare sector is to ensure that the health issues are organized into one central theme that is highlighted through a song. Secondly, Bono is a leader who has the quest to offer long-term solutions to an issue that he tries to highlight for the society.
The decision to set up a concert that highlights the needs of the healthcare system would be the organization of concert whose proceeds are intended to go to establishing a mental health facility in a state that has a high number of mental health cases, such as Virginia. Bono would later plan on the cost of building and equip the hospital, including the staffing and operational costs. Later, Bono would organize for a series of tours before the main concert that is to be held within the state in which the intervention is set to be held. In the concert, Bono would ensure that the management of the band would come up with promotional pitches that would ensure that many people go to the concert, including the policy makers and opinion leaders in the society. Having the people be entertained by the band and pay a fee that is channeled towards the establishment of a mental health facility would lead to a situation where many more people would contribute more. Bono is an exceptional leader who has the capability of driving the policy makers into a call for action in addressing the plight of the majority. While interacting with the policy makers, with a tour targeting at least twenty states that have high rates of mental health cases, the issue of mental health would be made evident to many people and policies would be established by the congresspersons in rallying the government to build more mental health facilities. The two primary intents of a concert are to entertain a given audience and to raise awareness about the issues that are facing the health system and the health sector. Therefore, Bono would have raised money through the concert to build a mental health hospitality and raise awareness to the policy makers and the government to lower the cost of healthcare, ensure that the health cover reaches all and increasing the number of healthcare providers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the leadership traits that are exhibited by Bono prove that one does not need to be a holder of a high-ranking office to be a leader influencing humanity positively. Bono has mobilized for resources that have been used in restoring peace in the Darfur region and addressing the immediate needs of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Some of the leadership attributes that are evident in the life of Bono are the ability to have a shared vision with his team, planning, mobilization delegation of roles, and building a strong brand for his organization and activities.
References
Burke, S., & Taylor, B. (2006). A heretic’s guide to eternity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Morreale, S. P. (2010). The competent public speaker. New York: Peter Lang.
