Leadership Lessons from Lady Gaga
by Dr Dina Williams
She causes controversy, her music might not be your cup of tea but it
is certain that you will be familiar with the girl from the Lower East
Side of New York who in a few short years transformed herself from
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta into one of the world’s bestknown musical performers
Who we are talking about? Lady Gaga, of course.
Music icon plus
She is not only a music icon but an iconic business model from which
corporate leaders can learn a few lessons. According to a recent article
in The Economist, Lady Gaga has what Anderson, Reckhenrich and
Kupp call “leadership projection“. This is a concept in which
communication, behavior and ambition are put together to provide a
leader with wide recognition across an industry or public life.
Leadership is very much about attracting followers. The authors
believe that her ability to build emotional commitment in those she
leads is of large value in today’s business world. Financial Times
summarizes the case study putting her business success in her ability
of knowing how to use social media:
“She is the first living person to achieve 10 million fans on Facebook,
which has grown by a further 2 million in about two weeks; she has
nearly 5 million followers on Twitter; she is the first currently
producing music artist to reach one billion YouTube views…Currently
‘Lady Gaga’ is searched 151,000,000 times a month.”
She likes her fans and they like her back
An industry insider is quoted as saying: “Maybe Gaga points a way to
the future – to make your fans your trusted friends. After all, who
steals from friends?” She constantly engages with her fans creating a
feeling of ‘friendship’ which is reinforced by pet-naming her fans
Monsters thereby familiarizing them and creating a definite loyalty to
her brand.
She is the brand
Lady Gaga does not endorse brands. Instead she creates new products
in companies that have asked her to come on board. The objects with
which she is identified are bounded by her own values. The latest news
is that she is now a creative director at Polaroid, introducing to the
market a range of innovative products of Polaroid’s Grey Label line,
their flagship range including sunglasses which take pictures and
technology that allows you to print photos directly from your mobile.
She fights for causes she believes in
Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS, focusing on educating
young women about the risks of the disease. Gaga joined forces with MAC
Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their cosmetic line, Viva Glam. All net
proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company's campaign
to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't
want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a
reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to
your lipstick." The sales of Gaga-endorsed Viva Glam lipstick have raised more
than $202 million to fight HIV and AIDS.
In addition to her work concerning HIV and AIDS in 2012 Lady Gaga launched
the Born This Way Foundation (BTWF), a non-profit organization that focuses on
youth empowerment and issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying,
mentoring, and career development. In July 2012, the BTWF partnered with
Office Depot, which will donate 25% of the sales of a series of limited edition
back-to-school products that promote the foundation's message. The
foundation's initiatives have included, in a poster competition that asked
participants to submit images that answer the question "What does bravery mean
to you? The "Born Brave Bus" that would follow her on tour as a youth drop-in
center as an initiative against bullying and the "Born Brave" community and
school groups.
Lady Gaga also jumped into the debate surrounding Arizona's recently enacted
anti-immigration law, premiering her Born This Way song "Americano" and telling
the local press that she could not "stand by many of the unjust immigration laws".
Gaga is also an outspoken activist for LGBT rights worldwide. She credits much
of her early success as an artist to her gay fans and is considered a gay icon.
One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at an awards show
aired by the LGBT television network Logo. In June of the same year, she
performed at the San Francisco Pride event. After The Fame was released, she
revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. She called the
October 11, 2009 National Equality March rally on the National Mall was "the
single most important event of her career." Gaga attended the 2010 MTV Video
Music Awards accompanied by four gay and lesbian members of the United
States Armed Forces who had been unable to serve openly under the U.S.
military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy (DADT). She released three videos on
YouTube urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to overturn DADT.
In September 2010 she spoke at a Service members Legal Defense Network's
rally in Portland, Maine. Following this event, editors of The Advocate
commented that she had become "the real fierce advocate" for gays and
lesbians, one that Barack Obama had promised to be. Gaga appeared at
Europride, a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, held in
Rome in June 2011. She criticized the intolerant state of gay rights in many
European countries and described homosexuals as "revolutionaries of love".