Leadership - A discussion of traits, characteristics, and current news of leaders.

There are plenty of leadership topics that are timely and worthy of writing about. But this post may not include many. Instead you’ll have to hear about two hours of musical ecstasy because I just can’t bring myself to not share the sheer exuberance I experienced at a U2 concert last night. But stick with me.

It was nearly four o’clock yesterday afternoon when I got a call from my wife telling me that she had scored some last minute tickets to the U2 concert at the Staples Center. I am a big fan of live music and catch as many concerts as I can over the course of a year but a chance to see U2 live – in my mind is the mother lode. Not that I haven’t seen them before – I have many times. In fact, I saw Bono and mates in Phoenix just last spring as they embarked on the Vertigo (current) tour.

Now the tour was winding down, would it be as enjoyable having seen the band just six months ago? My anticipation was concentrated and my expectations soared. However, I had no idea how memorable this concert would become. I can’t say enough about this performance. I have been somewhat flummoxed while writing this. The experience last night was so dynamic and filled with emotion that it seems ridiculous to try and convey what it felt like to be there. But such conveyance is a challenge that is worthy of my effort and keenly accomplished by a fellow attendee and U2 blogger.

The show was quite different than in Phoenix last April. In Phoenix, it was typical U2 energy and a set list that was an amazing anthology of the band’s enduring sound. However, last night, Bono seemed more introspective. The lighting was more subdued. Blue and shadows replaced many of the bright reds and yellows of the Phoenix show. While the band was right on, the concert could not have felt any less programmed and planned. That made it special.

As you can note in the set list, the band hooked and weaved several non-U2 songs into their own hits. It was as if Bono, the Edge, Adam and Larry were sharing the music that inspired them but not through a simple cover song. Rather, Bono subtley dropped snippets of non-U2 songs throughout the night including Rockaway Beach and Exodus (Bob Marley) Rock The Casbah (The Clash) When Johnny Comes Marching Home (Civil War song) Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division) and People Have The Power (Patti Smith). It was random and magic. My point in sitting down and writing this was not to offer a review
of the night. There are plenty of voices that can offer that. There was more here than just another concert. But what was it? Was it just me psyched to see my favorite band?

A look across the web, revealed others shared my thoughts. Most reviews followed a line similar to this offered by Dan O,


Most comments like this came from people that had seen the band twenty or thirty times. So I was not alone.

But is there something to learn about leadership stashed deep in this experience? As I witnessed the sounds, lights and ebullience of the crowd, I wondered about this man Bono that stood before a crowd of 20,000 and moved them. People of all races, religion, political leanings, kids, grandparents-  participated in this expereince. And I mean that in the full sense of the word. I have never been to a concert where the crowd sang more and interacted with the band like last night. Bono seemed thrilled to surrender the show to the audience. Maybe that was what made this experience so incredible. There were 20,000 unified voices - 20,000 voices that honored Rosa Parks by singing “sleep, sleep tonight” on MLK. 20,000 voices that sang along with the acoustic version of “Walk On” (the Edge broke two guitar strings early on in the song but refused to stop despite a guitar tech crouched nearby with a replacement six-stringer). 20,000 voices that sang  “I'm wide awake, wide awake, I'm not sleeping” and then were led by Bono into a chant of “People have the power.”

Giving the power to the people – that is leadership. Fostering the collective energy of your organization – that is leadership. Focusing a diversity of people on one idea – that is leadership. Letting go and trusting – that is leadership.

Bono chose to end the show and walk off the stage with the crowd chanting the refrain  “people got the power.” The line, plucked from a Patti Smith song closes an inspired verse:

I believe everything we dream
Can come to pass through our union
We can turn the world around
We can turn the earth’s revolution
We have the power
People have the power ...