Dylan: transforming leadership through ideas

Abstract

This thesis explores transformational leadership, using Bob Dylan as an example. Dylan was chosen to show that artists, in this case a musician, are leaders. A leadership framework was created and used in analyzing Dylan as a transformational leader. Leaders often thought of are presidents, prime ministers, military leaders, educational administrators or religious figures, yet this study focuses on a musician's career in order to show other images of leadership. -- The data used to analyze Bob Dylan include DVD's, Cd's, biographies, books and internet articles. A comprehensive literature search on transformational leadership led to the identification of 13 components included in a transformational leadership framework. It was applied to Dylan's music career throughout the early sixties until the late seventies. This time frame was selected to establish a connection between Dylan and the transformational components identified in the framework. -- The years beyond the seventies were briefly mentioned but not elaborated upon due to time restraints for the research. Further research may be done using the leadership model which has been developed and presented in this thesis to establish other artists as transformational leaders. What was found throughout this research was that Dylan embodied the 13 components of transformational leadership in the time frame which was studied.