Most everyone has heard of Frank Warren, or at least his website PostSecret. Frank started PostSecret as an art project and social experiment in 2005. After the experiment was over, people continued to send in their secrets to Warren and he started the PostSecret website. Through his influence because of the popularity of the site, Frank has increased awareness of suicide prevention and Hopeline.
The people who are regular viewers of the PostSecret site perceive Frank as having expert power. The many events that he speaks at would prove that he has obtained a very large number of followers, simply for putting post cards on a website. I think this definitely shows his leadership abilities to establish a direction, align people, and motivate and inspire people (all of which are leadership qualities according to Kotter.)
Frank has started a movement of acceptance.
Whether or not everyone is aware of this phenomenon, it is something that has changed the lives of many people. Below is a link to a video that shows secrets and excerpts of Frank speaking at an event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWqtwzEfRKY
Liz Higgins
I think that Frank is definitely a leader by all means. I like how you outlined that in your post. Is there anything that he has done recently that affected his ability to lead, or maybe change the lives of others? If so, what? Also, where was this article from?
ReplyDeleteJeffrey Parrish (team 2)
PostSecret is such an awesome concept. I believe Frank Warren uses his referent power to attract followers because followers enjoy the fact that his work is "ballsy", realistic, and creative. They can relate to it and they identify a liking for Warren because of it. He allows people to express their true feelings without ever revealing their identity. Warren finds a way to be an advocate for these important issues by using the PostSeceret messages.
ReplyDeletePosted By: Christine Burklin