Running head: THE NATURAL LEADER: LEBRON JAMES

Organizational Communication Textual Analysis Project

The Natural Leader: LeBron James
Deyanna Riley
Queens University of Charlotte

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The Natural Leader: LeBron James
Theoretical Framework

Today, 20% of advertisements include celebrities, and 60% of those advertisements

contain celebrity athletes (Carlson and Donovan, 2008). It can be assumed that professional
athletes appear in advertisements and/or commercials to help companies heighten their sales.
Although this may be true; commercials featuring athletes not only help companies in sales but
provide every day consumers with a glimpse of athletes personal life that has potentially made
them the leader(s) they are today in and outside of their profession. These commercials showcase
the personal, leadership side of athletes by motivating and empowering consumers. Mahoney
states, Sponsors benefit from highlighting the personable qualities of their celebrity athletes
while using the product endorsement more effectively (Hambrick, Mahoney, 2011, p. 176).
Through advertisements and/or commercials, we as consumers can model the communicative
and leadership qualities that these athletes portrayas it appears their experiences equipped
them to be stronger leaders on and off of the field and/or court.
In the Re-Established 2014 Beats by Dre series, LeBron James informs consumers of his
childhood experiences and hardships faced in Akron, Ohio. In the first thirty-seven (37) second
commercial titled: Gloria James in 439 Hickory Street, Gloria, LeBrons mother, briefly spoke
about the grandparents home LeBron grew up in. Unfortunately, due to city taxes the house was
condemned. James states, My earliest memory was holding my moms hand and watching the
house get bulldozed.
In the second thirty-four (34) second commercial titled: St. Vincent St. Marys, LeBron informs
consumers of his high school basketball experience. He states, Being African American and
going to a predominantly white school was a challenge for us and we didnt know how we were
going to handle it and they just accepted us from Day 1. We wanted to give back once we got on

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the floor and let our game speak for itself. Sports was my escape and it still is today. In light of
that, LeBrons experience of attending a predominately white school could have been considered
a culture shock. But despite what looked to be a challenge for LeBron, in actuality was not.
Instead he took on the challenge and was determined to pursue his passionbasketball. A person
that exemplifies leadership and displays confidence and knowledge of a subject can give
persuasive action which can ultimately attract supporters and non-supporters (Herrick, 2009,
p.23). This segment exemplified the leadership qualities that LeBron portrayed during his
teenage years. LeBron displayed confidence when he stated that he would put his all on the court
and let the game speak for itself.
Furthermore, rhetoric is shaped upon values that people identify with (Herrick, 2009,
p.22). Although a consumer might not have faced the challenges that LeBron did; they are likely
to identify with his valuesin a sense that he aspired to be successful in pursuit of his
profession. In light of that, every individual has a public persona and values to which they
uphold and belong. Therefore, if an individual does not take an active role in constructing a
public persona and upholding their values, the public will do it for them. With that being said,
LeBron James is a professional athlete that has used the advertising and/or commercial platform
to display his values and leadership qualities, while inspiring and motivating consumers.
The Re-Established 2014 series additionally depicts LeBron James as effective leader in a
sense that he is skilled in authentic communication (Eisenberg, Goodall, Trethewey, 2011,
p.278). The text states, leadership today is found in the ability to create, in straightforward if
sometimes strategically ambiguous language, a clear and compelling vision for the future
(Collins & Porras, 2002). In like matter, a leader has a creditable life story, one that emphasizes
the naturalness of the path taken to leadership, despite having to overcome hardships and endure

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emotional pain while maintaining a core set of commonly held values (Benoit, 1997; Shamir,
Dayan-Horesh, & Adler, 2005).
With that being said, the Re-Established 2014 series was introduced to the public after
LeBron made the decision to leave the Miami Heat and sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The
series was said to focus on LeBrons home that being Akron, Ohio where he grew up, where
signed to his first NBA team and where he would be surrounded by a community of first fans.
Therefore, the experiences LeBron spoke on in each segment shows authentic communication.
LeBrons communication throughout the segments in a narrative form shows consumers where
he came from and the experiences he faced but did not allow them to distract him from his
ultimate goalto play basketball. His creditable life story teaches consumers that although
athletes and celebrities make opportunities seem easily obtainablethey arent. It can be
assumed that LeBron wanted inspire consumers and know that despite the difference in
occupation to which we belong, hardships can be overcome as long as the individual upholds
their values and seeks to pursue their goals.
By the same token, leaders who exemplify authentic communication skills use language
to influence and motivate others (Eisenberg, Goodall, Trethewey, 2011, p.278). LeBron is a
communicative and authentic leader who used the Re-Established 2014 series to inspire and
motivate consumers to reflect on the experiences and hardships of the past but do not allow them
to consume youinstead individuals should view the experiences as motivation to set goals and
establish values for experiences and/or hardships cannot deter the future unless we let it.
Methodology
In rhetoric, people are revealed by their motives, a term taking in commitments, goals,
desires, or purposes that lead to action (Herrick, 2009, p.11). With that being said, the language
and visuals depicted in the Re-Established 2014 series exemplified Ciceros Five Cannons of

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Rhetoricthat being invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery (Littlejohn & Foss,
2011, p.62).
Invention is defined as the process to which we assign meaning to symbols through
interpretation (Littlejohn & Foss, 2011, p.62). Through invention LeBron persuades consumers
that we have the strength and capability of achieving our goalsas he faced hardships but did
not allow them to defeat him.
Arrangement is the arranging of information in light of relationships among the people,
symbols, and context involved (Littlejohn & Foss, 2011, p.62). In light of that, the segments
were arranged in a way that provided the consumer with visuals that depicted what he and Gloria
stated. For example, the bulldozing of a house and James actually standing on the hardwood
floor of the high school gym where he used to play basketball.
Style concerns words and actions from choice of symbol system to the meanings we give
those symbols (Littlejohn & Foss, 2011, p.62). The segments were brief enough to stir on
emotions. LeBron did not go into great detail of his experiences; but his use of narrative
language and see yourself beyond the hardships message was just enough to draw consumers in
emotionally.
Memory is the process of perception that affects how we retain and process information
(Littlejohn & Foss, 2011, p.62). The segments of LeBron and Gloria reflecting on the
experiences were candid, personable and intimate rather than memorized and/or written in a
script form. The personable side makes consumers feel a sense of genuine connectedness and
authenticity.
Delivery focuses on the range of options from nonverbal to talk to writing to mediated
messages (Littlejohn & Foss, 2011, p.62). With that being said, the segments were delivered
under a minute, which was just enough to engage the consumer, draw them in by using narrative

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language and providing nonverbal visuals of the experiencesthus, making the experiences
believable.
References
Benoit, P. (1997). Telling the success story: Acclaiming and disclaiming discourse. Albany, NY:
SUNY Press.
Carlson, B.D. and Donavan, D.T. (2008). Concerning the effect of athlete endorsements on
brand and team-related intentions, Sports Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 17, No.3, pp.154-162.
Collins, J. & Porras, J. (2004). Built to last: Successful habits of visionary companies. New York,
NY: HarperCollins.
Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall, H.L., & Trethewey, A. (2010) Organizational communications:
Balancing creativity and constraint (6Th Edition). Boston: Bedford/ St.Martins.
Gloria James in 439 Hickory St. Re-Established 2014 Beats by Dre. (2014, October 18).
Retrieved May 30, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
annotation_id=annotation_1677408861&feature=iv&list=UUSszI_zUkVVA24WVuTYpHTQ&s
rc_vid=Tbg3WCpnkjg&v=2LuKEMG2cxQ
LeBron James in St. Vincent St. Marys Re-Established 2014 Beats by Dre. (2014, October
18). Retrieved May 30, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ySelr0ibXbY&index=257&list=UUSszI_zUkVVA24WVuTYpHTQ
Hambrick, M.E., & Mahoney, T.Q. (2011). Its incredibletrust me: exploring the role of
celebrity athletes as marketers in online social networks. International Journal of Sport
Management and Marketing, 10(3-4), 161-179.
Herrick, J. A. (2009). The history and theory of rhetoric. Boston: Pearson, 2009.
Littlejohn, S.W., & Foss, K.A. (2010). Theories of human communication. Waveland Press.
Shamir, B., Dayan-Horesh, H., & Adler, D. (2005). Leading by biography: Towards a life-story
approach to the study of leadership. Leadership, 1, 13-29.