Michael J. Urick doesn’t consider himself a Swiftie.

While he does appreciate some of Taylor Swift’s hit tunes, the Saint Vincent College faculty member has an even greater appreciation for the leadership skills the singer-songwriter has demonstrated on her way to becoming one of the most well-known figures in global pop culture.

Urick considers Swift “a game-changer. She’s not just a figure in music, but in society — a role model whom many people look up to.”

The savvy moves that have accompanied her rise to the top provide an ideal case study for Urick in a new book he has co-authored: “Swift Leadership: A Taylor- Made Approach to Influence and Decision Making,” slated for release by Emerald Publishing on Tuesday.

“There was a perfect storm with Taylor Swift that helped make her successful,” said Urick, dean of Saint Vincent’s Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government and a professor of management and operational excellence.

“First of all, she’s really talented,” he said. “That’s something that sometimes gets overlooked. She was writing songs before she was a teenager, and they were not terrible songs.”

Determination is another trait that is part of the artist’s winning formula.

“She’s worked really hard to get where she’s at,” Urick said. “It’s a goal that she’s pursued doggedly.”

Those efforts included taking voice lessons at a young age.

Swift also benefited, Urick believes, from being part of a family with the means to support her ambition — including moving to the Nashville area during her initial focus on country music.

Swift has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion, according to Forbes. With her status as the highest-grossing live music artist, Urick said, “getting that number of people at her shows has caused minor earthquakes at some of the venues where she’s performed.”

Drawing upon her power as a successful artist, Swift has been assertive in standing up for herself. Unable to acquire the copyrights to some of her best-selling albums after switching record labels, she re-recorded “Taylor’s version” of the songs.

Urick has written previous books about leadership lessons from the fictional worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth and the Star Wars universe. He credits one of his students with suggesting he take a similar approach with the real-life phenomenon of Taylor Swift.

“The idea came about two summers ago, when she was in the middle of her Eras tour and that’s all you heard about in the press,” Urick said.

This time, Urick knew he’d need some help, to augment his limited knowledge of all things Taylor. So he reached out to a friend who is a Swiftie and who became his co-author — Mariah Yates, associate professor of management at Western Kentucky University’s Gordon Ford College of Business.

“I do know that (Swift) is highly influential and she’s making a lot of decisions,” Urick said. “Those are two things that leaders do.”

Urick said Swift has been successful to a great degree with “impression management” — garnering goodwill and a favorable profile through touring practices such as providing generous bonuses to her support staff and contributing to local food charities.

More recently, Swift has hit a few sour notes with some audiences.

Urick noted how Swift was booed by Eagles fans at the Super Bowl when she was shown on a large screen while there to root for her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Urick also observed that her recent album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” has a darker tone than her previous releases, with some expletives appearing among the lyrics.

He sees it as a tension between the 35-year-old Swift’s growth as an artist and the role model she has become, especially for her younger fans.

“Does she have a responsibility to influence a particular audience?” he wondered.

With all that said, he concluded, “She’s likely going to sell out stadiums for many years to come.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)