- A statement of common themes addressed in each of the three articles.�
- A statement of the conclusions that can be drawn when the articles are taken together as a single
entity. What is the overall message of the group of articles?
Annotated Bibliography and Outline
- A statement of common themes addressed in each of the three articles.�
- A statement of the conclusions that can be drawn when the articles are taken together as a single
entity. What is the overall message of the group of articles?
2
Annotated Bibliography and Outline
This paper’s purpose is to provide an analysis, comparison, and synthesis of the
major themes derived from three articles. The articles from which the synthesis is being
done are; Odom, S. F., Boyd, B. L., & Williams, J. (2012). The impact of Personal
Growth Projects on Leadership Identity Development. Journal of Leadership Education,
11(1), 49-63, van Eeden, R., Cilliers, F., & van Deventer, V. (2008). Leadership styles
and associated personality traits: Support for the conceptualisation of transactional and
transformational leadership. South African Journal of Psychology, 38(2), 253-267, and
Lilienfeld, S. O., Waldman, I. D., Landfield, K., Watts, A. L., Rubenzer, S., &
Faschingbauer, T. R. (2012). Fearless dominance and the U.S. presidency: Implications
of psychopathic personality traits for fruitful and unsuccessful political leadership.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(3), 489-505.
From the articles, the authors had one idea in common; the impact of personal traits
on leadership. It is evident that their personality highly influences the way someone
performs in a leadership role. Leadership is not an easy task per se. It requires
confidence, compromise, selflessness, patience, and determination. It can also be seen
that leadership is a process that needs nurturing and training. Human beings have
different personality traits and realization of one’s strengths, and weaknesses help in
effective carrying out of leadership roles. Applying Leadership Development Project
model helped student become self-aware on their leadership capabilities (Odom, S. F.,
Boyd, B. L., & Williams, J. (2012). Syntheses of an integrated theme from the three
3
Annotated Bibliography and Outline
articles claim that personal traits are a contributing factor on the performance someone in
a leadership role.
Themes
1.Theme of Personal traits
Traits are the characteristics that define an individual. Personal qualities are what
make an individual unique. Human being possess different attributes as can be observed
from the three articles. A model is used to analyze the different characteristics students
have (Odom et al, 2012). The students under analysis were able to develop their self-
awareness, motivation, confidence and new skills. The development done represent the
traits that define them, and one was able to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Psychopathic personalities have strong influence on job performance and leadership
(Lilienfeld, S. O., Waldman, I. D., Landfield, K., Watts, A. L., Rubenzer, S., &
Faschingbauer, T. R. (2012). The authors clearly indicate the impact one’s personal trait
has on leadership and performance. The people studies were high profile personalities.
The presidents of U.S. performance was compared concerning qualities. Those that had
intense personal qualities and were more psychopathic performed better than the
presidents who were more lenient. Tough decisions had to be made the fact that their job
wasn’t personal but served everyone equally makes them not to compromise. In the
article by van Eeden, R., Cilliers, F., & van Deventer, V. (2008), the authors suggest that
personality traits define the style of leadership by managers. It can, therefore, be seen that
personal characteristics play a major role with regards to leadership.
- Theme of Leadership
4
Annotated Bibliography and Outline
The theme of leadership is broadly talked about in the three articles. The Personal
Development Project model was used to show how students developed their personal
leadership skills (Odom et al, 2012). Leadership involves guiding people that are under
you. For someone to is called a leader, they must have a form of responsibility in which
there is some expectation needed from them. Lilienfeld et al, (2012) talk about the United
States of America presidents. The presidents are categorized in terms of their personal
traits as well as their performance. The leaders had to make decisions that affected the
whole population. The authors rate the presidents on their job performance and Teddy
and John are seen as some of the most performing leaders due to their fearless and
courageous nature.
Eeden et al, (2008) carried out research on different managers and graded their
performance. The managers are leaders in the organizations. Transformational and
transactional leadership styles were identified as defining characteristics of the various
directors. The model analyzed transformational leadership and its impact on the general
direction of an individual. Leadership style represents an individual and performance is
determined by how one carries out their role.
- Theme of change
Change is another theme that has been explicitly covered in the three articles.
Situations lead to change in the behavior of human beings. Eeden et al, (2008) talk about
transformational and transactional leadership styles. Some managers change their
leadership styles and personality traits while others remain passive. The model
represented is about the transformations that happen to a manager when they become
leaders.
5
Annotated Bibliography and Outline
The changes are influenced by culture, socialization, and expectations by others
from them. Odom et al, (2012) suggest that leadership trainers should incorporate
experiences that help students develop themselves for leadership roles. To possess the
traits of a leader, change has to take place. The change is mostly internal as it affects the
mind. It can be seen from the article by Lillenfeld et al, (2012) that psychopathic
behavior affects the job performance of a leader. Decision making and style of leadership
are a form of change. The way a leader executes his duty will have an impact on the
performance. A fearful person needs to change their mindset and become fearless to be
able to lead a nation.
Conclusion
Personal traits affect the way an individual executes their leadership
responsibilities. Different styles are applicable in managing an institution or an
organization, and the overall expectation is, performance on the job. Personality traits can
be passive or active. Training can change the way an individual behaves by utilizing
different models. When one recognizes who they are and their personal traits, it helps in
socializing as well as making decisions. A leader needs to use transactional and
transformational leadership styles so as to be capable in their roles. Job description
changes, and it is therefore required of a leader to learn on their jobs and transform their
minds in agreement with the responsibilities henceforth.
For one to be rated as a performer in their leadership roles, their personal traits, and
the role played are compared with respect to the people they serve. It is important for
6
Annotated Bibliography and Outline
those already in leadership roles to train their juniors or for teachers to educate students
on personal development in enhancing their leadership. Leadership is not inborn but a
learned process and the earlier an individual realizes their potential in leadership with
respect to their personal traits, the better performing the individual is likely to be. Growth
in leadership traits leads to growth in leadership capabilities as well as improvement in
job performance
7
Annotated Bibliography and Outline
References
Lilienfeld, S. O., Waldman, I. D., Landfield, K., Watts, A. L., Rubenzer, S., & Faschingbauer, T.
R. (2012). Fearless dominance and the U.S. presidency: Implications of psychopathic
personality traits for successful and unsuccessful political leadership. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 103(3), 489, 505.
