Common Thread of Three Articles

¶ … submitted annotated bibliography of three sources. The first statement given by the author will be about the common themes that are covered and expressed in each of the articles. The second and final statement is what can be drawn from the three sources in concert. Indeed, the three articles all cover types and facets of leadership but they each approach the subject from an entirely different perspective and focus on different things. While the articles are different in many ways, there are some emerging themes that can be pointed to.

To build a little bit on the answer given in the introduction, the three articles all focus on the psychological traits and methodology of leaders. However, the particular facets assessed and how they are assessed is different from article to article. The Lillenfeld article looks at the potential or actual presence of psychopathic traits in former United States Presidents.

Rather than condemn and label this as a bad thing, they actually pose the theory as to whether it is a good thing for Presidents and similar leaders to have at least a modicum of these traits in their mindset and skill set (Lilienfeld et al., 2012). The Van Eeden article looks at the personality traits associated with certain leadership styles with the two main foci being the transformative and transactional leadership styles (Van Eeden, Cilliers & Van Deventer, 2008).

Finally, the Odom article looks at the impact of personal growth endeavors when it comes to leaders. Irrespective of the leadership style or projects attempted, the article stresses that leaders undergoing these projects need to be introspective and self-reflecting for the projects to be as effective and complete as they could and should be (Odom, Boyd & Williams, 2012).

If there is a message or singular outcome that one could garner from the three articles combined, it would be that certain traits, development and styles of leadership can accomplish a litany of good things and there is no singular leadership style that will work in all situations. Indeed, there may be instances where a psychopathic-style person, presuming he/she is not acting in a maladaptive and pernicious way, can actually be of benefit to a leadership situation. Similarly, there are situations where a transactional leader would be ideal.

Other times, a transformative leader is the kind that is needed. Put another way, one cannot point to a single leadership style (such as transformative) and assert that this is the only sort of leadership style that is needed and that it could and should work for all situations. First of all, that is simply not true because there are provable situations where acting as a transformative leader is counterproductive.

Second, there are documented examples of other leadership styles doing just fine, albeit in certain situations, and this would include those leaders with psychopathic styles and traits. To follow the string a bit further, a message that can be deciphered from the articles as a whole is that a good leader will adapt and shift based on the situation because no single leadership style is going to work or at least be as optimal as it could be in all situations.

The author of this report would compare the leadership undertaken at a day care facility and the style undertaken in a prison, even among the guards. While there might be common traits and patterns to some degree, the overall climate, mood and methodology is entirely different .. and it should be. Prison is all about compliance and there is usually no fear in getting harsh or physical if people get out of line. This is the antithesis of what is seen at a day care.

At the same time, both environments and what happens within them is dictated by rules and guidelines. However, the manifestations of how those rules are explained and enforced is entirely different (Odom, Boyd & Williams, 2012; Lilienfeld et al., 2012; Van Eeden, Cilliers & Van Deventer, 2008). Conclusion The day care/prison example alone is proof that no single leadership style is usable and employable in all situations. Using a one-size-fits-all or cookie cutter approach is less than wise.

The positive things to be said for disparate leadership styles in the three articles review is just further proof of that. There are times where diplomacy and tact are absolutely called for but there are other times where bluntness,.