Santa Susana High School

The Importance of Leadership:

Why your leadership style matters.

Catherine Charles
AP English Literature and Composition
Mrs. Pamela Bradley
20 November, 2015
My senior project is to assist in and help oversee the production of International Week at
Santa Susana High School. I chose this project because exposure to the international community
is a cause I am very passionate about. I believe that introducing different cultural perspectives to

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young students will cause them to have an open-mind and be more tolerant of change or
differences. In order to produce a stellar international week I know that I will have to demand
specific things from students in international club, as well as organize a plan that unifies our
work all the while showcasing the unique aspects each member proposes, and finally I must learn
how to manage the short amount of time I've been given (30 minutes) in order to best include all
the possible cultural representations (i.e. booths, performances, food). The leadership approach I
take during this time will be crucial and will directly relate to my finished product. Thus, I have
decided that research on effective leadership techniques will aid me in adopting the best skill set
I can have for this particular project.
During the weeks leading up to International Week, I know I will face a manifold of
problems. These problems range from representing the cultures we decide to represent well to
justly incorporating each club member and advisors opinions and ideas so the final product will
be diverse and festive. I know I will also have the problem of motivating my club members to
volunteer for and follow through with tasks I need done, since these tasks would require time
separate from that required by studying or other outside activities. I acknowledge that I will need
to adopt a leadership style that is beneficially encouraging to all, but also demonstrates a serious
enough persona that students will respect.
The concept of leadership is one that is ever present in our heavily business and industry
driven society. From the simple construction of a family to the more complex network of
businesses, leadership takes a part in determining what gets done and by who. "Leadership is
having a vision, sharing that vision and inspiring others to support your vision while creating
their own, as Mindy Gibbins-Klein, founder of REAL Thought Leaders, puts it. In order to best
motivate a group of people to perform the way you want them to, you must inspire them to be

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just as passionate about the topic at hand as you are. Many of the average societal constructions,
such as families or teacher-student relationships, are an example of leadership. Without that
leadership integrated among our society, no one would have a common goal. While teamwork
can be used in place, it is oftentimes the case that a team cannot complete their task without an
effective leader who harnesses all the different perspectives and ideas, and funnels them into one
finished product that all involved can be proud of. Everyone can experience some form of
leadership in their lives, whether they be the leader or they be a part of the team. What one can
observe, once acknowledging where they do in fact see these leadership type roles enacted, is
whether or not they are effective. What is it that a leader does in whatever situation you are
exposed to one that makes he or she a successful or unsuccessful leader? With that being said,
there are still numbers of personas and leadership styles one can adopt when conducting a project
or business.
Leadership styles can range from the strict, stoic leader to the open-minded, casual
fridays leader, and anywhere in between. While all exist, each and every leader tend[s] to share
some core characteristics and skills which they have honed over time, says author of Australias
Education Departments article Leading a Team. The author continues on to say that these core
qualities are knowledge, being self aware, valuing each individual team member, determination,
being positive, prioritising, facilitating learning, and respect and relationships. They emphasize
the importance of staying organized and being aware of your ultimate goal at all times.
Most importantly, the method of leadership one chooses to adopt directly correlates to
their teams psychological performance, which carries into their actual performance. Despite all
these effective core traits of successful leaders, Jennifer Chatman and Jessica Kennedy argue
that, psychologically, listening is probably the most important. These authors recently published

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a paper in the Harvard Business Press. In it, they described the psychological effects, both
beneficial and detrimental, certain leadership styles have on ones mind. They directly state that
while qualities such as confidence, dominance, assertiveness, [and] intelligence are good to
have as a person, they do not necessarily ensure success in a leader-team relationship
environment. The authors do, however, emphasize the maintaining an open mind and having the
ability to be flexible to changes, as they are ever present when working with different people.
Both the aforementioned authors, and Glenn Llopis, author for Forbes magazine, stress the
importance of having the ability to listen. Glenn Llopis said in his article for Forbes, entitled 6
Ways Effective Listening Can Make You a Better Leader, that when employees say they want
their voices to be heard, they are really saying they want leaders who will...really listen to them.
As employees seek more attention, feedback and support, leaders must become more mindful of
individual needs in order to more effectively inspire professional development and overall
performance. Llopis continues to make the point that by truly listening to the proposals or
arguments their team members have, they are creating an environment that is safe, supportive,
and healthy, which will in turn facilitate growth and production.
Effective leadership styles are very apparent in our history. You can look at any iconic
history makers, both good and bad, and analyze what made them successful, or in the end, not so
successful. Lets take three iconic figures, all of whom were successful in changing the course of
history, and analyze their leadership methods and their effects. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,
Martin Luther King Jr., and Malala Yousafzai are all influential leaders of their time. Each and
every one adopted a goal, with which they shared to the world. After attracting numerous
followers, they began to adapt to their new leadership role, emphasizing the importance of peace

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and cooperation. As we continue to discuss these leaders in depth, look to see if they possess any
of the aforementioned core leadership traits.
Mohandas Gandhi was an anti-war activist during the British imperialist rule of India. He
protested their rule and the unfair treatment that followed. Gandhi was born into a privileged
caste, and received proper care and education since his birth. He studied in India and in London
as well. It was at the University College London, where Gandhi discovered his passion of
pursuing the philosophical study of religions such as Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism.
Following his formal education, Gandhi went straight into activism, protesting the racial
segregation in Natal, South Africa where he worked. Gandhi spent 21 years of his life peacefully
fighting against unjust racial segregation. Working where he did allowed him to witness racial
bias towards his countrymen, which served as encouragement for his self-integration into the
world of activism. He later founded a political movement, the Natal Indian Congress, which
helped develop his belief in non-violent civil protest into a political statement and campaign.
Upon his return to India, Gandhi saw discrimination in his own country, when he witnessed the
oppression of the Indian people by their British imperialist rulers. It was then that he decided to
continue his political activism in India. By 1930 he was a prominent figure in India, with whom
the British had to negotiate several things in order to maintain peace. Gandhi promoted peace
and respect, all the while creating an environment in which his followers too began to question
the racial discrimination. As soon as Gandhi acknowledged his passion and common goal, he
was virtually unstoppable, and never failed to peacefully promote mutual respect among the
cultures and race of the world for the rest of his life.
Much like his Indian counterpart, Martin Luther King Jr. noticed discrimination from an
early age, during what is now the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement. Born to a

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family of devout Christians, and educated on the teachings of Gandhi, King was inspired to
promote peace and equality from a young age. A well educated man, King studied at many
colleges across the United States. It was during this time that he developed so spiritually and
grew to be the influential figure we know him as now. He began his activism career after hearing
of Rosa Parks arrest. During this event, he met with the NAACP and lead a citywide bus
boycott. His motivational leadership in this event led the city of Montgomery to lift the
segregated transportation law, meaning that public transportation was officially integrated. The
victorious and vivacious King went of to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC), in which many activists came together to discuss how they were going to promote
peaceful change during this racially discriminating time. During his countrywide conferences,
King gained a significant amount of followers, which then transitioned him into a public leader.
Much like Gandhi, King never strayed from his path of peace and firm beliefs. In 1963 King had
a major opportunity to further educate and motivate the American people on racial segregation
by giving his famous I Have a Dream Speech. Despite the results not being as immediate as
he had hoped, King did in fact impact the movement and aided in its final result of integration
(although he did not live to see it)
Malala Yousafzai was, from a young age, passionate about pursuing what she wanted. In
most cases, this was education. Where she lived however, a womans right to receiving education
was strictly limited, and often times denied altogether. She began a passionate and peaceful
campaign in her home country of Pakistan, which promoted the importance of providing young
women equal education as their male counterparts. Since this idea was against societal norm of
the surrounding peoples religious beliefs, she did not gain many followers at first. She did,
however, have the unwavering support of her mother and father. It was one day, on her way to

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school, that a dramatic event changed her impact on our world. She was being threatened by the
Taliban, an extremist group who took pride in promoting the strict adherence to traditional
Islamic beliefs. This terrorist group was a very dangerous one, and the fact that she was a child at
the time did not stop them from attempting to assassinate he at close range while she was on her
way to school. Fortunately, she survived the event, and was quickly transported to a hospital in
London for recovery. Soon after this, the world began to hear about the brave young girl who
fought for womens education rights in the face of violence. She quickly gained a sizeable
amount of followers, all of which supported her through her recovery and promoted her via
social media platforms. She appeared on numerous well-known talk shows, including the Daily
Show with Jon Stewart, during which she continued to promote peaceful advocacy of womens
rights. Now a prominent leader in the modern feminist movement, Malala has gone on to win
several awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, and is internationally acknowledged by
supporters as a prominent and iconic figure without whom we may not have achieved what we
did. Malala has also, since her attack, travelled to various countries in which she aided in
enacting laws and erecting schools to further the cause of providing womens education.
These three leaders were heroes of their time. While all seemed to have achieved what we
see as virtually unachievable, they still are people. These people still had to organize followers
and events to rally under one common, clear goal. It was their encouragement, willingness to be
criticised, and flexibility that aided in ensuring their victories as modern leaders. One can
obviously see that they do in fact share the core traits, knowledge, being self aware, valuing
each individual team member, determination, being positive, prioritising, facilitating learning,
and respect and relationships, each leader should possess, as introduced by Australias

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Education Departments article Leading a Team. It was their determination and willingness to
learn and educate people that made them such successful leaders.
While organizing and producing International Week at Santa Susana High School is not
nearly as important as what those aforementioned activists and leaders fought for, I believe it is a
prominent learning curve and stepping town for myself. I know already that I plan to adopt many
of the same leadership traits of the iconic figures, as well as of the successful businesses I have
researched. I am to be understanding, organized, flexible, and supportive throughout this whole
process. During this time I plan to develop the skills and learn the lessons I believe will help me
become a better leader. It is with this smaller scale project that I will be able to develop my
leadership character, one which could help me further in my life, as I too could be a prominent
activist in our future history.

Works Cited
Chatman, Jennifer, and Jessica Kennedy. "Psychological Perspectives on Leadership."
Www.faculty.haas.berkeley.edu. University of Berkeley California, 2010. Web. 17 Sept.
2015.
Helmrich, Brittney. "30 Ways to Define Leadership." Business News Daily. Business
New Daily, 19 June 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"Leading a Team | Articles." Leading a Team | Articles. Australia Education. Web. 16 Sep. 2015.
Llopis, Glenn. "6 Ways Effective Listening Can Make You A Better Leader." Forbes. Forbes
Magazine, 20 May 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.

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Annotated Bibliography
Allen, Lucille. "COMMUNICATION AND THE FULL RANGE LEADERSHIP MODEL: A
STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP STYLE AND
COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION, COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE AND
LISTENING STYLES." Www.repository.library.csuci.edu. California State University
Sacramento, 2010. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. In her thesis, Allen proposes the different
methods of effective leadership, which includes laissez-faire leadership, transactional
leadership, and transformational leadership style, and explains, in detail, the study of
which one is the most effective and why. Within her thesis, she identifies each aspect of
the aforementioned types of leadership, and discusses the pros and cons of each of their
attributes, thus enabling her audience to come to a determination of their own before she
expresses her opinion. The possible audience for this work includes business managers or
group leaders who are trying to determine an effective way to rally supporters and

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workers behind them. The information is relevant since the author observed each type of
leadership in the field, as well as completed thorough research using reliable sources on
its effectiveness (based off her sources), which enables me to trust and utilized her
proposed methods. The special features noted are the university professors that have
aided and proofread her thesis, ensuring it is of quality work. The only defect that can be
noted is that this is a thesis from a student, meaning that she is new at presenting her
information in a professional way, and this paper seems to be a major assignment.
"Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 18 Nov.
2015.
Blumberg, Naomi. "Malala Yousafzai | Pakistani Activist." Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Chatman, Jennifer, and Jessica Kennedy. "Psychological Perspectives on Leadership."
Www.faculty.haas.berkeley.edu. University of Berkeley California, 2010. Web. 17 Sept.
2015. This excerpt from a book questions the psychology behind what makes a leader,
and a good one at that. In this chapter, the authors explain the generalized key behavioral
characteristics of leader past and present, explaining that the identification of these traits
will help others see whether or not they obtain the potential to become successful leaders.
The possible audience for this work includes fellow psychologists, as well as ambitious
business people curious to identify their leadership traits. The information is very
relevant, allowing me to view this project from a psychological, or scientific, standpoint,
which is a much more logically completed task. Special features within this chapter
include the organization of the presentation of the information in a way that allows the
audience to read the behavioral traits and related psychological aspects in order from

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development or success of a leader. The only bias that can be found in this handbook is
that it was written for Harvard Business School, and so can contain information
encouraging potential business leaders to perform a certain way based solely on the
expectation of that particular business school, as opposed to natural leadership skills.
Kennedy, Frances, and Linda Nilson. "Successful Strategies for Teams." Www.clemson.edu.
Clemson University, 2008. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. The purpose of this handbook is to aid
potential team-makers with their challenge of maintaining a successful and productive
team. This handbook provides its audience with strategies, tools, problem-solving skills,
and other references in order to put together and maintain a successful team for whatever
it is youre trying to accomplish. The possible audience for this work includes business
leaders, students, or any other activity leader looking for some insight on how to best
make a group of people cooperate productively. This handbook is relevant because the
authors are experienced in the field of business work and leadership, making it easy for
me to rely that their methods work, since they have applied them. Special features
included in this handbook are motivational quotes and funny, real life experiences that
allow the audience to relate more personally with the common struggles of teamwork.
The weakness in this handbook is the lack of in depth explanation on compromise and
communication, however they do address it briefly.
"Leadership Series: How Your Expectations Impact Your Listening." - Auburn Family. Auburn
University, 4 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. This brief article addresses the cons of
repetition and rehashing of subjects with your team. The article explains that such an
approach towards you team will not only waste time, but will also cause the members to
lose their interest in the days work quickly. The possible audience for this work includes

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business or team leaders who notice, or want to prevent, their teams loss of interest in
daily activity and the overall goal. This information is relevant because it once again
provides real-life examples, making their claim already applicable. This article, while
professional, has a witty undertone that makes the criticism it advises against a little
softer in delivery, allowing the audience to relax more and listen to it. While informative,
this article is brief and rather lacking in an in-depth explanation of the overall claim.
"Leading a Team | Articles." Leading a Team | Articles. Australia Education. Web. 16 Sep. 2015.
This article provides insight on the formation of and continuation of a good team, all the
while being adaptable to your personality. The article supports this overall claim by
explaining that being a good leader does not necessarily mean you must have one set
personality type, and this article provides steps on how to manage the leadership role that
is flexible to all types of people. The possible audience for this work includes business or
group leaders, or potential leaders, who are insecure about their leadership tactics and
wish to pursue or develop a more effective plan. This article is provided by the Australian
education network, and so is a reliable and relevant source written and published by
business people themselves who provide their career insight on the overall claim. This
article is organized with step-by-step instructions on developing and maintaining a
successful team and leadership role. The weakness in this article is its rather brief length,
as well as the lack of lengthy explanation for each step-by-step instruction.
Llopis, Glenn. "6 Ways Effective Listening Can Make You A Better Leader." Forbes. Forbes
Magazine, 20 May 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. This article stresses the importance of
being an effective listener and communicator as a leader, and how it benefits the team
overall. More specifically, the article uses examples to create a pros and cons list of

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different situations regarding effective and noneffective listening. Possible audiences for
this work include business leaders who are noticing, or dont want to overlook, how the
lack of listening and communication can result in the lessening of engagement in work by
employees. This information was written recently, and by a business person with
experience in the field, and so is very relevant since the author makes it obvious that
these skills are necessary in the modern workforce. The fact that the author uses personal
examples to clearly explain the importance of his claim is a special feature the article
includes. The only weakness within this article is the lack of evidence, aside from
personal, that displays the true effect of lack of communication and listening in the
workforce.
"Mahatma Gandhi." HISTORY. History, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Prang, Mei. "Teamwork: Compromise Is the Key to Success - Humphrey Fellows at Cronkite
School of Journalism and Mass Communication - ASU." Humphrey Fellows at Cronkite
School of Journalism and Mass Communication ASU. Cronkite School of Journalism and
Mass Communication, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. This article addresses the
importance of learning the art of compromise in order to keep a team running efficiently.
The author specifically mentions, through a personal example, that is compromise the
benefits all of the team the most, since it ensures that each member is receiving some
aspect of what they wanted in a plan or project. The possible audience for this work
includes a student or business person who wishes to understand what would help make
their team effective. This article is somewhat relevant in the sense that it is important to
ensure that compromise is present, and the fact that the author displays such a claim
through real-life experiences means that they know it works. The use of real-life

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experiences adds a special personal feature to this article. The weakness of this article is
its brevity, making the overall claim too quickly supported.
Ricketts, Kristina. "Behaving Intelligently: Leadership Traits and Characteristics."
Www.ca.uky.edu. University of Kentucky, 2009. Web. 16 Sep. 2015. This article provides
information of what makes a good leader, from actions to personality traits. More
specifically, the author lists and explains the aspects that enable a person to lead a team in
the most effective way. The possible audience for this article includes business people or
team leaders who are looking to determine if they have what it takes to effectively lead a
team. This article is relevant as it was written recently and includes examples of how the
aforementioned traits help in the workforce, which allows me to discover if I am capable
of rendering those traits. The weakness in this article is its length as well as its rapid
change in subject from one aspect to another.
Tarricone, Pina, and Joe Luca. "Successful Teamwork: A Case Study." Www.coolhub.imsa.edu.
HERDSA, 2002. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. The purpose of this work is to describe the
necessary criteria for maintaining a successful team based on scientific observation. In
this article, the authors discuss the importance of certain behaviors and actions in the
workforce when leading a team, based off of observations from a case study, in order to
best prove their overall claim. A possible audience for this is a team leader or
psychologist looking to research the best proven criteria for leading a successful team.
This information provides clear, in depth explanations, as well as an outline of the study,
and so it a valid and solid point of reference when it comes to utilizing the techniques
proposed. A special feature in this information includes the charts that display and

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categorize all the results of hte experiment. A defect of this may be the time it has been
since it was written, during which new information could have surfaced.
"Teamwork and Working in Teams." Www.tll.colorado.edu. Colorado University. Web. 17 Sept.
2015. This article proposes effective strategies for leading a team based on previous
instances that were successful. Specifically, the author analyzes previously successful
instances of good leadership and categorizes the different aspects that came together to
make such a situation so successful. The possible audience for this work includes
business people who are looking to determine what makes a team successful based on
past experiences. This excerpt from a published book is relevant because it contains
business and leadership tricks written by businesspeople for businesspeople. A special
feature in this article is the use and dating of past experiences in order to support the
different proposals of leadership. A weakness in this excerpt is the lengthy way each
aspect of leadership is described.