Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
Multiple Choice
1. It is accurate to say that Situational Leadership®® II (SLII®®) is primarily
a. Descriptive
b. Prescriptive
c. Well supported by research
d. Trait related
2. Which of the following statements best describes Situational Leadership®?
a. Specific leaders are needed in specific situations
b. Leaders must adapt to the situation, but not to the followers
c. Different situations demand different kinds of leadership
d. Leadership is directive
3. Who focused on leaders matching their styles to the competence and commitment of
employees?
a. Stogdill
b. Hersey and Blanchard
c. Blake and McCanse
d. Katz
4. The situational approach
a. Is irrelevant in modern day leadership
b. Focuses on describing not prescribing leadership
c. Is used widely in leadership training and development
d. Determined that high-directive and high-supportive behaviors work best in all situations
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
5. The SLII® model is divided into two parts:
a. Leadership attributes and follower skills
b. Leadership skills and follower development level
c. Leadership development levels and follower behaviors
d. Leadership style and follower development level
6. Adjusting leadership styles is based on the assumption that
a. Followers’ skills and motivation vary over time
b. Leaders have to develop basic skills prior to assessing follower needs
c. Followers’ skill level stays the same, whereas motivation level varies
d. Leaders adjust their styles to the behavioral styles of followers
7. In the SLII® model, leaders evaluate how __________ and _________ followers are to
perform a task.
a. Intentional and committed
b. Motivated and determined
c. Competent and committed
d. Focused and intelligent
8. Follower development level in SLII® is determined by level of
a. Competence and commitment
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
b. Social judgment and cognitive ability
c. Sociability and determination
d. Task and directive behaviors
9. In SLII®, leaders use different degrees of ______ and ______ to meet the needs of followers.
a. Motivation and determination
b. Competence and commitment
c. Supportive and directive behaviors
d. Social judgment and cognitive ability
10. The Situational Leadership® approach
a. Is one of the more widely recognized leadership approaches
b. Integrates leadership skills with follower skills
c. Integrates leadership behaviors with follower traits
d. Is not recognized as a legitimate modern day leadership approach
11. The situational approach labels leaders’ styles specifically as
a. Initiating structure and consideration
b. High task and low task
c. Task and relationship
d. Directive and supportive
12. You are president of a large corporation. At a typical monthly meeting, each of your vice
presidents gives standard area reports. In the past, these reports have been good, and the VPs
seem satisfied about their work. Based on SLII®, which leadership style should you exhibit at
the next meeting?
a. Style 1
b. Style 2
c. Style 3
d. Style 4
13. Which leadership style includes a high level of support and also is one in which the leader
makes the final decision about goal accomplishment.
a. Directing
b. Supporting
c. Delegating
d. Coaching
14. A leader who gives followers instructions about how and when goals should be achieved and
supervises them carefully is using
a. Directing behaviors
b. Supporting behaviors
c. Delegating behaviors
d. Coaching behaviors
15. A leader who gives recognition and social support to followers is using
a. Directing behaviors
b. Supporting behaviors
c. Delegating behaviors
d. Coaching behaviors
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
16. A leader who lets followers take responsibility for task accomplishment and has less
involvement with followers is using
a. Directing behaviors
b. Supporting behaviors
c. Delegating behaviors
d. Coaching behaviors
17. You were recently hired into an organization that you have always wanted to work at, and in
addition, your education and experience complement your new position perfectly. According to
the situational model, your level of development is
a. S2
b. D2
c. S1
d. D4
18. You recently were promoted to a new position and are very excited, but you have little to no
experience with numerous aspects of the new position. According to the situational model, your
level of development is
a. S4
b. D2
c. S1
d. D4
19. You have been employed at your organization for some time and are starting to gain the
necessary skills associated with your position but have trouble staying as motivated as you used
to be. According to the situational model, your level of development is
a. S4
b. D2
c. S1
d. S2
20. As a recent graduate from the top paper science program in the country, you quickly receive
a position with a large paper company and are given a high-salary position. You are very nervous
and feel that you need more experience or assistance to meet organizational standards.
According to the situational model, your level of development is
a. S4
b. D2
c. S1
d. D4
21. Low in competence and high in commitment
a. D1
b. D2
c. S2
d. S4
22. Some competence but low commitment
a. D1
b. D2
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
c. S2
d. S1
23. The development level in the SLII® model is
a. The degree to which leaders are capable of adjusting their styles
b. The skill with which the followers adjust their styles
c. The traits that make up who a follower is
d. The degree to which followers have the capability and motivation for task accomplishment
24. Followers who have little skill for the task but are confident in getting the task done are
a. D1
b. D2
c. D3
d. D4
25. Followers who have some ability to complete a task but lack motivation about the task are
a. D1
b. D2
c. D3
d. D4
26. Followers who are quite competent to complete tasks but lack the commitment to do so are
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
a. D1
b. D2
c. D3
d. D4
27. Followers who are highly motivated, committed, and motivated to accomplish tasks are
a. D1
b. D2
c. D3
d. D4
28. The D4 follower needs which type of leader?
a. Supportive
b. Directive
c. Coaching
d. Delegating
29. The highly competent, highly committed follower benefits from
a. A leader who provides a high level of support
b. A leader who directs tasks carefully
c. A leader who stays out of the day-to-day tasks and provides low levels of support
d. A leader who is both a cheerleader and authoritarian
30. Which of the following would a leader not ask when determining the nature of the situation?
a. What task are the followers being asked to perform?
b. How can I best alter the styles of the followers?
c. How complex is the task?
d. Are the followers sufficiently skilled to accomplish the task?
31. If followers are low in competence and high in commitment, a leader should adopt which
style?
a. Low-directive and high-supportive style
b. High-directive and high-supportive style
c. Low-directive and low-supportive style
d. High-directive and low-supportive style
32. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. The staff you supervise
have been working at the society for more than two years and you have given them consistently
excellent performance appraisals at the last two annual reviews. You have noticed lately that
they have brought new ideas to you for ways to improve customer service and animal care and
that they are excited about helping new staff get accustomed to the workplace. Based on the
Situational Leadership® Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit?
a. Delegating
b. Supporting
c. Coaching
d. Directing
33. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. A staff member you
supervise has been working at the society for less than one year. At the six-month, you discuss
with this employee that they seem to have mastered the basic tasks of the job but not the more
difficult tasks. You have noticed lately that they seem a bit disillusioned about the job and the
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
process of caring for these animals that seem so sad to be in the facility. Based on the Situational
Leadership® Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit?
a. Delegating
b. Supporting
c. Coaching
d. Directing
34. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. A staff member you
supervise has been working at the society for about one year. At the annual performance
evaluation review, you share that you are pleased to see the employee has mastered both the
basic and more difficult tasks of the job. You notice, however, that this employee still lacks the
confidence and motivation to take on new tasks. Based on the Situational Leadership®
Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit?
a. Delegating
b. Supporting
c. Coaching
d. Directing
35. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. You hired a staff member
four weeks ago. You notice this new employee cheerfully interacting with other staff and
potential adopters and daily attempting to learn new tasks. It is clear this employee needs more
time and help learning the correct policies and methods to complete the work, and when you
share this information, the employee readily accepts these directions. Based on the Situational
Leadership® Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit?
a. Delegating
b. Supporting
c. Coaching
d. Directing
36. As the executive director of the local animal humane society, you work with several
employees who are at varying levels of experience in working with animal welfare issues and
with varying degrees of motivation to continue this important work. Using Situational
Leadership® concepts, you should
a. Adapt your style based on experience and skill level of the staff
b. Adapt your leadership style based on the motivation level of the staff
c. Demonstrate a high degree of flexibility in your style to each staff member
d. Demonstrate little flexibility in your style as you interact only with high-level staff members
37. Which of the following would a leader ask when determining the commitment level of a
follower?
a. What task are the followers being asked to perform?
b. How can I best alter the styles of the followers?
c. Do the followers have the desire to complete the task?
d. How complex is the task?
38. Followers can move back and forth along the developmental continuum, therefore leaders
should
a. Use the one leader behavior with which they are most comfortable
b. Put structures in place to limit this movement
c. Be flexible in their leadership behavior
d. Challenge the movement and direct followers to stay where they are
39. Which of the following would not be considered a strength of the situational approach?
a. Emphasizes leadership flexibility
b. Is a very practical approach
c. Is considered a credible model for training leaders within organizations
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
d. Takes the influence of gender into account during leader-follower situations
40. Which best describes the reason Situational Leadership® is so practical for managers to use?
a. It assists in relating demographics to leadership
b. It is only applicable to lower-level managers
c. It is straightforward
d. It is specific
41. Which of the following is a strength of the Situational Leadership® approach?
a. It is descriptive not prescriptive
b. Commitment of followers is clearly defined
c. Demographics such as gender and age are accounted for in the empirical research
d. It is perceived as a useful model of leadership training and development
42. Questionnaires on Situational Leadership® often ask for respondents to look at specific
applications of leadership styles within situations, which may result in
a. Results that are not in favor of Situational Leadership®
b. A wide range of responses that are hard to validate
c. Biased results in favor of Situational Leadership®
d. Negative perceptions toward organizations
43. Because of the lack of research studies associated with Situational Leadership®, there are
questions concerning its theoretical basis. Which of the following is not one of these questions?
a. Is it certain that this approach does indeed improve performance?
b. Can we be sure it is a valid approach?
c. Why are there limited doctoral dissertations done on the situational approach?
d. Why has there been a lack of published research findings?
44. You are leader of a group project for a class. The other group members seem insecure about
whether they can complete the project, but it is apparent that they are competent enough to do a
good job. In prior meetings you have been coaching them on the project. Based on SLII®, which
leadership style should you exhibit at the next meeting?
a. Style 1
b. Style 2
c. Style 3
d. Style 4
45. You are the leader of a small jazz band composed of four of your peers who have never been
in a jazz group before. As the leader of the band, you have been very straightforward about how
the band will function. You have clearly described each of the members’ roles, and they are
starting to catch on to how the group works. What style do you exhibit next?
a. Style 1
b. Style 2
c. Style 3
d. Style 4
46. You are the owner of a small catering company and have recently hired a skilled baker to
complement your staff. When business is slow, however, you need the baker to help prepare
other kinds of foods. Some of the processes (like deboning fish and preparing soup stock) are
complicated and require detailed training. What style should you use under these circumstances?
a. Style 1
b. Style 2
c. Style 3
d. Style 4
47. You have recently been made a department head of the new regional office. In getting to
know your departmental staff, you have noticed that one of your inexperienced employees is not
following through on assigned tasks. She is enthused about her new job and wants to get ahead in
the organization. Which alternative represents the most effective leadership style?
a. Discuss the lack of follow-through with her and explore possible ways to solve this problem.
b. Specify what she must do to complete the tasks, but incorporate any suggestions she may
have.
c. Define the steps necessary to complete the assigned tasks and monitor her performance
frequently.
d. Let her know about the lack of follow-through and give her more time to improve her
performance.
48. A leader who emphasizes communication with followers in both achieving goals as well as
meeting social needs would best be described as possessing
a. Directing style
b. Delegating style
c. Supporting style
d. Coaching style
49. Allowing a group of employees to run the daily operations of the organization while the
supervisor remains out of the picture unless he is needed to solve problems, listen to concerns,
give praise, and provide feedback is best explained with
a. Directing style
b. Delegating approach
c. Supporting approach
d. Coaching approach
50. Once a group has established a plan of action toward achieving its goals, the supervisor
allows the group to carry out the plan with little to no involvement. This is an example of
a. Directing style
b. Delegating approach
c. Supporting approach
d. Coaching approach
51. Leaders adjust their styles based on
a. The collective needs of the group
b. Their own skill sets
c. Followers skill sets
d. The level of motivation and competency of their followers
52. Leaders evaluate the competence and commitment of followers in which leadership theory?
a. Path-goal
b. Leader-member exchange
c. Servant
d. Situational