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Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Case 3.1: A Strained Research Team
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Dr. Adam Wood is the principal investigator on a research grant to study health education for
older populations (The Elder Care Project). Eleven colleagues work under Dr. Wood. Dr.
Wood has a great deal of knowledge and experience with research projects and is a
competent researcher. This project, however, is taking longer than expected and lacks focus
and direction. Dr. Wood often becomes frustrated because he is doing much of the work and
feels his colleagues are not doing enough. He rarely praises or supports the colleagues, who
are also frustrated by the scope of the project and Dr. Wood’s lack of human and social
judgment skills.
This case study portrays a leader with significant task skill. It is clear the leader lacks
problem-solving, human, and conceptual skills. Thus, the case provides a nice format to
discuss the reality of leadership: Many leaders indeed rise to the top because they have high
levels of expertise but lack social judgment and conceptual skills. Students should be able to
identify these deficiencies and understand how they impact a team and the work product.
Learning objectives:
• Students should be able to analyze an individual’s skills and deficiencies under
the skills approach.
• Students should begin to understand how a deficiency within a certain skill can
influence a team and project.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. Based on the skills approach, how would you assess Dr. Wood’s leadership and
his relationship to the members of The Elder Care Project team? Will the project
be successful?
The skills approach suggests that leaders at the top need to have high levels of
conceptual and human skills, with some technical skills as well. Dr. Wood has
high levels of technical skills but seems to lack human skill. He rarely praises his
team members and does not recognize that the team is working diligently to try to
make the project a success. The team feels demoralized and underappreciated.
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
2. Does Dr. Wood have the skills necessary to be an effective leader of this research
team?
It is difficult to be sure, but based on the information, it seems as though Dr.
Wood does not have the skills necessary to be an effective leader of this team. He
lacks social judgment skills that are needed in order to motivate, engage, and
3. The skills model describes three important competencies for leaders: problem-
solving skills, social judgment skills, and knowledge. If you were to coach Dr.
Wood using this model, what competencies would you address with him? What
changes would you suggest that he make in his leadership?
Social judgment skills are the capacity to understand people and social systems.
Perspective taking, social perceptiveness, flexibility, and social performance are
part of social judgment skills. Dr. Wood needs coaching on these skills because
he does not sense the colleagues’ anxiety and frustration with the project. He
seems to lack insight into their motivations, and does not understand their goals
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Potential teaching approaches:
This case study is conducive to group discussions and exercises.
Below is a way to structure a class based on skill theory and Case Study 3.1:
• Lecture on the skills approach and offer clearly defined examples of the model.
• Read Case 3.1 and discuss Question 1 with the class.
• Lecture on the Skills Model (Figure 3.3), and discuss the differences between Skills
Approach and Mumford’s model.
• Ask students to debate the pros/cons of the skills approach. Perhaps they might even
brainstorm a list of skills that are not included in Skills Approach and/or Skills Model
• Discuss how to apply the Skills Model to Dr. Wood.
• Finally, the professor may choose to conduct in-class exercises listed below.
Exercises for this case study:
1) Divide the class into half (for small classes of 30 or fewer). Half of the class stands on
the right side of the room and half on the left side. Students on the right side need to
2) Break the class into small groups. These groups are the leadership coaches for Dr.
Wood. They should create an improvement plan for Dr. Wood, focusing on social
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
3) Role-Play: Break the class into small groups. A few students play the colleagues, and
one student is Dr. Wood. The colleagues share their frustrations with Dr. Wood and
discuss this conflict. Students can focus on trying to find common interests (all want
