Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Case 3.3: Andy’s Recipe
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Andy Garafallo has owned a successful Italian restaurant for the last 25 years. His restaurant
is steeped in tradition, and he does not “try different fads to get people to come.” Rather, he
believes that people come to his business because they know they will get great food.
Three managers at the restaurant, Kelly, Danielle, and Patrick, each possess different
strengths and weaknesses. Kelly, the kitchen manager, has difficulty getting along with
Learning objectives:
• Students should be able to analyze an individual’s skills and deficiencies under
the Skills Model.
• Students should begin to understand how a strong team may minimize a leader’s
skill deficiency.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. What would account for Andy’s success in the restaurant business?
Andy’s success seems to be due to his great food, reputation, and attention to
customer service. He has strong technical and human skills that contribute to his
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
2. From a skills perspective, how would you describe the three managers, Kelly,
Danielle, and Patrick? What does each of them need to do to improve his or her
skills?
Kelly has strong technical skills in the kitchen but seems to lack human skills with
other employees. As a middle manager, she needs to have high levels of human skills.
Thus, she should work to improve her human skills. She may want to make a strong
effort to connect with others working in the restaurant and try to become more aware
3. How would you describe Andy’s competencies? Does Andy’s leadership suggest that
one does not need all three skills in order to be effective?
Andy has many of the individual traits of a leader, including commitment,
intelligence, motivation, and personality. He also seems to have many of the skill
competencies of a leader, including social judgment skills and knowledge of the
restaurant industry.
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 the skills approach and Case Study 3.3:
• Have students create a list of important skills for leadership, based on their own
experiences.
• Lecture on skills approach and the skills model and discuss the difference between
students’ lists and the models.
• Read Case 3.3.
• Discuss the case study questions as a class
• Finally, the professor may choose to conduct in-class exercises listed below.
Exercises for this case study:
1) Role-Play in Pairs: One student is Andy and another is a leadership coach. The coach
2) Small-group work: Tell students that Andy is planning to retire in 3 years. He must
3) Visualize two futures for Andy and his business by writing 200–250 words. The first
future, nothing changes and Andy continues to rely on the help of his staff. What
might happen to Andy in 7 years? How can he continue on this path? The second,