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Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Case 4.1: A Drill Sergeant at First
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Mark Young is head of a painting department in a large hospital, where he oversees a crew of
20. In previous years, Mark was very task oriented. He created more efficient and cost-
effective methods and procedures for painting and was initially quite strict about hiring the
right painters for the job. As time passed, Mark relaxed his style, began to delegate to other
crew members, and regularly socialized and joked with the painters.
The case illustrates the behavior of a leader who begins a project with high task orientation
but becomes more relationship driven as the project progresses. It “paints” a somewhat
realistic picture of a new leader, as leaders often need to drive results quickly and be task
oriented in the initial stages of a project.
Learning objectives:
• Students should be able to apply the principles of the behavior approach to a
leader of a small team.
• Students should be able to apply Blake and Mouton’s grid to a leader of a small
team.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. From the behavioral perspective, how would you describe Mark’s leadership?
2. How did his behavior change over time?
Mark began as a task-oriented leader, focused on creating efficient systems to paint
3. In general, do you think he is more task oriented or more relationship oriented?
It seems as though Mark is naturally more task oriented as a leader, since his initial
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
4. What score do you think he would get on Blake and Mouton’s grid?
At this stage, it seems as though Mark would be trending toward team management
Potential teaching approaches:
This case study is conducive to group discussions and exercises.
Below is a way to structure a class based on the behavior approach and Case Study 4.1:
• Hold a lecture on the behavioral approach.
• Consider doing Exercise 1 below.
• Review Blake and Mouton’s grid.
• Read Case 4.1.
• Discuss Questions 1–4 in the case study.
• Finally, the professor may choose to conduct in-class exercises listed below.
Exercises for this case study:
1) Debate: Is task or relationship behavior more important for leadership.
2) Some people believe that certain organizations require a leader with a stronger focus
on task versus relationship behaviors. Other organizations may need a relationship-
focused leader. As well, times of crisis may demand a leader who is high on results
3) The behavioral approach outlines a key new ingredient in the leadership equation:
followers and how the leader engages them. In a brief essay (200–250 words), explain
