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Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Case 9.1: Am I Really a Leader?
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Sally Helgesen is an accomplished author who has written a number of popular books on
leadership and regularly speaks on leadership topics. She considers herself a writer, having
written books on other topics as well as speeches for a CEO at a Fortune 500 company. As a
speechwriter, she spent a lot of time observing employees and interviewing them in their
companies.
Sally is neither a professor nor a social scientist with a body of theoretical data that supports
her writing. She sees herself as an author, not an expert, and presents herself as who she is: a
skilled observer of current issues and a writer.
Sally is an authentic leader who has self-awareness, relational transparency, and an
internalized moral perspective.
Learning objectives:
• Students should demonstrate understanding of Authentic Leadership and be able to
apply its main concepts to a leader.
• Students should recognize the importance of self-awareness and transparency for a
leader.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. Learning about one’s self is an essential step in becoming an authentic leader. What
role did self-awareness play in Sally Helgesen’s story of leadership?
There are many definitions of authentic leadership. One of those viewpoints is the
intrapersonal perspective, which focuses closely on the leader and what goes on
within the leader. It incorporates the leader’s self-knowledge, self-regulation, and
self-concept. A second way of defining authentic leadership is as an interpersonal
process. This perspective outlines authentic leadership as relational, created by
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
2. How would you describe the authenticity of Sally Helgesen’s leadership?
Sally is a strong, authentic leader. Bill George’s research shows that authentic leaders
demonstrate five basic characteristics: (1) they understand their purpose, (2) they
have strong values about the right thing to do, (3) they establish trusting relationships
3. At the end of the case, Sally Helgesen is described as taking on the “mantle of
leadership.” Was this important for her leadership? How is taking on the mantle of
leadership related to a leader’s authenticity? Does every leader reach a point in his or
her career where embracing the leadership role is essential?
It seems that taking the mantle of leadership would be important for Sally because she
is speaking and consulting on a regular basis as an accomplished observer and author
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Potential teaching approaches:
Below is a way to structure a class based on the Authentic Leadership Theory and Case
Study 9.1:
• Hold a lecture on Authentic Leadership.
• Ask students to read Case 9.1 and answer the questions.
• Discuss Questions 1–3 in the case study as a class.
• Finally, the professor may choose to conduct in-class exercises listed below.
Exercises for this case study:
1) Students work individually or in small groups to apply George’s and Walumbwa and
2) Sally did a lot “right” in the way she established herself and her career.
Unfortunately, not all authors display the sort of transparency and awareness that
Sally does. In small groups, students should make lists of 5–10 realistic ways Sally
may have appeared to be inauthentic since becoming an accomplished author. For
instance:
3) Based on the case study as written, students should discuss in small groups “critical
