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Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Case 9.2: A Leader Under Fire
Case Synopsis and Analysis
This case study portrays Greg Mortenson, the subject of two best-selling books, Three Cups
of Tea (2006) and Stones Into Schools (2009). Lost and sick after attempting to scale K2,
Greg was nursed back to health by the villagers of remote Korphe, Afghanistan, and
promised to build the village a school. He did so, and his success led him to create the
Central Asia Institute (CAI), a nonprofit organization that “empowers communities of
Central Asia through literacy and education, especially for girls, promotes peace through
education, and conveys the importance of these activities globally.”
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 and difficulty of moral reasoning and
transparency for a leader.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. Would you describe Greg Mortenson as an Authentic Leader? Explain your answer.
Most students will assert that Greg is not an Authentic Leader. There are many
definitions for 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
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
2. In the chapter, we discussed moral reasoning and transparency as components of
authentic leadership. Do you think Greg exhibited these components as part of his
leadership?
Greg did not exhibit transparency. He did not disclose how he used the CAI funds and
did not explain his actions after the scandal broke. Indeed, he was largely silent.
As well, it seems that Greg did not display moral reasoning. Moral reasoning is the
3. How was Greg Mortenson’s response to the allegations against him characteristic of
an authentic leader?
Greg does not deny the allegations. Rather, he merely asserts that there is more to the
story. As well, he did not use his failing health as an excuse for his behavior or as a
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Potential teaching approaches:
Below is a way to structure a class based on skill theory and Case Study 9.2:
• Hold a lecture on authentic leadership.
• Ask students to read Case 9.2 and answer the questions.
• Consider watching the 60 Minutes clip about Greg Mortenson.
• 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) In small groups, students should discuss why Greg’s actions may have been moral
after all. Did his fabrication serve the greater good, perhaps? When might it be okay
for an authentic leader to fabricate?
Next, students should explore potential “personal uses” of the CAI’s money that
3) Individually or in small groups, students should create a list of action items that Greg
4) In a brief essay (200–250 words), ask students to reflect on a situation from their own
lives where they felt it necessary to cheat (or a similar decision akin to the choices
