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Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Case 9.3: The Reluctant First Lady
Case Synopsis and Analysis
This case study portrays Betty Ford, former First Lady of the United States who had
numerous personal struggles but was largely seen as a brave and heroic figure. Betty Ford
used her position in the White House to garner support for causes that were important to her.
She lobbied for equal rights for women and spoke out in support of abortion rights. After
Learning objectives:
• Students should demonstrate understanding of authentic leadership and be able to
apply its main concepts to a leader.
• Students can further understand how critical life events affect future decisions.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. How would you describe Betty Ford’s leadership? In what ways could her leadership
be described as authentic?
Betty Ford was a determined leader who had a great deal of transparency and
integrity. She was an authentic leader who had self-knowledge, self-regulation, and
self-concept. She was also able to connect deeply with her followers, having a
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
2. How did critical life events play a role in the development of her leadership?
Life events played a critical role in her development as a leader. Betty Ford did not
want to become First Lady but used the opportunity to share her passions and work
toward change. She was resilient, confident, hopeful, and optimistic about her
3. Is there a clear moral dimension to Betty Ford’s leadership? In what way is her
leadership about serving the common good? Discuss.
Moral reasoning is the capacity to make ethical decisions about issues of right and
wrong. Higher levels of moral reasoning make it possible for an authentic leader to
4. As we discussed in the chapter, self-awareness and transparency are associated with
authentic leadership. How does Betty Ford exhibit these qualities?
Betty Ford was transparent about struggles that most keep private: cancer and
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Potential teaching approaches:
Below is a way to structure a class based on Authentic Leadership Theory and Case Study
9.3:
• Hold a lecture on authentic leadership.
• Ask students to read Case 9.3 and answer the questions.
• Discuss Questions 1–4 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) To offer students a perspective of the key character, the professor should show
2) In small groups, students should imagine they are Betty Ford. They are called to write
3) In small groups, after watching the videos listed above, students should discuss and
