Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
Chapter 14 – Team Leadership
Discussion Questions and Exercises
1. What are some of the reasons that work teams have become more prevalent in today’s
organizations? How do they provide a competitive advantage?
2. What are some ways teams can be “technology enabled”?
3. Explain how lateral decision making works. When is this method preferable to vertical decision
making? When is it not preferable?
5. Define/describe Hill’s team leadership model. What is a leader’s mental model? What
behaviors by leaders are most effective for teams and what responsibilities does the leader have to
meet team needs? Give a personal example that you observed or personally performed in a group
6. What are the three decisions a leader needs to make to determine whether or how to intervene
7. Come up with examples of when a leader should not take action and instead let a situation take
care of itself.
8. What are the three leadership actions described in Hill’s model for team leadership? Define
describe each of these actions. How do they affect a team’s success? Have you experienced any
of these actions being taken in teams or work groups? Describe your experience,
9. What are the two critical functions of team effectiveness? Define and then describe the
10. Using Hill’s model, what leadership behaviors would your recommend for each of the stages
of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing?
12. How do virtual teams differ from face-to-face teams? How do the leadership needs of virtual
teams differ from face-to-face teams?
13. What types of environmental factors might indicate the need for a team intervention by the
leader?
14. In what instances would the team leader negotiate with upper management according to this
Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
model?
15. Rate a team you belong to and provide leadership for, using the team excellence and
collaborative team leader questionnaire. What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the