Case 9.1
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.
Learning objectives:
1. Students should demonstrate understanding of authentic leadership and be able to apply
its main concepts to a leader.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. Learning about oneself 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 for authentic leadership. One of those viewpoints is
the intrapersonal perspective, which focuses closely on the leader and what goes on within the
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
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
Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
Potential teaching approaches:
Below is a way to structure a class based on skill theory and case study 9.1:
• Hold a lecture on authentic leadership.
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 displayed (see
Mortensen, Case 9.2 for example). In small groups, students should make lists of 5 to 10
realistic ways Sally could have been inauthentic since becoming an accomplished author.
For instance:
• She could have tried to use social science research to back up some of her claims,
without having a solid foundation in that research.