Northouse, Leadership, 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Mountains Beyond Mountains
Chapter 2 mentions the inspiring example of Dr. Paul Farmer, anthropologist, medical
doctor, and cofounder of Partners in Health, an international health agency. The book by
Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains, richly details Farmer’s upbringing and
maturation into the leader he is today. This leader has inspired thousands to do community
service and helped thousands more to regain health.
Even for people not going into the medical field, his story gives us a lot of insights into:
• Power and politics;
• How people find their life’s work;
Assign the entire book to be read over the academic term. It can be read and studied in five
sections. The reading can be supported by ample YouTube clips of Farmer discussing his
ideas and speaking to college groups, to give students a sense of his personality. Any of the
following learning experiences can be utilized:
2. Small group discussions/presentations after a section has been completed.
a. Collect two questions/topics pertaining to the reading from every student. Divide
the class into small groups, distribute questions, have groups decide on one
question, discuss it thoroughly, then present their findings and conclusions to the
class.
b. “Save the last word for me” exercise. Ask each student to find a quote they think
3. Full class discussion or writing assignments:
• How did Paul Farmer choose his life, or did his life choose him?
4. Leadership theory applications, for discussion or writing.
• Which of the six power bases does Paul Farmer use?
• What leadership traits does Paul Farmer have?
• What leadership skills does Paul Farmer have?
Northouse, Leadership, 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
• What leadership theory(ies) best explain(s) Paul Farmer’s effectiveness?
Why?
1. Farmer spends 8 months of the year in Haiti. In what U.S. city does he teach the other
7. What is included in the full package of services for patients at Zanmi Lasante?
11. Why is it important to study Paul Farmer in a leadership class? (To learn how a
Mountains Beyond Mountains Quiz—Part 2
4. What thinker was most influential on Farmer’s intellectual development
5. What reason brought Farmer to Haiti for the first time in 1983? (Sr. Julianna’s
7. What is the central tenet of liberation theology? (God has a preferential
8. Who is Tom White, and how is he connected to Paul Farmer? (Farmer’s first
9. According to Farmer, what is the “first line of defense” in treating TB in
10. How does Farmer explain his encyclopedic memory? (“I date everything to
Northouse, Leadership, 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022