Northouse, Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Discussion Questions
Chapter 8: Establishing a Constructive Climate
1. Think of an example from your own life when you were in a group that lacked structure.
How did that make you feel? How did the leader provide structure? Did it help?
2. Think of a long-term group you are a part of. What are the rituals, values, procedures and
underlying assumptions of that group?
3. The textbook uses college syllabi as examples of how an instructor provides structure for
a course. How helpful to you is the syllabus in this course? What recommendations do
you have for making it more/less detailed or clear?
4. How can a leader have a significant impact on establishing group norms? How can group
members, in addition to the leader, have a positive impact on group norms?
5. Why are norms sometimes difficult to change? Give a real-life example.
6. How would you go about finding out the unique ways that each member can contribute to
the group?
7. How can leaders help groups become more cohesive?
8. In a group, have you ever had the experience of putting aside your individual goals in
pursuit of a larger, group goal? What led to that decision on your part?
10. What are the main benefits of non-confrontational feedback? Do you have an example
from your life of effective non-confrontational feedback?
11. Group projects in educational settings are often challenging. Why is that? Thinking about
12. What are the most important steps a new leader might take in order to learn about the
norms and values in an organization?
13. What leadership action by Meg Whitman, when she became CEO of Hewlett-Packard, do
you think had the most impact on the company’s climate?