Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publications, 2021
Case 10.3: Energy to Inspire the World
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Marco Alverà is the CEO of Snam, an energy company located in Italy whose largest
customer was the Italian state. Prior to Snam, Italy was dependent on other countries for their
supply of natural gas. Snam’s goal was to reverse the flow of natural gas and self-produce,
and it was successful. Prior to managing Snam, Marco worked at Goldman Sachs. The skills
he learned at Goldman were useless in this environment with 3,000 employees spread around
the country. Still, Snam was outperforming competitors and Marco realized that this was
occulting as a result of being “fair.” Snam employees worked in an environment where they
did not have the normal issues found in competing companies. Snam employees realized they
Learning Objectives:
• Students will define Servant Leadership.
• Students will recognize the synergy between leaders and followers with regards to
Answers to Questions in the Text:
1. The text suggests that for servant leadership to be effective, three antecedent (or
existing) conditions must exist—context and culture, leader attributes, and
follower receptivity. Discuss how each of these antecedents plays a role at Snam.
Context and culture: There is always a symbiotic relationship with context and
culture within any size group. Both areas create the harmony and balance needed
2. The servant leadership model identifies seven leader behaviors core to the servant
leadership process. How do each of these relate to Marco Alverà and Snam?
Which of these behaviors are most relevant to Marco’s leadership success?
Conceptualizing is the first element and it refers to the leader understanding of the
many facets of the complex organization, including purpose, mission, and vision.
Emotional healing is the next aspect and it includes creating an overall supporting
3. Servant leadership is unique in that it considers multiple stakeholders. Who are the
stakeholders in this case? How do Marco Alverà and Snam exhibit consideration
to these stakeholders?
4. The text identifies the potential outcomes of servant leadership as follower
performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact. How is
each of these outcomes evident in the approach Marco Alverà and Snam take
toward leadership? Provide examples from the case to support your answers.
5. According to Greenleaf, the servant leader has a social responsibility to be
concerned about those who are marginalized and those less privileged. If
inequalities and social injustices exist, a servant leader tries to remove them. How
would you apply this statement to Marco Alverà and his role as a servant leader?
On the surface, it appears that Snam may just be another company that
exists to rob natural resources for profit. While this may be true on some
levels, Marco does appear to be engaged in creating a stronger social order
for Italy and its neighbors by establishing energy independence from other
countries. One could view Italy and its people as “have–nots” as it relates to
energy. Now, these same people are able to produce natural gas instead of
just consume it. This promotes more harmony in the country and region.
a. Do you view Marco Alverà as a servant leader? Why or why not?
Marco certainly exhibits many qualities of a servant leader. He is
Potential Teaching Approaches:
This case study is conducive to group discussions and exercises. Below is a way to structure
a class, based on Case Study 10.3:
• Lecture on Chapter 10.
• Have students read Case 10.3.
• Discuss the questions from the case study. Large-group discussion should center on
the tenets of Servant Leadership and what it means to both leaders and followers.
• Finally, the professor may choose to conduct in-class exercises listed below.
Exercises for This Case Study:
1. The professor should show video clips which outline the tenets of Servant Leadership
2. Ask the question, “Can Servant Leadership exist in for-profit institutions?” and allow
3. Ask students to reflect on an area in their life where they serve others. Then have
students list the 10 characteristics of Servant Leadership. Which of the 10 apply and
how do they apply? Are there some aspects which do not apply to their life? Why
not?