Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publications, 2021
Case 4.3: Cheer Coach Monica Aldama
Case Synopsis and Analysis
The Navarro College cheer team and its coach of 25 years, Monica Aldama, were the focal
point for the Netflix docuseries Cheer. The series outlined the focus, dedication, tough love,
and ups and downs of the team as they prepared for the national championship. The focal
point of the series was the high standards placed forth by Head Coach Aldama. This included
holding participants accountable for their actions, recording every practice to review it, and
setting extremely high standards for the each person affiliated with the program.
The coach began her career looking at coaches from a very pragmatic lens, thinking “what do
I need to do to win?” The coach thought it was simple, figure out what needed to happen to
net the highest score and do that. Over the years, Coach Aldama realized that more than just
Learning Objectives:
• Students will understand how the Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid works.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. How would you describe Coach Aldama’s leadership behavior in terms of initiating
structure and consideration? Is she more task oriented or relationship oriented?
2. Where on the Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid would you place Coach Aldama?
3. How would you describe Coach Aldama’s leadership behavior in terms of
paternalism/maternalism?
4. Do you think the leadership behavior of opportunism could apply to Coach Aldama?
Explain your answer.
This case clearly articulates Opportunism as a key to Coach Aldama’s success. She
Potential Teaching Approaches:
This case study is conducive to group discussions and exercises.
Below is a way to structure a class, based on the trait approach and Case Study 4.3:
• Lecture on the Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid asking students to discuss each
quadrant out loud.
Exercises for This Case Study:
1. In small groups, ask students to find similar coaching examples from movies or
other popular media on YouTube or a similar platform. Watch the video clip of a
2. Ask that each group reports out and then discuss how the movement helps/hinders
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publications, 2021
3. In small groups, ask students to create a list of 5-8 items that effective coaches do