Case 9.1: Am I Really a Leader?
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.
Sally is neither a professor nor a social scientist with a body of theoretical data that supports
her writing. She sees herself as an author, not an expert, and presents herself as who she is: a
skilled observer of current issues and a writer.
Sally is an authentic leader who has self-awareness, relational transparency, and an
internalized moral perspective.
Learning Objectives:
• Students should demonstrate understanding of Authentic Leadership and be able to
Answers to Questions in the Text:
1. Learning about one’s self 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 of authentic leadership. One of those viewpoints is the
intrapersonal perspective, which focuses closely on the leader and what goes on
within the leader. It incorporates the leader’s self-knowledge, self-regulation, and
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publications, 2021
2. How would you describe the authenticity of Sally Helgesen’s leadership?
2003). Sally seems to possess all five of these traits.
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 their
careers where embracing the leadership role is essential?
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publications, 2021
Potential Teaching Approaches:
Below is a way to structure a class based on the Authentic Leadership 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 does. In small groups, students should make lists of 5–10 realistic ways Sally
may have appeared to be inauthentic since becoming an accomplished author. For
instance:
a. She could have tried to use social science research to back up some of her claims,
After students have developed lists, they could share one of their most realistic
3. Based on the case study as written, students should discuss in small groups “critical
life events” that may have led to issues (from Sally’s perspective). Were there any
issues that may have emerged from critical life events that may have shaped Sally’s
development?