Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Case Notes
Chapter 2: Recognizing Your Traits
Case 2.1—NorthTown Doulas
Case Summary
This case study discusses the experiences of Kamiah N., a woman from North Town, an impoverished
African-American community, who had a passion for serving and helping the women in her community
due to her experiences from being pregnant. Kamiah founded NorthTown Dulas, to provide birthing
services to women in her community and also to train other women to become doulas.
Case Analysis
This case integrates all six of the key specific leadership traits into the life of one person. Kamiah displays
characteristics of intelligence, confidence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity.
Intelligence is demonstrated through Kamiah’s ability to understand her local community and adjust her
practice to serve different stakeholder needs. Confidence is displayed through Kamiah’s understanding
of what she needed to do to be successful and also through her practice itself. It would have been very
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Sample Answers to Case Questions
1. How would you describe Kamiah’s leadership traits?
Kamiah appears to demonstrate the traits of an effective leader. She has elements of all six of the major
2. Of the six major traits described in the chapter (i.e., intelligence, confidence, charisma,
determination, sociability, and integrity), which traits are Kamiah’s strongest?
The case narrative directly addresses two challenges that Kamiah faced: (1) communication to get the
3. Of these traits, which do you think Kamiah is naturally strong and which did she learn?
Kamiah’s natural strength is determination. Northouse describes individuals displaying deterministic
4. What different traits did Kamiah exhibit in her ability to get others to support her, such as the
executive director of the YWCA? The grandmothers in the neighborhood? The groups where the
audiences were mostly white?
For the executive director of the YWCA, Kamiah would have had to display both confidence and
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Case 2.2— The Three Bs
Case Summary
This case study addresses the three B’s, who actually are President Bill Clinton, President George W.
Bush, and President Barack Obama. Their experiences and backgrounds are highlighted in this case
study for the reader to see how they displayed each of the six leadership traits.
The final B is B3 – President Barack Obama. Obama’s childhood was similar to Clinton’s, in that he did
not have the support from a father figure at home and relied on the help and support from his mother.
Born in Hawaii, he would move to Indonesia with his mother at the age of 6, and at the age of 10,
Obama was sent to the United States to live with his grandparents, and attend an elite school in Hawaii,
Case Analysis
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
This case study is unique in that it offers a look at the childhood, upbringing, and scholarly attainments
of former Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. It does not take into account any of their
accomplishments during their presidencies and instead focuses on the backgrounds that each individual
Sample Answers to Case Questions
1. Rank the strength of each person (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as high) for each leadership trait
below. Use the Explanation column to support your ranking.
President Bill Clinton
RANK
EXPLANATION
INTELLIGENCE
5
The case study doesn’t necessarily mention much in terms of
Clinton’s intelligence, but does note that he received his
undergraduate degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown
University and a graduate degree in law from Yale University.
could have naturally been inherited by Clinton.
service, and was recognized for his talent and ambition.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
SOCIABILITY
The case study directly discusses Clinton’s sociability, noting that he
was elected class president twice and was involved in many
professional organizations throughout his collegiate career.
INTEGRITY
Integrity is not discussed whatsoever in the narrative for this case.
President George W. Bush
RANK
EXPLANATION
INTELLIGENCE
3
The case explicitly states first that Bush was accepted into Yale due
to the legacy policy, and also was a self-proclaimed average student.
It also notes that he had low pilot aptitude tests and irregular
attendance to air training while serving in the national guard.
CONFIDENCE
unusual confidence that stood out even in a class of some of
CHARISMA
Charisma is not necessarily covered in this case study, but it could be
argued that the sociability that Bush displayed would have led him to
display characteristics of charismatic leadership.
for Bush other than noting that his turning point was completing his
MBA.
SOCIABILITY
his humor and antics.
INTEGRITY
Integrity is not discussed whatsoever in the narrative for this case.
President Barack Obama
RANK
EXPLANATION
INTELLIGENCE
8
Obama is described as a good but not outstanding student; however,
it is also mentioned that he graduated from Harvard Law School
magna cum laude, and also was elected as the first African-American
president of the Harvard Law Review.
attending Harvard Law School.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
CHARISMA
5
Charisma is not explicitly stated in the case study, however, it could
be argued that Obama was a very charismatic leader, as he displayed
the traits of charisma throughout his presidency.
determination. A direct quote is that, “if I think about how I have
been able to navigate some pretty tricky situations in my life, it has
to do with the fact that I had to learn to trust my own judgment; I
as a self-reflector than a social individual.
INTEGRITY
10
Obama displayed many characteristics of integrity. He was
committed to giving back to the community, and kept his word when
elected as president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, that he
would treat the views of the primarily conservative staffers fairly.
2. The chapter strongly implies that leadership is about traits – people become leaders because of
their traits. In light of what you know about these men and their presidencies, do you feel the traits
approach adequately captures the essence of their leadership? Does nurturance play an equal role or
more important role? Why or why not?
In the case of all three of these men, the trait approach adequately captures their leadership abilities. All
3. Of all the traits exhibited by these three leaders, what one trait would you like to have for yourself?
Explain why.
This answer will vary from student-to-student. A possible response would be that a student would want