Reference no: EM132812654
Harvard Business School Alumni Stories: Making the Case for Leadership by Garry Emmons; Julia Hanna; Roger Thompson
Case description: Five alumni protagonists step out from the pages of HBS case studies to share their experiences and ideas about the successful exercise of leadership. You need to read these case summaries, relate them with the theories of leadership learned in this course and negotiate with each other to agree on and collectively answer the following 7 questions:
Link to Case Summaries: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=1026
Q1. Why do you think Toby Jhonson feels that leaders need to show 'vulnerability?' Do you (as a group) agree or disagree with her? Why?
Q2. Why does Toby feel that the leadership role at her workplace is similar to her role in her military life? Do you (as a group) agree or disagree with her? Why?
Q3. Evaluate Jamie Houghton's leadership in light of the situational leadership model. In your opinion, what role did humility play in his success, if any?
Q4. Keeping Taran Swan's story in mind, illustrate some of the challenges that women leaders face. Why do you think Taran was so successful in overcoming them?
Q5. What, in your opinion, would Ganesh Natarajan say to people who believe that people who are too nice to everybody can't be effective leaders? Why?
Q6. Is leadership just a set of techniques for motivating people or it is a way of life? How do you think Kent Thiry would answer this question? Does your group agree or disagree with his philosophy of leadership? Why?
Q7. Write a brief action plan to improve your own leadership and decision-making skills over the next few months, explaining what concrete steps you will take to enhance your personal effectiveness.