● (Five paragraphs including a conclusion) on the case study below
● Include a summary of the leadership behavior questionnaire

● Share why you selected this case study from your chosen leadership approach.
Compare and contrast how the leader addressed and responded to the situation with
how you would have addressed/responded to the situation. Add information about how
each manager exemplifies the specific approach as well as how you would react
if you were in this situation. So could you add more information about how each
manager exemplifies the specific approach as well as how you would react if you
were in this situation

Case study Case 4.2
We Are Family Betsy has been hired as the director of marketing and communications for a
medium-sized college in the Midwest. With a long history of success as a marketing and public
relations professional, she was the unanimous choice of the hiring committee. Betsy is excited
to be working for Marianne, the vice president of college advancement, who comes from a
similar background to Betsy’s. In a meeting with Marianne, Betsy is told the college needs an
aggressive plan to revamp and energize the school’s marketing and communications efforts.
Betsy and Marianne seem in perfect sync with the direction they believe is right for the college’s
program. Marianne also explains that she has established a departmental culture of teamwork
and empowerment and that she is a strong advocate of being a mentor to her team members
rather than a manager. Betsy has four direct reports: two writers, Bridget and Suzanne, who are
in their 20s; and Carol and Francine, graphic designers who are in their 50s. In her first month,
Betsy puts together a meeting with her direct reports to develop a new communications plan for
the college, presenting the desired goals to the team and asking for their ideas on initiatives and
improvements to meet those goals. Bridget and Suzanne provide little in the way of suggested
changes, with Bridget asking pointedly, “Why do we need to change anything?” In her weekly
meeting with the vice president, Betsy talks about the resistance to change she encountered
from the team. Marianne nods, saying she heard some of the team members’ concerns when
she went to lunch with them earlier in the week. When Betsy looks surprised, Marianne gives
her a knowing smile. “We are like a family here; we have close relationships outside of work. I
go to lunch or the movies with Suzanne and Bridget at least once a week. But don’t worry; I am
only a sounding board for them, and encourage them to come to you to resolve their issues.
They know you are their boss.” But they don’t come to Betsy. Soon, Bridget stops coming to
work at 8 a.m., showing up at 10 a.m. daily. As a result, she misses the weekly planning
meetings. When Betsy approaches her about it, Bridget tells her, “It’s OK with Marianne; she
says as long as I am using the time to exercise and improve my health she supports it.” Betsy
meets with Suzanne to implement some changes to Suzanne’s pet project, the internal
newsletter. Suzanne gets defensive, accusing Betsy of insulting her work. Later, Betsy watches
Suzanne and Marianne leave the office together for lunch. A few hours later, Marianne comes
into Betsy’s office and tells her, “Go easy on the newsletter changes. Suzanne is an insecure
person, and she is feeling criticized and put down by you right now.” Betsy’s relationship with the
other two staff members is better. Neither seems to have the close contact with Marianne that
the younger team members have. They seem enthusiastic and supportive of the new direction

Betsy wants to take the program in. As the weeks go by, Marianne begins having regular
“Mentor Meetings” with Bridget and Suzanne, going to lunch with them at least twice a week.
After watching the three walk out together one day, Francine asks Betsy if it troubles her. Betsy
replies calmly, “It is part of Marianne’s mentoring program.” Francine rolls her eyes and says,
“Marianne’s not mentoring anyone; she just wants someone to go to lunch with every day.” After
four months on the job, Betsy goes to Marianne and outlines the challenges that the vice
president’s close relationships with Bridget and Suzanne have presented to the progress of the
marketing and communications program. She asks her directly, “Please stop.” Marianne gives
her the knowing smile again. “I see a lot of potential in Bridget and Suzanne and want to help
foster that,” she explains. “They are still young in their careers, and my relationship with them is
important because I can provide the mentoring and guidance to develop their abilities.” “But it’s
creating problems between them and me,” Betsy points out. “I can’t manage them if they can
circumvent me every time they disagree with me. We aren’t getting any work done. You and I
have to be on the same team.” Marianne shakes her head. “The problem is that we have very
different leadership styles. I like to empower people, and you like to boss them around.”
Questions Marianne and Betsy do indeed have different leadership styles. What style would you
ascribe to Betsy? To Marianne? Does Betsy need to change her leadership style to improve the
situation with Bridget and Suzanne? Does Marianne need to change her style of leadership?
How can Marianne and Betsy work together? Leadership Behavior Questionnaire Researchers
and practitioners alike have used many different instruments to assess the behaviors of leaders.
The two most commonly used measures have been the LBDQ (Stogdill, 1963) and the
Leadership Grid (Blake & McCanse, 1991). Both of these measures provide information about
the degree to which a leader acts task directed or people directed. The LBDQ was designed
primarily for research and has been used extensively since the 1960s. The Leadership Grid was
designed primarily for training and development; it continues to be used today for training
managers and supervisors in the leadership process. To assist you in developing a better
understanding of how leadership behaviors are measured and what your own behavior might
be, a leadership behavior questionnaire is included in this section. This questionnaire is made
up of 20 items that assess two orientations: task and relationship. By scoring the Leadership
Behavior Questionnaire, you can obtain a general profile of your leadership behavior.

● Keep the the questionnaire portion in the paper