Leadership Theory and Practice Notonhouse 7th Edition

11.1 Case Study "Silence, Stigma, and Mental Illness"

1. How do you define the problem the editors were trying to address? Was this a technical
or adaptive challenge? The problem they were trying to address was an adaptive challenge.
An adaptive challenge isn't straightforward and requires leaders to give team members space
to try to figure the problem out and learn from their potential mistakes. An adaptive leader is
one who encourages others with support, defining the problem and deciding on the best
solution. The girls were trying to shed light on mental health and encourage others to get
help. The principal was resisting the change.
2. What is your reaction to what the principal did in this situation? How do you think
what she did fits in with providing direction, protection, orientation, conflict
management, and productive norms? I am personally upset by the principal's actions. I
have and know others who have suffered from mental illness. Some people I know are
suffering from mental illness and don't realize or don't want to admit it because of the stigma
around mental health. I understand the principal was trying to manage conflict and protect
the students, but the stigma and stereotypes around mental health are so negative. The more

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people talk about it and realize mental illness isn't something to be ashamed of, the sooner
more people will be able to get help and hopefully stop bad things from happening. Yes, the

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principal brought up the point about bullying, but people are already getting bullied for
various things, so if teachers were more vigilant, it wouldn't have been an issue.

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3. Describe the holding environment in this case. Was the holding environment sufficient
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to meet the adaptive challenges in this situation? How would you improve it? There
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wasn't a true holding environment in this situation. The principal seemed to have made the
decision and wasn't willing to compromise or see the benefits to the article. Also, Madeline
and Eva were trying to create a holding environment for the challenge (the stigma on mental
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illness) but the principal shut it down before they could even get to the adaptive work which
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would have corresponded with the aftermath of the article.

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4. Based on Figure 11.1, discuss who were the adaptive leaders in this case. Which of the
leader behaviors (get on the balcony, identify adaptive challenges, regulate stress, etc.)
did these leaders exhibit? Madeline and Eva were the adaptive leaders. They both showed
identifying the adaptive challenges, regulating stress, creating a holding environment, and
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giving the work back to the people. The girls wanted to get a conversation started and be the
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adaptive leaders on their campus.

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