Case 12.2 Ursula Burns - Leading With Influence - Question 3

Case 12.2 Ursuin Burns-Leading With inftuence of African decent, who as a vingle partot, raited Unels and her two sibling on ale Lower Eat Side person in her family to attend college, graduating in 1950 with a bucteloridegper in mechanical enge? cusod a master's degere in mechanical enginecring in 1982 . Afier Burnt completed graduate achool, Xerox hired her as a fill-time emplopee, frem which poine ing "avod Xerox from a near-dearb experience" Onc of the key relleations Burns male wat that machines company that had defined photocopying for decades iots a provider in the nower. luchof Xeror into mo independent and poblicly traded companies, She continuted as CEO unfl 2016 and tho sered as the chaic of the bound ar Xetex from 2010 to 201 ? prosctive, stright shooter. As a leader, she sought to cultimate (a) stong, conntunicanion, dunctervison sod empowerment, to align and usify workplice inictots aod (d) cure for she carromer. Bains has aloe served on the boards of wuch large US. corpocarion as Amerian Expersh ErxonMobil, and Utier, and for the boatd of the larpe multinarional Dunch teccommunications the New York Ciry Bullet, and others. Freen 2000 to 2016 , Barns also led the Whe Howe STEM Humic credis her mother for moch of her saccess but also uys thr ber mocher had very deat expeca. het upbringing includod the following: Take care of cosch opher.: Hed in 2021. In the book. Burns isises that, for all the puhlicty surroundisg ber becomiag CEO Buck, So, whea someone ays 1m poing to inuodyec pou to the nece C.FO of Xerox, and the oprions "Was it truly so amazing to think a Black woman could lead a multibillion-dollar company? I had worked at Xerox for twenty-nine years by then. I had a strong track record. I was very well educated. I hadn't been plucked from a circus sideshow. I had earned the position." Even so, this was not a new experience for Burns: throughout her life, her mostly white and male classmates and professional colleagues frequently "couldn't comprehend how a Black girl could be as smart, and in some cates, smarter than they were. They made a developed category for me. Unique. Amazing. Spectacular. That way they could accept me." Burns suggests that, although "it's not as easy to do as it is to say it, obviously," one of the things she says is that "there is, in some ways, a benefit of being the only or the few" in the room because "they will know who you are" and it is possible to "use it to a benefit, not only to yourself but to the people coming behind you." For example, Burns suggests that "women engineers should be organiz. ing themselves, they should be leading teams and groups, they should be engaged in places as broadly as possible," that "we need to reorient ourselves a little bit to have a position of power" rather than just "worrying about being the only or the few." In her book, Burns says that she does not believe that people "are born with greatness," but she does believe that "there are things that can prevent you from becoming great" and, for this reason, she finds real insight in the phrase, "Talent is evenly distributed. Opportunity is not." Burns writes about how people and programs helped her greatly toward succeeding in life. "I think you are nurtured into greatness," she writes, listing persons she has known who are some of the "many examples of nurtured individuals ending up being successful people. If you water a plant, it keeps growing." Discussion Questions 1. Would you consider Ursula Burns to be a leader, a manager, or both? Please briefly explain. 2. Which basic leadership style might best describe Ursula Burns? 3. Which Leadership Grid"style might best describe Ursula Burns? 4. As a transformational leader, what words might best define Ursula Burns's leadership style? Cumulative Case Questions 1. Describe how Ursula Burns has shaped organizational culture at Xerox. 2. What is Ursula Burns's decision-making style? 3. How might Ursula Burns approach motivation of employees