Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co., established in Montreal in 1961, is a wholly owned subsidiary of California-based Hewlett-Packard Co., a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses, and institutions around the world.

H-P Canada has gone from an extensive network of dealers and authorized service personnel in Canada that operated 28 offices across the country, to one headquarter location in Mississauga, Ontario. So what happened to this company, and how did leadership play a role?

The confusing matrix organizational structure of the company caused problems for decades by blurring lines of accountability and slowing the process of decision making. There was a reward structure that was so complex in its calculation that no one understood how their performance affected their bonuses.

The most concerning factor, however, was the lack of trust that went from the C-suite right on down to front-line employees. High turnover rates at the executive level showed that H-P was unable to attract talented replacements. The Board of Directors had a history of dysfunction: A famous case involved a board director who was leaking confidential information to the press. Instead of confronting the members of the board, the board chair authorized an investigation to spy on board members' phone records to determine who was sharing company secrets. When the leak was identified and confronted, another board member angrily resigned and contacted the press to air the story. The end result was a huge scandal.

Previous H-P CEOs did not instill much confidence in their leadership. One former CEO was so egotistical that they decided to hang their their own portrait beside those of founders William Hewlett and David Packard, and use the company's private jet as their own vacation transport. Another CEO was sued by H-P after he tried to take a job at a major competitorjust one month after resigning over his treatment of a former H-P employee.

So imagine what a breath of fresh air Mary Ann Yule was when she was hired as president and CEO of H-P Canada in 2016. Yule arrived as a leader in the technology industry. She had experience in the areas of 3-D printing and digital manufacturing. She mentioned in an interview back in 2020 that she did not have much in the way of mentorship during her rise in tech and vowed to give back to young inspiring women interested in technology careers. She mentioned in that interview, "Now as the President and CEO of HP Canada, I stand as a mentor and advocate for young women to enter and stay in the tech industry.... I believe that when we engage with diverse perspectives, experiences and points of view, we all thrive and we can deliver better solutions that better serve our customers." This perspective of giving back and offering help to others is a breath of fresh air compared to previous H-P leaders.

In early 2022, the Business Council of Canada asked prominent Canadian leaders to reflect on the pandemic and assess what was lost and what could be gleaned. Mary Ann Yule was asked to provide her insights. She emphasized the concern over women being more likely to leave their jobs during the pandemic. She provided a clear perspective on how she sees leadership: "There is a privilege that comes with leadershipand an obligation. We need to pay it forward by helping young leaders and blazing the trail for future generations."

To have a a leader who sees what she does as an obligation to give back and to go from portraits, private jets, and lawsuits to a sense of obligation and giving backthis is the kind of large leap that H-P needs in order to return to its former glory.

Read the case and then answer the following questions:

1. How involved should your employees be in making the decision?
2. Because everyone has worked closely in the same open office, you've been able to use an achievement-oriented leadership style. Would a shift to telecommuting require a change in style? Explain.
3. How would you describe Mary Ann Yule's Leadership style?