Ursula Burns: A Leadership Analysis

This particular article has many facts, but the main idea is to tell the story of a leader who is actually remarkable. The subject matter is the perfect example of having the right qualities to be a successful leader. Although I am sure there were probably other mitigating factors unknown to us in the article, I was able to gather some additional detail. This has allowed me to think about three specific facets of Ursula Burns life. The three key aspects I will focus on relate to the values which were instilled in her early life, the relationships which she built that allowed her opportunities, and the key leadership characteristics I believe she demonstrated while at Xerox.

Firstly, as reported in the article read, Ms. Burns was raised in a housing project on Manhattans east side by a hard working single mother who cleaned, ironed, did childcare—anything to anything to ensure her children had a good education (Ursula Burns, n.d.). This demonstration of a strong work

Burns made some really good key alliances in her career. Wayland Hicks, a senior executive, tapped Ms. Burns to become his executive assistant (Kingsland 2015). After people began having respect for her, she was then give a new mentor, CEO Paul Allaire (Kingsland, 2015). These two key alliances were significant because they introduced her to key people, and gave her extraordinary opportunities that might not have existed otherwise. I believe these type of opportunities are very rare. The next mentor was also extremely important because it catapulted her into a CEO position. In the early 2000’s. Anne Mulcahy, Xerox’s CEO during this time, took Ms. Burns under her wing and by 2009 Ms. Burns succeeded her a s CEO (Kingsland, 2015). In addition, these positions, and there interface with others would have given Ms. Burns many instances to use her position for influences. The importance of these relationships and opportunities, in my opinion was critical to her