Running Head: Change Agent Mulcahy
Change Agents: Anne Mulcahy, Xerox Corp.
Sara Richards
McDaniel College
Page 1
Running Head: Change Agent Mulcahy
Page 2
Are all leaders effective change agents? Does a leader have to be change agent
to be effective? I believe the answer to both of these questions to is no. Leader’s styles
and abilities vary as drastically as the companies they lead. Anne Mulcahy, the unlikely
leader of Xerox, was both an effective leader and change agent. For my education
submission on a Change Agent, I chose to complete my paper on Anne Mulcahy, the
subject from a case from my Strategic Planning class. This paper summarized seven
common traits possessed by successful leaders, and applied each one to Mulcahy.
In August of 2001, Mulcahy became CEO and took over leadership of Xerox
Corporation. The company was $17 billion in debt, losing market share and in the
middle of an accounting scandal. Over the next five years, Mulcahy implemented
organization changes to create new divisions, increase the use of newer technologies,
and to organize the company into business centers. These actions were fueled by
Mulcahy’s meeting with employees throughout the country and ultimately lead to cutting
the company’s debt by more than half to $7 billion and boosted net earnings 13-fold to
$1.2 billion (Morris, 2007). This dramatic turnaround could not happen under a leader
who was not an effective change agent and Mulcahy demonstrated an inherent ability to
understand people as well as systems and competition. If Mulcahy had simply settled
on changing one aspect of the company, my opinion is that Xerox would have continued
to lose market share. Her holistic approach to corporate health was a blessing and I
believe she realized that all necessary changes had become completely intertwined.
As mentioned in my submission paper, effective leaders must have willingness to
delegate and empower those around them. According to Mulcahy, “Bad leadership can
happen when you move too fast or not fast enough and when you don’t bring people into
the process of change,” (Conlon, 2001, p. 30). One person can act as the change agent
but they must get others to buy in and join them. Mulcahy understood how important
Running Head: Change Agent Mulcahy
Page 3
others were in the change process and how to use the culture to affect that change and
process. Mulcahy also understood that change is not an overnight process. “Xerox
struggled with those issues over the past two years and frankly, we paid the price. But
we have emerged with a greater understanding of what it takes not only to turn the
company around but to position it for future growth,” (Conlon, 2001, p.30).
The desperate state Xerox was in required change on multiple fronts. Mulcahy
took many different steps. “Key steps taken by Xerox include restricting sales
compensation to ensure better customer satisfaction, selling networked solutions instead
of point sales, focusing on high growth markets like color printing business, expanding
their indirect sales network, and expanding efforts to attack and retain good sales
people,” (Cholewka, 2001, p. 36).
Most Human Resources professionals will not have the need to attack change in
so many areas at one time, but in the unlikely event that were to happen, it is imperative
that human resources leaders be able to do three things effectively – listen, prioritize and
organize. Listening is a skill required of any successful HR professional and it is through
listening that a person may uncover issues requiring change. Listening can come by
way of personal interactions, surveys, focus groups, or soliciting general feedback from
management and employees. At my employer, Harkins Builders, our employee base is
relatively small and listening takes place by way of informal processes. The feedback
gained is vital in helping me in the next phase – organization of necessary changes. I
believe that organization is a key as this process will allow an individual to see the
issues facing them and the parties involved. In my case, if we experience turnover
issues, we have sub-contractors to consider, our own policies, changes in regulations, or
recruitment issues. Organizing the problem into component pieces allows me to isolate
Running Head: Change Agent Mulcahy
Page 4
the problem and determine possible effects to other business units. Finally, prioritization
is necessary to allow a company to devise solutions to its most pressing problems.
Change can come from anywhere, not just our leaders. External pressures can
force change upon a company. Internal strife can necessitate change. Yet, those types
of factors are often unplanned and unexpected. The type of change we are focusing on
is thought-out, planned change, or premeditated actions that put a company in a
strategic advantage.
Mulcahy believed strongly that Research and Development (R&D) was an
outside force that effected change, but in a controlled fashion. “We’ve learned that R&D
is such a core part of the foundation of what creates creative advantage that you really
are mortgaging the future if that’s where you find your efficiencies,” (Mulcahy, 2009, p.3).
Mulcahy believed that Research and Development was the compass that guides a
company and always kept a significant budget for Research and Development. Mulcahy
also enabled her team to implement these changes, and continuously evaluated the
impact of R&D to the overall health of Xerox. I believe this leadership of implementation
is just as vital to a company as recognizing the need for the change in the first place
since at varying points throughout implementation, strategies may need to be changed,
or even possibly abandoned.
At my current company we are experiencing change through external forces of
generational and technological developments. Previously, construction was done with
“walkie talkies” and huge pages of blue prints. With technological advances, architects
are designing entire buildings on their laptops. Communication is sent via text and
email. Some employees who have been in the business for many years are having
difficulty making the transition to the use of all this new technology, whereas the recent
college graduates have been using this technology for years. In my department, we
Running Head: Change Agent Mulcahy
Page 5
have to design new training courses and modify our performance evaluations to include
the use of all these new technologies and to require their use.
As the adage says, change is the only constant. As Human Resources
professionals we must accept this and help guide our companies to manage this
change. Through this graduate program at McDaniel, I have learned the importance of
being a change agent and have applied the principles learned to my own employment.
In the past, I may have simply saw the need for a change and pushed forward with my
own way of thinking, but I now realize that this did not always affect the type of changes I
desired in my organization.
Assessing the review of Mulcahy’s case lead me to more
research done by Jon Katzenbach, who outlined six characteristics of very effective
change agents: 1) commitment to a better way, 2) courage to challenge existing power
bases and norms, 3) initiative to break through boundaries, 4) motivation of themselves
and others, 5) caring about how people are treated, and 6) a sense of humor
(Katzenbach, 1996).
By my nature, I have a commitment to a better way, a strong care for how people
are treated, and a good sense of humor and manage to keep those qualities at the
forefront of all of the decisions made by Harkins. “Courage to challenge existing power
bases” has been a barrier as I work in a close-knit, male-dominated field that does not
always give the impression of valuing the softer side of dealing with people. I have
adapted by incorporating other philosophies into my negotiations with management,
such as the creation of common ground. I may desire to see policies put in place that
promote a healthier workplace, and to overcome barriers from management that does
not see the need for such programs, I have learned to also show how the changes
impact our finances or can increase recruitment of new, more skilled employees.
Running Head: Change Agent Mulcahy
Page 6
I have also learned to break through boundaries by listening to management and
finding the root causes of any hesitance to implement changes. Often, there are
underlying circumstances for resistance and through uncovering these issues, I have
been more effective at getting management and employees to see the benefits of
planned human resources projects. Conversely, I also use this feedback to evaluate
flaws in my own logic. Finally, I have found that demonstrating my enthusiasm for a
project, perhaps more than any other facet, has been the most helpful in getting change
implemented. Enthusiasm is contagious, especially when management sees the
benefits of a project in their own terms and when combined with a strong sense of
initiative, it creates a powerful force for change.
Like Mulcahy, I must use my knowledge of Harkins and my knowledge of
organizational understanding and partner it with my assessment skills to find where
change is necessary. A great deal of my competence in this area stems from the fact
that I act as the catalyst for changes at Harkins Builders and enable others to continue
the implementation of changes. Mulcahy faced changes on a much larger scale than
Harkins but lessons learned from her willingness to see input from others and adapt to
the changing needs of an organization are reflected in my own qualities. As stated in
this paper, I have had to overcome obstacles in dealing with employees, management,
and stressful situations stemming from organizational change, but my attitude has been
to persevere in the interest of bettering the organization as a whole. My efforts have
resulted in a myriad of improvements and I am constantly aware of industry trends that
may prove to have a beneficial impact to Harkins Builders.
Running Head: Change Agent Mulcahy
Page 7
References
Cholewka, K. (2001, April). Xerox’s Savior.. Sales and Marketing Management,
147(17), 36 – 42.
Conlon, J. (2001, December). Leaders Remember the Moments and People that
Shaped Them. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 30 – 32.
Katzenbach, J. (1996). Real Change Leaders. McKinsley Quarterly. Retrieved from
https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Real_change_leaders_140#
Mulcahy, A. (2009, November). XEROX. Research-Technology Management, 52(6), 3.