Kathleen Mazzarella’s rise from customer service representative to Chair, President, and CEO of Graybar is a compelling example of adaptive leadership grounded in organizational communication. Her early leadership style was shaped by decades of operational experience, emphasizing transactional communication—clear expectations, performance metrics, and structured decision-making. As Executive Vice President and COO, she focused on efficiency and accountability, aligning with Graybar’s historically conservative, process-driven culture (Wikipedia, 2024). This approach was effective in maintaining stability but limited the company’s agility in a rapidly evolving market.

Upon becoming CEO in 2012, Mazzarella recognized that Graybar needed to modernize. She gradually transitioned to a transformational leadership style, emphasizing vision, innovation, and employee empowerment. This shift was reflected in her communication strategy: she began promoting inclusive dialogue, investing in leadership development, and encouraging cross-functional collaboration. Her messaging evolved from directive to inspirational, reinforcing a shared purpose and long-term vision. According to communication theory, such a shift enhances employee engagement and fosters a culture of trust and innovation (Robbins & Judge, 2022).

The ability to evolve her leadership style was critical to Mazzarella’s success. Under her guidance, Graybar doubled its revenue—from $5.4 billion to over $10.5 billion—through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions (Titan 100, 2024). She also led the company through digital transformation and cultural renewal, reinforcing Graybar’s identity as an employee-owned enterprise while preparing it for future challenges. Her communication style played a central role in this transformation, as she consistently framed change as a shared journey rather than a top-down mandate.

Importantly, Mazzarella’s leadership evolution did not result in public backlash or internal disruption. On the contrary, her inclusive approach to change management appears to have strengthened Graybar’s internal culture. In 2024, she promoted a new generation of leaders, signaling a commitment to succession planning and distributed leadership (Yahoo Finance, 2024). Her ability to blend legacy values with forward-thinking strategy helped avoid the resistance that often accompanies leadership transitions.

From an organizational communication perspective, Mazzarella’s success illustrates the power of adaptive messaging, emotional intelligence, and cultural alignment. By shifting from transactional to transformational communication, she not only modernized Graybar’s operations but also deepened employee commitment and organizational resilience. Her story underscores that leadership is not static—it is a communicative process that must evolve with the needs of the organization and its people.

References

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2022). Organizational behavior (19th ed.). Pearson.

Titan 100. (2024). Kathleen Mazzarella – Titan Hall of Fame. https://www.titan100.biz/2024-st-louis-titans/kathleen-mazzarella/

Wikipedia. (2024). Kathleen Mazzarella. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Mazzarella

Yahoo Finance. (2024, October 21). Graybar announces leadership changes. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/graybar-announces-leadership-changes-193900063.html