Leading With Spirit

As Kelley Burnett (BBA ’03) describes her work, you can hear the legacy of her not-so-distant days encouraging the Badgers to victory as a member of the University of Wisconsin cheerleading team. Burnett, who graduated with a double major in risk management and insurance, and management and human resources, now lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Zach Burnett (B.S. ’03) and their young daughter. After opening her own American Family Insurance agency there at the age of 25, Burnett currently manages 170 agents as American Family’s director of sales for Minnesota. Just as she loved being part of the pulse and fun of big game days as a student, today Burnett is passionate about leading her AmFam team toward success in developing and executing sales strategies. “As a leader in my job, that’s my dream,” she says. “I feel good when others succeed.”

Understanding how to spark and spread enthusiasm serves Burnett well as she leads and motivates teams every day. And, she says, the education she received at the Wisconsin School of Business has also been invaluable at every stage of her career. Presenting complex data in an engaging way—a regular requirement of many of her business classes—taught her to communicate concisely, think on her feet, and overcome her fear of addressing an audience. “Yes, it’s weird that I cheered before 80,000 people without getting nervous,” she laughs. “But speaking in public is scary for everyone at first.”

Having the opportunity to meet and network with the School’s broad range of board members, alumni and guest speakers at school events also taught Burnett how to connect with people on every level. “When I first opened my own business, I knew a lot about insurance, but because I was young, I had to overcome that credibility factor,” she says. “Because my student experience combined technical skills with a focus on communications and collaboration, I was able to overcome that obstacle.”

Since graduating, Burnett says she’s continued to benefit from the ongoing support and mentoring she’s received from the School and fellow alumni. Although her life now is busy with her young daughter, a new baby boy on the way and a demanding career, Burnett consciously and proudly chooses to stay involved with her alma mater as a member of the Wisconsin Business Alumni Board. She also sits on the board’s newly formed Women in Business Committee, which will accelerate efforts to bring together current female students, alumnae, and friends of alumni for panels, educational programming, and informal conversations about issues specifically impacting professional women. Burnett is excited to help launch the first two pilot events for this project this summer, both aimed at fostering relationships and resource sharing among alumnae based in Madison and Minneapolis.

Burnett says the project is particularly important to her because at key junctures in her own career, businesswomen she admires have given her tremendously helpful advice on entrepreneurship, troubleshooting and the satisfactions of stretching oneself—even when doing so seems risky. Just months after the birth of her first child, she saw an opportunity for a promotion. While friends and colleagues encouraged her to apply, Burnett recalls thinking: “‘Are you kidding me? I’m just getting back into work.’” But a female mentor at the company helped Burnett see the advantages of taking on more responsibility. That calmly inspiring encouragement made a world of difference, she says, and enabled her to see how it could all work out. “You can’t always see through something when you’re in the middle of it,” Burnett says. “Sometimes it could seem easier to give up, or not pursue new challenges. That’s why having relationships with mentors who can see your situation from the outside is so important.”

Having plenty of experience and perspective now herself, Burnett deeply enjoys mentoring others: “I try to be a sounding board or a connector. If I can tap into my network to introduce people and make connections that benefit their growth or career—I love that.” She says that it takes surprisingly little time to help someone else by igniting a big break at any point of a career. And it’s quite fulfilling. “It really is true that the more you give, the more you get. Giving activates your awareness of others, and that awareness itself feels really good.”

Increasingly aware of the ways she draws on the critical thinking skills and competencies she learned at the Wisconsin School of Business—including being able to collaborate, communicate and influence people—Burnett wishes she had gotten involved immediately after graduating. It only makes sense, she says, to start repaying the institution that shaped you profoundly as you soon as you can: “Giving even a small amount of time or money has a big impact.” Noting that public funding to universities has decreased and that the UW and the School of Business are not immune to this trend, she adds: “To protect the value of our superior education, we need the support of private donors to ensure that quality is not diminished. No dollar amount is too small. It all matters. When the School has a strong brand and high ranking, we all win from the value of that education. That’s why I continue to give.”

Kelley and her family ready to cheer the Badgers onto a Homecoming win in 2014.
(Photo courtesy of Kelley Burnett)