#234: Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors – Seek the truth

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ever made a decision based on limited info, internal spin, or wishful thinking? You’re not alone—but there’s a better way. In this episode, David sits down with General Motors Chair and CEO, Mary Barra. She shares how a relentless commitment to the truth leads to better decisions, stronger teams, and a culture built on trust. If you want to lead with more clarity and less guesswork, don’t miss this conversation. You’ll also learn: How a crisis shapes your culture The #1 thing you need to do to make sure your people feel valued A strategy to make big problems way more manageable What “ambidextrous leadership” is – and why it’s crucial to your success Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business. Connect with David: Keep Up with David on LinkedIn Follow David on Twitter The How Leaders Lead Instagram View insightful clips on TikTok Watch full interviews on YouTube Get the USA Today Bestselling Book "How Leaders Learn"

Transcript

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0:00.0	Seek truth was really our message to the entire company.
0:04.0	Don't just give us something that optimizes your area.
0:06.5	But it was that frustration of decisions coming to us that weren't the whole truth
0:11.5	because they didn't look at it from an enterprise perspective.
0:14.1	Let's get to the truth.
0:15.1	Not what someone wants it to be.
0:17.0	What is it?
0:17.7	How can you demonstrate it with information, data and information,
0:22.1	so we can make the very best decision quickly?
0:31.6	Hey, when you're leading at the highest level, there's one thing you can't afford to lose sight of.
0:37.1	Welcome to How Leaders Lead. I'm
0:38.8	David Novak and every week I have conversations with the very best leaders in the world to help you
0:44.2	become the best leader that you can be. My guest today is Mary Barra, the chair and CEO of General
0:49.8	Motors. She started working at GM when she was just 18 years old, inspecting fenders and bumpers, no less.
0:57.8	And today, she's leading the company through one of the biggest transformations in automotive history.
1:04.4	And you know what really impresses me about Mary?
1:07.8	It's her relentless commitment to seek the truth, to push for clarity and
1:12.3	intellectual honesty as she and her team make decisions. Unfortunately, a lot of leaders
1:17.9	end up making decisions based on assumptions or wishful thinking or just the spin of internal
1:23.7	politics. But as you'll learn today, the best decisions and the strongest teams
1:29.1	are built when everyone aligns around what's real, not what's convenient. So here's my
1:35.3	conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours, Mary Bear.
	...

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