Mary Barra - Individual Leadership Presentation Ethical Decision Making - Nicholas King

Hello class, my name is Nicholas King and this is my individual leadership presentation focused on ethical decision making. Today I'll be talking about Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors. She's not only the first woman to lead a major global automaker, but she's a powerful example of an ethical decision maker. Mary Barra was appointed CEO of General Motors in December 2013 and officially began her duties as CEO on January 15, 2014. One month into her role as CEO, in February of 2014, General Motors faced a massive ignition switch event tied to over 100 deaths. Instead of covering it up, Mary Barra took full responsibility. She publicly apologized and met with the victim's family. She testified before Congress and launched an independent investigation. She also introduced reforms to prevent future failures. Mary Barra's leadership style is best described as transformational and value driven. She inspires employees to embrace change, particularly as GM transitions to all electric vehicles and a sustainable business She emphasizes collaboration and diversity, encouraging employees to voice concerns and share ideas. Instead of hiding from problems, she faces them directly, pushes for openness across the company. Her leadership is rooted in building trust, accountability, and long-term vision, not just chasing short-term profits. It's difficult to fit Mary's leadership style into just a single field. Mary aligns with much of house's contemporary path goal here, embodying several of the core leadership behaviors. Particularly as a participative leader, Barra uses collaborative efforts, holding town hall meetings, seeking diverse input from all employees. As a supportive leader, she embodies the people-centric approach, focus on her employees' well-being. She's also an achievement-oriented leader, setting a challenge for her company, General Motors, in her zero crash, zero emissions, zero congestion, committed GM to all electric future by 2035. Mary's leadership style contrasts Fiedler's contemporary theory, least preferred co-worker, also known as LPC. As she's shown that she can readily adapt to different situations, this changed the culture at GM when she joined to a people-focused collaborative environment. Barra's leadership empowers her employees to contribute, take ownership. She also launched a speak up for safety program, giving employees a safe way to report safety concerns. Mary Barra demonstrates that ethical leadership means taking responsibility, building culture of integrity, and making decisions for long-term social impact. Her example shows us that even in times of crisis, leaders can choose honesty, transparency, and responsibility. And that's why Mary Barra is widely recognized as an ethical decision-making leader. Thank you for your time.