Case Study - Mary Barra's Leadership and General Motors
True or False. GM was in a crisis when CEO Barra took over. Barra committed to making organizational change. She fired 15 people who were deeply involved with the original cause of the problem and attempted to institute culture change. Based on the five fundamental archetypes of leadership and this fact pattern, Barra would be a "father-judge."
False
The case portrays CEO Barra as a leader who is honest and committed to making organizational change. Based on this, she is someone who is admired and emulated by others. Which of the following distinctions between management and leadership are most on-point here?
Managers control; leaders inspire
True or False. Based on the interactional framework for analyzing leadership, CEO Barra has to understand the relationship between leaders, followers, and shareholders.
True
CEO Barra embraces feedback from others and is inclusive. This ensures her team isn't ______ and is prepared to object to decisions they are not comfortable with. This, in turn, makes sure they are ______ followers.
conformist; exemplary
In the case, CEO Barra is described as humble, collaborative, and inclusive. She prefers an environment in which employees feel safe to voice their opinions. As a result, co-workers and mentors have praised Barra's listening skills and her approachability. What type of learning does Barra portray?
double-loop
CEO Barra likes to have tension in a constructive way so decisions are evaluated from every angle. To this end, she prefers an environment in which employees feel safe to voice their opinions. This style most likely generates what type of followers?
exemplary
One of the most important factors that impedes the advancement of women, such as CEO Barra, into leadership roles is bias.
True
CEO Barra not only led others, but also demonstrated four key behaviors that her followers emulated: ownership, candidness, accountability, and improvement. These combined acts of leading and following portray the ______ approach to leadership.
-
One of the two behaviors CEO Barra exhibited while handling GM's crisis was honesty, which helped build trust with stakeholders. Which of O'Connell's webs of beliefs is most closely associated with this behavior?
-
The case mentions that CEO Barra is inclusive and consults with others, but is not afraid to make hard decisions, when necessary. If Barra was to blame those she consulted with for decisions that turned out wrong, but took credit for decisions that turned out right, she would be suffering from the ______.
self-serving bias
