- The organization should create a climate where people feel comfortable speaking up without fear.
- The organization should avoid hierarchy and encourage diverse perspectives in meetings.
- Building a diverse team with different backgrounds and experiences is important.
- In decision-making, everyone should be given a chance to be heard.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra spoke at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in November 2018. She chatted with Dean Bill Boulding about leadership as part of the school’s Distinguished Speaker Series.
More here - https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/dss

I think you've got to create the climate where people feel that they can speak up, that there's not fear in the organization.

And so we work really hard to not be hierarchical.

And we truly want people to speak up in a respectful way at an appropriate time, but to really be in meetings and have different points of view and debate those.

Because if we all just come into the room and we all think the same and immediately come to the same answer, we haven't really circled the issue well enough, I think, to really debate what's the right next step.

And 1 of the ways you can also do it is by building a diverse team.

And so, the leadership team at General Motors, about 50% of them have not been lifers at the company like me, coming from different industries, coming from different countries.

We also have gender diversity and have many different backgrounds represented.

And those different experiences, different cultures, that too, we encourage it at the table when we're making big decisions.

There's often a time where I'll go person by person to make sure everyone's heard.


Speaker 0: I think you've got to create the climate where people feel that they can speak up, that there's not fear in the organization. And so we work really hard to not be hierarchical. Good ideas can come from anywhere. And we truly want people to speak up in a respectful way at an appropriate time, but to really be in meetings and have different points of view and debate those. Because if we all just come into the room and we all think the same and immediately come to the same answer, we haven't really circled the issue well enough, I think, to really debate what's the right next step.

And 1 of the ways you can also do it is by building a diverse team. And so, the leadership team at General Motors, about 50% of them have not been lifers at the company like me, coming from different industries, coming from different countries. We also have gender diversity and have many different backgrounds represented. And those different experiences, different cultures, that too, we encourage it at the table when we're making big decisions. There's often a time where I'll go person by person to make sure everyone's heard.

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GM CEO Mary Barra on creating a collaborative culture