At the end of 2013, Mary Barra became CEO of the largest US car maker General Motors (GM). She has been working for the company since 1980 holding a number of managerial positions, including vice president of global product development and vice president for global human resources. Despite great difficulties last year, when it was necessary to withdraw about 30 million vehicles with defective brakes and defects in other car parts worldwide, she led GM to a record growth in sales and number of vehicles sold.
Mary Barra's management style is characterized by the utmost effort towards lean management and increasing the powers of managers. At a recent 2015 Catalyst Awards conference, mentioned on businessinsider.com, she explained that she follows the path of "little big changes" in the sense of strengthening the responsibilities of managers. One of the biggest little changes she has brought about in the company involved, for example, the corporate dress code.
Two words
When she was appointed the HR Director in 2009, Mary Barra felt that the company adhered to excessive bureaucracy and the dress code was a typical example. Over the years, the HR department had developed a ten-page document describing the rules of dress for employees at all levels and positions. The rules included provisions such as: "You can't wear T-shirts that have words on them that could be misinterpreted," businessinsider.com reported. Barra replaced this dress code with her own, in two words: "Dress appropriately."
Subsequently, managers started complaining that their teams were attending important meetings in jeans or female colleagues were wearing dresses that were too tight. Barra recommended that managers get together their teams to discuss what was appropriate and what was not. It is the managers' responsibility to communicate with their people and determine the rules of the game.
Mary Barra is convinced a corporate culture built on rigid rules that must be constantly re-explained does not solve anything. Rules should be set by managers who are responsible for managing their teams. Using similar steps, she significantly reduced the burden on her HR team. Then she continued in the same way as the vice president of product development when she focused on the simplification of manufacturing processes.
How many pages does your corporate dress code have? Do you think your HR department is doing the managers' work for them too often?
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