2025 did not break the automotive industry.
It exposed it.
Tariffs that shifted overnight. Another chip crisis. A partial reversal of the EV strategy. Nearly $19.5 billion in charges tied to Ford’s shift away from EV investments, widely reported by Reuters author Nora Eckert, with ripple effects across the supply chain. Furthermore, artificial intelligence is accelerating faster than legacy leadership models can keep pace.
In this solo episode, Jan Griffiths reflects on what 2025 revealed and why 2026 demands a fundamentally different approach to leadership.
This episode is not about AI tools.
It is about speed, decision-making, culture, and leadership behavior.
Jan explains why command and control no longer works in a world where AI ignores rigid org charts and slows down under layers of approval. She breaks down the leadership traits required to compete now, including learning out loud, intellectual humility, systems thinking, bias awareness, trust, empowerment, and humanity.
Leaders are worried about AI.
They are unsure how to use it.
They are struggling with how to lead when control slows everything down.
Jan challenges leaders to stop waiting for certainty, stop hiding behind process, and start removing the friction that blocks momentum. Speed is no longer optional. It is an advantage.
If 2025 showed us what breaks under pressure, 2026 will reveal who has learned, who has adapted, and who is ready to lead forward.
Episode Highlights
[01:26] Why 2025 was not chaos but feedback
[04:45] Learning out loud instead of waiting for perfect answers
[06:03] Systems thinking and why AI ignores org charts
[08:27] Why compliance and control no longer work
[09:47] Decision velocity and removing approval layers
[11:26] Trust, empowerment, and psychological safety
[14:51] Humanity, empathy, and courage in leadership
👉 Subscribe to the channel for real conversations about leadership, culture, AI, and decision speed in an industry under pressure.
