Executive Coaching in Detroit

The shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles is the most significant transformation in automotive history. Leaders must manage dual business models (profitable ICE operations and capital-intensive EV investments), integrate software and manufacturing cultures, navigate labor transitions, and maintain investor confidence through a multi-year transformation. Coaching develops the strategic clarity, stakeholder communication, and emotional resilience these leaders need to make decisive moves while managing enormous organizational complexity.

Detroit companies are evolving from hardware manufacturers to technology companies. This demands leaders who can manage software development teams, understand AI and data science, build agile product development processes, and attract talent from outside the traditional automotive industry. Coaching helps established Detroit executives develop these capabilities while leveraging their deep operational expertise. The goal is integration, not replacement, of manufacturing leadership strengths.

The 2023 UAW strikes underscored the importance of effective labor leadership in Detroit. As EV manufacturing requires fewer assembly workers but more technicians and engineers, executives must communicate honestly about workforce impacts, negotiate fair transitions, and build trust with union leadership during a period of structural change. Coaching develops the transparency, empathy, and negotiation skills needed to maintain productive labor relationships while driving necessary transformation.

Detroit’s mobility-tech transformation requires talent that has historically preferred coastal markets. Coaching helps leaders build compelling employer brands, create workplace cultures that appeal to software and AI professionals, and develop leadership styles that resonate with tech talent expectations around autonomy, innovation speed, and career growth. JMG’s experience coaching across both manufacturing and technology sectors bridges exactly this gap.

Detroit is unique because its dominant industry is undergoing a fundamental technology shift rather than gradual evolution. The Big Three are among the largest companies in the world, making the scale of change extraordinary. The strong labor union presence adds complexity that cities like Austin or San Francisco do not face. And Detroit’s history, both its industrial peak and its bankruptcy, creates a leadership culture that combines resilience with urgency. Coaching must address all of these factors simultaneously.