And for workers, customers, or even complete strangers, that openness can make the corner office feel more reachable than it seems.
Carolyn Rodz, founder of a virtual startup accelerator for women, once wrote to Barra as a complete stranger. What she received in return surprised her.
Rodz added that the note did more than close a loop—it built loyalty and lasting respect.
“She validated my vision and affirmed my commitment,” Rodz said. “Truth be told, she built such loyalty in just a couple of paragraphs that I’m considering buying a GM car next time I’m in the market.”
In an era when executives can seem buffered by layers of corporate hierarchy and public relations teams, Barra’s practice stands out. It’s a small gesture with an outsize message: In a business world racing toward automation, the human touch still carries weight.
“It’s people like Mary Barra, however, who remind me that our words have significant value and an opportunity to impact others in ways we may never know,” Rodz said.
The head of the $1-billion-a year-in-revenue breakfast and lunch chain sets aside time each month to handwrite congratulatory notes to cooks and dishwashers celebrating major milestones—10, 20, even 30 years with the company. At a business with more than 15,000 employees, Tomasso has penned more than 500 notes and believes the small gesture can have a dramatic impact: acknowledging to workers’ that loyalty isn’t taken for granted.
Many leaders aren’t just writing handwritten notes, they read them, too—and it could even be the key to a job offer.
“If you’re going to cold email someone, and you can’t be passionate about the service or the product or whatever it might be, it’s not going to be a compelling email,” Gonzalez said.
“But if you send someone an email that’s like, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know I’ve been doing Barry’s for a year, and it’s changed my life. This is my résumé, and maybe one day you’ll have something for me’—it just goes a long way.”
