There are only two outcomes in sports:
1. Winning
2. Losing
I tuned into Netflix new series focusing on Formula One teams. I skipped the first Series and we to watch the second series episode on Lewis Hamilton’s team Mercedes. I must admit I only knew of Lewis Hamilton from social media celebrity, a winner and the darling of motorsports especially the Formula One Championship Teams. As a five times world champion I was intrigued to learn more from watching 30 minutes of Netflix which is of course only a fraction of someone's life.
We love to watch winners and observe their habits and performances do you agree?
The lessons they learnt and how that could be applied into our own leadership and high performance teams.
Losing and winning are simply how a team is able to function on the day. From the engineers, to the mechanics, changing of the wheels to the investors and owners. Lewis Hamilton performance in this episode was lets say sub par. He went into the race with like flu symptoms which not surprisingly affected his performance.
In Rugby teams you only focus on your own mental and physical preparation. Implementing the process of your role is important for the flow and systemised habit’s leads to consistent high performance.
Formula one is measured by hundredths of a second. Any team member that stalls or loses focus will cost the team. It is the responsibility of each individual to be prepared to perform in be in the zone when the time comes.
So what did I learn watching Lewis Hamilton‘s team?
There are a few takeaways here which relate to teams. The lessons here
1. Firstly the Team is first.
2. Second there is no blame culture. We look into the problem not the person.
3. Thirdly taking ownership of performance and allow feedback in setbacks or wins to adjust and learn fast to improve and grow before the next race.
The lessons here are similar in most teams, however the difference is the culture and organisational systems which are embedded into each minute, hour, day, week and month. The little things add up and performance and leadership is only as good as the system and culture.
