It’s a race where a millisecond can change the result. It’s a race where the engineering is living on its edge. It’s a race in which excellence is not sought but required. And that starts from the entrance of the building and goes deep to the screws in the car. F1 is not only a race on the track but also a competition in construction, engineering, culture, and mentality. Winning a race is only the result of millions of dollars and countless hours of work in designing materials in millimeters of precision. Yet, building that precision doesn’t start in engineering. It starts with the tidiness of the reception desk, the cleanness of the toilets, and the outlook of every individual’s appearance. Mercedes, who dominated the formula year after year between 2014 and 2021, is where we see the excellence. When Wollf joined Mercedes, he saw the problems right in the reception. He saw the dirty toilets. Instead of avoiding them and focusing on the car, he showed how to clean toilets perfectly. He showed how to bring the best of everyone out, and he expected an organized and clean workplace. Because he knew only then people could focus on what really mattered. Wollf showed that leadership starts with the environment and taking action instead of blaming others. Toto Wollf created a blameless culture by defending everyone in the team who made mistakes but showed authority not to tolerate unwanted behavior. The inclusive environment, where he believed in the good in people and didn’t tolerate bad behavior, won the constructor’s championship for eight and the driver’s championship for seven consecutive years. That’s the leadership we should seek out. Start from the obvious problems, solve them, and go to the next. Create a culture where everyone does the same. Once we solve the simple problems, we can focus on the more complicated and complex ones. In this culture, keep all the people who try their best without blaming anyone for mistakes, and set your paths apart with people who don’t behave in the way that this culture needs.
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- Source: Number One in Formula One;
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