Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes-AMG Petronas, a team widely regarded as one of the remarkable in the history of F1 racing, has steered his organization to unparalleled success. Mercedes clinched the Constructors' Championship, recognizing the best overall team performance, each year from 2014 to 2021, securing victory in almost 70% of the Grand Prix races it contested during that period.
To unravel the secrets behind this achievement, Anita Elberse from Harvard Business School immersed herself in the team's environment in 2021. Through interviews and observations before, during, and after races, she discovered that Wolff significantly shapes the culture at Mercedes. Elberse's key insight? The words and actions of a leader wield a surprisingly potent influence on the organization they lead.
In this article, drawing on her observations of Wolff’s management style and practices, Elberse presents six lessons that can help any leader cultivate a winning team:
1 - Set the highest standards for everyone
2 - Put people front and center
3 - Analyze mistakes continually—even when winning
4 - Foster an open, no-blame culture
5 - Trust superstars but maintain authority
6 - Relentlessly battle complacency
In this article, I analyse the first 3 prompts stated in the HBR article.
1. Setting the highest standard for everyone
"It’s the attitude. It all starts with an attention to detail."
Wolff is a self-admitted stickler for even the smallest details. He micromanaging, and he's been doing so even since he became the head of the Mercedes AMG-Petronas. And he is doing so with clear goals, by: setting the highest possible standards throughout the organization, sending a message that no job is too small for even the highest-ranking executive, and highlighting that every single team member plays a part in Mercedes’s performance.
Wolff's methodology has permeated every facet of the organization. In the interview for HBR, he told them “When I walked into the garage 10 years ago, it was messy,”. “Now we’re cleaning the floor every time the car has been in there. You’ll see no tire marks, no tool out of place. Everything is spotless and organized. I think that affects how we look after the cars too. We’re meticulous.”
This mindset of his has played a pivotal role in shaping an organization driven by a relentless pursuit of excellence—one that consistently strives to elevate its standards and establish itself as the benchmark in its sport.
2. Putting people front and center
"I don’t run racing cars.", Wolff often emphasizes. "I run people that run racing cars."
His focus is on cultivating an organization centered around people, demonstrating a genuine concern for the individuals he collaborates with, by recognizing that each person within the organization harbors hopes, dreams, fears, and anxieties.
Taking a sincere interest in others is a vital quality, especially for an F1 team principal tasked with navigating a diverse array of stakeholders, ranging from drivers, engineers, and staff members to Mercedes board members, sponsors, the media, and regulatory officials.
When Toto first came to work for Mercedes, he understood that transforming the culture of an organization is a gradual undertaking demanding sustained and unwavering effort over the years. So, during Mercedes's yearly employee assessments, the leadership team encourages individuals to self-evaluate their adherence to the team's fundamental values.
Each year, team leaders dedicate a whole day to articulating their objectives for the upcoming season, encapsulating their intentions, and succinctly outlining the team's goals in a written document. This serves as a guiding reference for their endeavors throughout the entire year.
3. Analyzing mistakes even when winning
Having an excellent race performance does not mean that mistakes were never made. When something fails, Wolff “tells you the truth even if it might not be what you want to hear,” as one team engineer said. “He’ll just say, ‘This is where we are, this is where we need to get to, and this is how we are going to figure this out,’ in the spirit of ‘You’re not an idiot, but this is why it was an idiotic decision.’”
Wolff's straightforward approach has fostered an organizational culture that highly prioritizes a comprehensive analysis of its race-weekend performances. Whether in victory or defeat, the team consistently holds debrief meetings conducted in a uniform manner, emphasizing areas for improvement in the upcoming challenges.
THESE some of the qualities that made Toto Wolff a billionare, a great leader, team principal and person, and I believe that we all have something to learn from him. Even if it's about moral grounds or working advice, Toto has it all.
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Very well writen!
Amazing !!! Loved it 😘