Operating Model Lessons from the Fast Paced World of F1 – The People Factor

Part 2: The people factor

Common Goal: Truth 1 – Ulterior motive 0

Keeping generational traits in check.

Whether you’ve been an avid fan of Formula 1 racing for years, or it just sits on the periphery of your sporting awareness, you’ll know that it’s a sport where the whole team, not just the drivers, are in high focus from the media.

In the pre-season (and in the racing period) the design and engineering teams are centre stage, with questions and rumours about how they’re going to tackle the latest rules laid down on what they can and can’t do to their cars to get the fastest times over the duration of a race.

And then it’s out onto the track for the racing season, when the pit crew and management teams watched by millions of fans worldwide. Pit times are discussed, race strategies and tyre choices are scrutinised and the faces of anxious teams are zoomed in on as they sit in their garages watching their drivers striving to get that bit more out of the cars out on the track.

The team’s success on the track is so highly influenced by how well the members of the team have worked together pre-season and then how they react during and after each race, drawing on each other’s strengths to make the fine adjustments to be ready and better for the next starting grid.

Now refocusing thoughts on your own organisation, teams and people, if you’re still trying to plan how to get back on track and back to performing, what can be done…and what do you need to be aware of in terms of team dynamics?

We developed the CV-19 Recovery Strategy Grid so it can be used across all areas of your business at any level, to bring clarity on what needs to be done to survive and grow, from which point you can build your action plan to succeed.

Although we’re a technology operating model specialist, we recognise that you need to first apply the model to your overall organisation, because this will provide you with the basis for an adapted or new top-level strategy.

From the point you have a renewed top-level strategy, each of your departments and divisions need to undertake the same process. Do they need to reimagine, replan or restructure…or will they be able to deliver their part of the new strategy by just continuing to reassure?

This may well be a big step change for some of your team, and although the current situation has generated much more of an attitude of common goal and collective effort from what might, in the future, be called the Covid-19 Generation, people will still be highly sensitive to their personal situation and the pressing urgency to get a solution in place to benefit themselves and their family first…and then the wider community.

Alongside this, there needs to be consideration of the typical leadership team make up; Generation X and Generation Y (millennials), and their generational traits. A number of studies have shown that when it comes to making decisions, there could well be some ulterior motives under the surface that could get in the way of defining the true, best way forward at the pace you need it to be done.

Dialogue: Trust in responsibilities.

The basis for moving forward at pace.

Just to recap:

• The depth of financial impact and expected time to recover from Covid-19 will define if your organisation needs to re-imagine, re-plan, re-structure or reassure.
• This approach should then be applied to all areas of the company to understand what actions need to be taken.
• During the process it’s essential that individual egos and ulterior motives are pushed aside and the common goal and collective effort ethos of Gen-Covid is harnessed.
• Technology will be key to successfully delivering whatever renewed strategy and approach you identify.

But whichever route your organisation needs to plot, change co-operation is essential.

Individuals and teams must be ready to work together effectively to avoid delays and poor or biased decisions.

The best way to achieve this is to ensure there is clarity around roles and responsibilities and for this to be supported by trust in the capability of all to deliver on their individual areas of ownership.

When you have widespread trust in each other’s capabilities, conversations that drive this essential revitalisation process are far quicker, deliver far more effective results and very often deliver far higher lifetime value of for any investments.

But its not only trust in each others capabilities, its trust in your technology – and that comes down to the best technology that you can afford, the main topic of the third and final part of this F1 inspired mini-series.