Lessons from the track

The Monaco Grand Prix is considered to be one of the most prestigious events in the Formula One calendar and so is arguably one of the most important races to a Formula 1 racing driver.

The media coverage from last weekend’s Grand Prix described World Champion, Lewis Hamilton’s loss as “one of the most glaring errors in the history of Formula One”. So the question is, how do you move forward from such an event and limit damage to your team?

In my opinion, Lewis Hamilton has acted as the model team member in his media appearances by accepting joint responsibility alongside his team for the decision to pit stop, which ultimately resulted in him losing the race. Whilst Formula 1 racing is an individual sport every driver relies heavily upon the team behind them for success and I think we can take the following lessons from Hamilton’s response to the misguidance from his Mercedes team;

Take responsibility – People lose respect if you constantly blame others and by blaming others what you are also saying is “I wasn’t in control of the situation”.
Share credit – Whilst the above is true for accepting blame you should also credit those around you for the good work as it means they will respect and like you whilst wanting to continue working with you.
Be honest, but tactful – It may be clear who was ultimately responsible for a mistake, but you are looking to solve the problem without causing more.
Stay positive – To quote Lewis Hamilton: “It's not how you fall, it's how you get up!”
Everyone makes mistakes – No matter how bad the situation is at the time and as awful as it feels, you will recover and your team will move forward.

As in the case of Lewis Hamilton, if you handle a mistake in the right manner it can only impress those around you.

If working in a supportive and collaborative team environment is important to you then please contact one of our Talent Acquisition Team to discuss opportunitites within Morgan McKinley or contact Kirstine Forrester at kforrester@morganmckinley.com.au