Leadership Lessons from a Formula One Grand Prix Race

Singapore happened to host the very first Formula One Grand Prix evening race. Formula One, or F1, is the highest class of open wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. Hundreds of avid fans flocked to Singapore this past weekend to watch this sport live. Though I am not an avid F1 fan, I like sports car racing and anything that has something to do with cars. But we preferred watching it from the comforts of our own living room as the sound of the F1 cars from beside the tracks is totally deafening unless you brought some noise reduction/cancellation gadgets like ear plugs. While fans watch the fancy cars and enjoyed the rush of the race, I was watching how teams work together in the pits together with the drivers. There's a lot of leadership lessons you'll learn from such a popular sports event. Here are a few that I've noted.

1. FOCUS. If you want to achieve your goals, focus is the key. This was proven by F1 Singapore Grand Prix Champion Fernando Alonso from Team Renault. He has posted great results on the practice laps during the first night and was pretty sure he'll make it to the top. Unfortunately, his car suffered some serious mechanical problems during the qualifying rounds on the second night, causing him to start at the 15th position during the finals. Though disappointed by the results of the qualifying rounds, that did not deter him from focusing on what he really wanted - the championship title. That focus has given him the opprtunity to bounce back during the finals, making him the first F1 Night Race Champion.


2. TEAM-SPIRIT. While the drivers appear to be the very popular ones in this sport, every one plays a very important role - and in this sport, the term "very important" is an understatement. One mistake could cost not just the championship title but lives as well. Everyone in the team wants to be the champion - whether it's the driver or the constructor team categories. But doing it as an individual would cause really serious damage. This is what happened when Felipe Masa of the Ferarri Team. He took pole position during the qualifying rounds but one mistake during the finals caused him the title. As he sped away during a pit stop, some of the pit crew are knocked down after they failed to get fueling hose off the car. This could have caused some fuel ignition and possible fire as the fuel hose was leaking with fuel as it was being dragged by the car and that sparks were coming out of the car every now and then. The pit crew could have lost his life in the process. A Ferrari engineer was said to be at fault for Massa's double pit disaster. In organizations, teamwork is normally highlighted in high-profile activities but underestimated in others. Imagine how a team would perform if members, including the leader, would make everyone feel that their roles are very important in the success of the entire team as well as the organization. Most of the time, it's th star players, the managers and the bosses who are given that mindset but does not trickle down to the subordinates. A mistake made by a Ferrari engineer has caused them the championship


3. PRACTICE YOUR SUCCESS MOVES. An article in a local Singapore newspaper featured the McLaren-Mercedes Team practicing their pit stop maneuvers and tasks during the first few hours before the race. The team believed that what they do during their practice determines the outcome of the competition. Which is why even at the last minute, they still did those practice moves, earning them the constructor team championship in this race. This should be the same with organizations. We wanted our teams to win yet we do not practice those moves that will make us win. Take for instance a team of sales people who wanted to win that big account for the quarter. We assume that the sales people can do it without sending them for training or practicing those closing phrases. Or the IT team who is responsible for keeping the IT infrastructure up and running and making sure the most critical IT projects are successfully implemented. Managers assume that the IT guys are smart enough to pick it up on their own and not send them to training. If we really want to be successful as an individual or a team, make sure we practice those success moves and do them correctly and efficiently.

There are more leadership lessons learned on and off the F1 race track but these are the most visible ones. As managers and leaders, may we learn from the greatest sporting event on this planet to achieve that championship title we've always wanted. For pictures of the Singapore Grand Prix, check out the Boston Globe website or check the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix website. Enjoy the ride!

When Reducing Cost is More Than What It Is

I've been following the progress of Tim Sander's book "Saving The World At Work" and found a great perspective on cutting down on cost (didn't I say I'm a fan of Tim Sanders?) I'm really good at finding means to cut down on costs, coming from a third-world country where resources are scarce. In businesses where making profit is a top priority, the common message is to increase revenue or lower down costs to make sure profits go up. The ideal case would be to do both at the same time, hence, maximizing profits. Today, cutting down costs means more than that. It means saving the environment, as the book highlights. Whether you are turning off the lights when not in use or simply reducing the amount of paper used to print documents, it's a means to saving your environment. And this is one message you need to convey to customers, staff, partners and stakeholders. Not only do you get their support (who wouldn't want to save the environment with what is happening around us?) but also gives you a different perspective on increasing your profit margins.

Brag About Your Staff...and do it often

One thing managers are really good at is bragging about their accomplishments. There's nothing wrong with that so long as you do not take credit for what is not yours. But what they need to do more often is brag about their staff and make sure they do it real good. I had an opportunity to do just that last week where our project director asked me if I can deal with an immediate project. I know its not my field of expertise but I know somebody from my peers who's really good at it. I started talking to my director about the guy and made sure he gets to do the job. I acted as the coordinator/project manager for this until the issue has been resolved. I requested for a comprehensive report of what the guy did to fix the issue and formatted it very well to make sure my director would perceive of it as a highly critical project. After submitting the report, I made it a point that he gets compensated for what he did. To make the long story short, the guy got compensated for what he did because I pushed so hard for it. But my job didn't stop at the point where he got the payment. I've crafted a very nice email thanking the customer for their confidence in our team and that we under my director's leadership are committed to excellent customer service and are always ready to be of help. I asked the guy to send that email to the customer and copied our director. That guy became a somebody from a nobody in a span of a week and the management realized his value in the organization.

As managers, we get much of the limelight especially when our team did really good on a project or two. It wouldn't hurt if we let our staff take the spotlight once in a while and make sure they shine within the organization. They will feel good about themselves, about you as their manager and the organization for recognizing their potential. So, for the weeks to come, find something about your staff that you can brag about and make sure they feel it. They'll love you for doing it

The Power of a Smile

I was renewing my driver's license in Manila, Philippines two weeks ago and learned a very important lesson. The renewal process was quite efficient with all the information necessary to renew one's driver's license posted on billboards inside the office. The staff were very helpful and know exactly what they were doing. It took much longer than expected as there were a lot of people trying to renew at the same time but, overall, the process was very efficient, I should say. One of the staff approached me as I was waiting for the release of my ID card and asked me to fill up a survey form about their process with the usual questions on the form. I answered every question with something like "very good" or "very satisfied" until I came to the portion where you were given a chance to provide additional feedback. There's just one thing I noticed about their staff - they rarely smile. And that's exactly what I've written in the additional comments section. And that hit me hard. Efficiency doesn't matter when you're dealing with people. You may be very good at what you do, know exactly what needs to be done and how to do it but if you don't include the "people factor" with what you do - in this case, a simple SMILE - you'll still apear to be inefficient from other people's point of view. So here's a word of advice for subject matter experts (SMEs) out there or just about anybody: SMILE. Give a smile to just about anybody you see today. You'll never know if the person on the receiving end needs one badly or has the authority to give you your most awaited promotion or increase

I'm speaking at PASS - again

I was privileged enough to do another presentation for the PASS Community Summit this year in Seattle, WA. PASS stands for Professional Association for SQL Server. While this may be a technical conference, my session topic isn't. I will be speaking on Using Emotional Intelligence in Information Technology. My goal for presenting at PASS is to help people grow and develop their full potential, which has been my personal mission statement. Now since the attendees are all tech savvy, it would be best to complement it with self-help topics to make them a well-rounded IT professional.

So, if you're attending the PASS Community Summit this year, please drop by my session

Life's Lessons from Humpty Dumpty

You definitely know this if you were required to memorize nursery rhymes when you were a kid. Who would ever imagined a nugget of truth embedded behind those lines

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

A lot of people claim that they're on a slump, having a bad day, just fortunately unfortunate and everything else they can think of. They blame their misfortunes to life itself and expect the situation or somebody else to help them bounce back and pick them up. Sad to say, we are the only ones who can help us. And that's a fact. Not the king's horses nor his men.

And if I were to add a second part to this nursery rhyme, here's probably what I'll write

Had Humpty Dumpty realized the fact

That nobody else can help him get back

He'd probably think twice on sitting atop the wall

Or design a nice armor so he'll survive the fall

We all fall in a slump or a ditch every now and then. No one's exempted. But make sure you make that decision to bounce back in because no one else can help you do that but yourself