Anita Elberse

<article-ideainbrief class="article-ideainbrief">
 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">Idea in Brief</h4>
 <div class="ideainbrief-contents">
  <h5>The Question</h5>
  <p>No team in recent Formula One racing history has had as much success as Mercedes-AMG Petronas. What lessons can organizations learn from the practices of its leader, Toto Wolff?</p>
  <h5>The Background</h5>
  <p>Mercedes and Wolff granted Anita Elberse, of Harvard Business School, special behind-the-scenes access, allowing her to observe them up close as they prepared for, competed in, and analyzed their performance in races.</p>
  <h5>The Takeaway</h5>
  <p>Using what she learned about Wolff’s management style, Elberse presents six leadership lessons that can help companies of all sorts develop a winning culture.</p>
 </div>
</article-ideainbrief><p class="mag-icon-leadership-w30">Formula One (F1) is the most prestigious motor-racing competition on the planet. Every season, from March to December, 10 F1 teams participate in races across the world. The 2022 season features 22 “Grand Prix” weekends on five continents. Each involves three days of events: practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, qualifying sessions or short-sprint qualifying races to determine starting positions later on Saturday, and the actual race on Sunday. Close to half a billion unique viewers tune in to F1’s television coverage throughout the season, and the action on the ground can attract as many as 400,000 live spectators.</p>

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<p>Toto Wolff, the team principal for Mercedes-AMG Petronas&#8212;arguably the most impressive team in F1 racing history&#8212;has led his organization to unparalleled success. Mercedes earned the Constructors&#8217; Championship (for best overall team performance) every year from 2014 through 2021, and over that time frame it won nearly 70% of the Grand Prix races it competed in.</p>
<p>To understand what made that possible, Harvard Business School&#8217;s Anita Elberse spent time with the team in 2021, conducting interviews and watching what went on behind the scenes before, during, and after races. She found that Wolff shapes the culture at Mercedes to a remarkable degree. Elberse&#8217;s takeaway? What you say and do as a leader has a surprisingly powerful effect on the organization you run.</p>
<p>In this article, drawing on her observations of Wolff&#8217;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&#8212;even when winning; (4) foster an open, no-blame culture; (5) trust superstars but maintain authority; and (6) relentlessly battle complacency.</p>

Number One in Formula One

Toto Wolff, the team principal for Mercedes-AMG Petronas—arguably the most impressive team in F1 racing history—has led his organization to unparalleled success. Mercedes earned the Constructors’ Championship (for best overall team performance) every year from 2014 through 2021, and over that time frame it won nearly 70% of the Grand Prix races it competed in. To understand what made that possible, Harvard Business School’s Anita Elberse spent time with the team in 2021, conducting interviews and watching what went on behind the scenes before, during, and after races. She found that Wolff shapes the culture at Mercedes to a remarkable degree. Elberse’s takeaway? What you say and do as a leader has a surprisingly powerful effect on the organization you run. 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; and (6) relentlessly battle complacency.

Number One in Formula One

Summary.

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