4 Essentials of Leadership from Observing Racing Teams

My work requires me to attend races. In particular, I am connected with Arena Racing USA Hampton Roads. As I observe the races, I see some consistently good leadership and some consistently bad leadership. The difference is success and failure. When a race driver crosses the finish line in first place over and over, there have been essential ingredients that made it happen. These essentials transfer to all areas of leadership and life.

Anyone who wants to succeed must employ these essentials of leadership. Whether a person is leading a team of employees, or coaching a baseball team, or racing a car, or leading the family to successful lifestyles, the essentials are needed.

Teamwork

There is only one driver in these half-scale cars. The cars have identical 22 horsepower sealed engines that propel them at speeds exceeding 55 mph on the straight stretches of the 1/10 mile track situated indoors in an arena (thus the name). If they were taken outdoors and run on asphalt tracks, they would exceed 100 mph speeds.

There are only a few adjustments that can be made on the cars. The bodies are all the same -- looking like a NASCAR automobile that was left in the dryer too long and shrunk.

The adjustments center on alignments, brakes, tire pressures, and clutches.

The points leader at the end of the year earns $10,000 of the $35 ,000 prize money. So, the driver needs people working with him that can make the right adjustments and give him the best chance of consistently winning. He needs a team of workers that produce a car that will take bumps and hits from other cars jockeying for position on a track that will only race 2 wide with high banking.

The first challenge I see from the team is people who will consistently show up and contribute. One team has two cars and two drivers. They are in the thick of the race every week. Young men (Florian and Prillaman) drive the cars, but each of them has a "pit crew" that is fully committed to being at the track and making sure the cars are ready to run at full potential. Their sponsors are the Army and the Navy. If those guys run equipment like these teams run their pit, we have a strong probability of success in the war zones. Another driver never knows whether he will have help to work on the car with him, leaving him to do most of the work. He has not won a race this year and even has several DNF's.

They work together. There's no big me, little you. There's no big shot on either team. They work together and cooperate.

Anyone wishing to succeed in life needs a team of players around them that will bond with the others. Someone has to lead, but everyone gets the credit.

Commitment

Just as the above mentioned teams show up and do their jobs, all teams and individuals need to have a commitment to winning and being successful.

Whether it's a sports team or a manufacturing plant, the organization will need commitment. At the core of winning is being "sold out" to the cause. I managed a department for a new Montgomery Ward store in Lynchburg, VA many years ago. We had a super team of employees who took seriously the new management's mantra of "Customer First."

The first year, our store won the national award for the highest customer service scores given on mystery shopper phone calls, visits, and cards from actual customers giving comments about the job we did as a staff. The flag was raised by the Store Manager, who passed the vision down to the management staff, who motivated the full-time and part-time staff to truly put the customers first. Several of us received letters of recognition and had our stories published in the national magazine for excellent service.

When the President of the company visited our store, we were told that such an accomplishment was very unique and had never been done by a first-year store since the founding of the company in 1887.

We were committed.

Taking Risk

Winning individuals and winning teams are willing to "stick out their neck" to advance the cause.

Race car drivers have to pass when it's dangerous or when they could spin out. Sometimes, they fail to make it and spin out or do a barrel roll into the wall. But the winners are those who take calculated risks to get ahead.

Anyone can work in a safe environment and even make a decent living without taking risks. But the adventuresome employee, manager, or sales person will consider the consequences and count the cost and decide when the victory is worth the risk.

Robert Frost suggested we should "take the road less traveled." Go where others have not ventured. It will often bring more than desirable results.

Patience

One of the unique things about Arena Racing USA is the fact that many of the drivers are teenagers -- some as young as 14 or 15 years old. Some of them are actually too young to take a car or truck on the highway or street. One of the challenges with that plan is seeing rookie drivers trying to move from the back of the pack to the front during the opening 5-10 laps of a 50 lap race. Their young minds and spirits think that since their car is fast enough and their skills good enough, they should lead every lap.

That just isn't possible, nor feasible. The young drivers learn patience, the hard way -- by going through tribulation. They quickly make enemies and dent their cars. As Chaplain, I try to instill in them to "...run with patience the race set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1-2) so that we can obtain the prize.

Any endeavor is brightened by the individuals on the team who have enough experience and maturity to say, "Be patient." It is probable that any project you work on is more of a marathon than a sprint. Sometimes it takes several races, maybe several seasons before a driver can become a consistent winner. Sometimes a business has to make a small profit until suddently it develops a loyal following of customers or clients.

I once helped a small school start a basketball program. We played anyone we could get as opponents...JV, varsity, Jr Hi...anyone. We learned to play hard and not quit. We ended the season with only 3 wins and about 15 losses. We almost beat an undefeated Jr Hi team who had won the city championship for several years. The fact is when we were 20-30 points behind and seconds on the clock, our guys were diving for the ball, intercepting passes and doing fast breaks like the game could be won with a last-second play. We learned to persevere and not quit. We became known as the crazy guys who never quit.

Run the race with patience.