100% people, because people make processes

I was listening to the High-Performance Podcast with Team Principal & CEO of Mercedes-AMG F1, Toto Wolff.

I really enjoy this podcast as no matter the subject and whether it is of interest or not; Football, Rugby, Ballet, Business etc, there is always something that you can take away from the conversation and often, despite the career specialism and profession of the individual, the conversation is much more about the human qualities and elements than the discipline itself.

I wanted to talk about Toto's episode as there was a great deal of interest for myself in terms of leadership, authenticity and how to attract and nurture the best high-performance culture, whilst developing diversity.

Before Formula One, Toto was a successful investor in start-up and mid-sized businesses, he clearly values honesty and said of his early investments, they always wanted to tell them the ‘brutal truth’, as it makes no sense to mislead anybody. In terms of leadership, he said that he protects his people which he sees as his tribe and that they are on a joint mission and on a journey together and part of his role is to have broad shoulders and take some of the adversity thrown at the team and to not let anyone down.

When he was asked about the culture he wanted to build when he joined Mercedes, Toto talked to his first visit and sitting in reception where there was an old edition of the Daily Mail and a dried-up coffee cup, why did this matter? Toto went on to say that it shows an attitude, it shows an attention to detail, or lack of it and how important he feels this is. He said, ‘All of these soft factors that many will ignore, all of that is part of the values of a team’ and that ‘if everybody runs in the same direction and everyone acknowledges that attention to detail how important and powerful the culture becomes and that eventually the wheel is going to gain some momentum”

Loyalty, integrity, respect and purpose all featured as some of the highlights that were important to Toto and their team.

When asked the question ‘If you had to apportion how much of the success over the last seven years (back-to-back constructor and individual driver championships) has been down to people vs the process (in a highly technical sport), what would you describe that proportion to be’?

“100% people, because people make processes”.

Midway through the podcast Toto was asked “when you are recruiting somebody to join this culture that you are embedding, how do you recruit against these values?”

The response was that by working with his Chief People Officer Paul, they developed an eye and a skill where they were able to recognise that somebody with the best CV might not be the best fit for the organisation.

He went on to talk about the situation where previously the team only hired from the best universities and for people with specific degrees until Toto asked, ‘are we missing out on students that maybe didn’t have the possibility to study at these top universities but may very well have a passion for the sport and understand racing?’ and "what about somebody without an academic grade at all’? The response... It was impossible they said, and not only could they not consider them, but they probably wouldn’t even write them a response letter!' Toto goes on 'So you wouldn’t consider hiring that sort of person, that is interesting, as you would never have employed me’!

Diversity of thought is something Toto and the team have realised is critical for their high performance and they recognised that hiring the same types of people from the same backgrounds, who had the same degrees and most likely similar thinking was not the recipe for future success.

Despite his success and personal wealth (estimated $580m), Toto shared about being his authentic self, standing in the mirror at the end of every day and asking where he could have improved and how his wife Susie is pivotal to his success and keeping him grounded, not allowing him to become an 'asshole'.

A truly enjoyable listen, if you would like me to signpost you to the podcast do drop me a line and it would be great to hear from you about your thoughts.