Staying motivated in the midfield

In this article I will delve into how a Formula 1 team stays motivated while fighting in the middle of the pack. The opinions in this article are my own and do not represent my previous employer.

"The best of the rest", not exactly something you want to hear at the end of a tough season. You couldn't have put in anymore effort, yet your team has finished middle of the pack. How do management keep their staff motivated?

From my experience, teams up and down the grid have a bonus system based on the expectations for the championship. This approach of keeping staff motivated by offering the carrot instead of the stick for me is the more sensible approach. Simply changing the briefing from "everyone needs to work harder" to "this is not going to be an easy championship, we are not where this team is capable of being" is the way forward.

For leaders, it is extremely important to understand their staff and what motivates them. There are so many theoretic models covering this. The key point for leadership is communication! As long as staff are kept in the loop about expectations, the motivation will remain (or at least parity will remain), and they will build towards the leaderships goals no matter what the result of the championship. Rewards need to be varied over time to keep staff motivated also, whether it is raising the bar or increasing the bonus.

In F1 it is very rare for a team to suddenly jump the pack in the space of one season. leadership should have a general idea of where their team will finish.

So, how can a team fight with the best? At the core of it (in a very simplistic view), you need the best staff and a sizeable budget. There is much more to it when you get under the skin and into the detail. Something that isn't spoken about enough is the family atmosphere that is achieved at many teams. My team that I worked with were incredibly close and we socialised a huge amount outside of work. I strongly believe this is one of the key factors to the Mercedes aerodynamics department being the best in the sport for so long. We were all willing to go the extra mile for each other and push ourselves to the limit.

For some teams the aim of dominating a championship may never come to fruition, it is up to leaders of the team to manage these expectations. For example offering a bonus for finishing in the top 3 of the championship when it is obviously something out of reach, makes no sense. A lot of teams may opt for a bonus based on total team points scored, or final position in the championship (top 5 finish gets maximum bonus). It is not an enviable task for any leader to keep their team motivated, but it is possible if its done right.

I hope you enjoyed this article, any feedback will be appreciated!