INNERGISE!

The Malaysian Grand Prix highlighted something we see in business all the time, and that is how to manage your top performers.

Sebastian Vettel is undoubtedly a great Formula 1 driver but on Sunday he ignored team instructions from his employer and overtook Mark Webber to secure the win. Interestingly we saw this same situation played out in the desired way with Lewis Hamilton in third ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg, who obeyed his order to stay behind Hamilton.

All great sportspeople have that drive and desire to win, it is what makes them top in their sport, but what made Vettel cross that line and how does Christian Horner, Team Principal at Red Bull, handle this?

The animosity between Webber and Vettel was clear to see in post race interviews, so Horner not only has to deal with Vettel’s actions but the fallout from his actions amongst the team, something that would test any great leader.

Vettel or any top performer who has gone against their employer’s instructions has to be disciplined in some way but gauging the level of disciplinary action is the tough part. How do we discipline without losing our top performer and keeping the rest of our team happy? In this case it is clear Red Bull won’t want to lose their top driver, so expulsion isn’t the answer. But standards have to be set, what would the actions be if your employee did this a second time? Is it clear that this is not acceptable and further punishment, such as removal from the business, would be on the cards if this behaviour was seen on other occasions? Make it very clear to the employee what actions would be taken if this behaviour was seen again, if you have then there can be no justifiable reasons by them for their future actions.

Now you have handled the actions of the employee how do you build up trust within the team, especially when one of your other employees may have been wronged by that employee? It is important that your employee feels that the actions have been punished to stop them occurring again. In this case will Webber feel comfortable going into the next race if all Vettel got was a stern telling off? Will we see Vettel being handed a race ban as punishment? Action like this would send out a clear message to Webber, the rest of the team, plus other drivers who may consider a move to Red Bull that unacceptable behaviour does not go unpunished, no matter who you may be and your role within the team.

Horner will still have to take the time to have that one to one discussion with Webber to clear the air and ensure that Webber feels comfortable with his role and the team. Explain to your employee why that specific punishment has been handed out and what measures have been put in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Your employee needs to understand this applies to all; the last thing you want is for them to retaliate in the same way.

Once the issue has been dealt with it is important to check in with those involved to see how they feel following the event, but also enforce that once the punishment and apologies have been issued, it has to be put to bed to allow the team to move on and achieve success.