Leadership lessons from Formula 1 and Olympic sailing

“Today’s theme reflects the values and aspirations of Cambridge Judge Business School,” said Professor Gishan Dissanaike, Dean of Cambridge Judge, in introductory remarks to the 12 November event. “It is fitting that in the 35th anniversary of our school, we have appointed James Vowles as an Honorary Ambassador.”

James’s leadership in Formula 1 is a masterclass in building high-performance teams. It mirrors many of the topics we explore in our teaching and research: high performance, innovation, resilience, teamwork and strategic thinking under pressure.

Professor Gishan Dissanaike, Dean of Cambridge Judge Business School

The invitation-only event included discussion of such issues as setting goals, fixing a culture for effective collaboration and learning from failure, providing participants and speakers with insight into some of the issues shared by businesses large and small, glamorous and less high profile. Other topics discussed at plenary and breakout sessions included establishing trust throughout an organisation, setting truly challenging yet realistic targets, and how organisations can apply the high-performing intensity of crisis situations to everyday work.

The event, which was attended by participants from fields including law, banking, healthcare and sport, was organised by Kishore Sengupta, Professor of Operations Management at Cambridge Judge, who moderated several sessions. Peter Williamson, Honorary Professor of International Management at Cambridge Judge, also helped direct the discussion.

James Vowles shares Formula 1 insights on leadership and pressure

“This event has shown that our business is not so different from the other businesses represented here today,” James Vowles said in a discussion outside the formal meeting.

“The exposure given to our business is of course very high, and I have to answer each week about our highly publicised results while others may not, but the issues we face are the same as the issues faced by others here today.”

James said the brainstorming event at Cambridge Judge was a “fantastic opportunity to meet a diverse group of individuals and, with just a few words, provoke ideas that may lead to transformative actions.

“I’m very grateful to Cambridge Judge Business School and Cambridge University for inviting me here today.”

Sir Ben Ainslie discusses trust, failure and resilience in high-performance teams

In a separate conversation during a break in the formal event, Sir Ben discussed one theme of the day: how organisations need to acknowledge and praise success but also frankly face up to failures and setbacks.

“Any organisation faces a challenge when things don’t go well, so you need a culture where people can be honest and learn from any mistakes made,” said Sir Ben, founder and CEO of the Athena Sports Group, a high-performance sports business that includes the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team and the British America’s Cup Team, Athena Racing. “The bigger the organisation the harder this can be, so it’s vital that there be trust and communication within organisations.”

While the invited guests listened intently to what James, Sir Ben and other speakers had to say, Sir Ben said he was listening just as hard. “This has been a great opportunity and hugely beneficial for me to take the learnings from today back to my organisation as we regroup and go again.”