High Performance Culture

Lights Out Alice!

During my ritualistic wading through the internet scouring for content to "utilize my time", i came across this article that talks about the culture that a Formula Student team and community aims to build:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-drive-high-performance-culture-formula-student-michael-kogan

Excerpts:


Throughout my time participating in Formula Student, the world's largest university competition, I have learnt more than I could have ever imagined. It is a unique environment where a group of millennials are continuously motivated to devote up to 60 hours per week with no monetary rewards. Building purpose within a high performance culture is vital.
The competition itself prioritises reliability and methodical thinking, and with such a tight timeframe to design, build and test a racecar each year, strict project management is key. The teams that fail to perform consistently in this high pressure environment are those that chase “bursts” of innovation without thinking holistically. They are the ones that lose sight of the core priorities and biggest returns on investment.
Due to the rapid rate of individual turnover (as students have a very limited time at university) and the accelerated pace of learning expected, it is usually much quicker to observe the influence of culture change and process improvement. After interviews, surveys, discussions, and experience, I have structured the following framework that outlines the core components I have identified for a high performance culture in Formula Student (with the key drivers for each):

• Focus
• Data-driven decision making
• Continuous evaluation of priorities, goals and targets
• Clear and unified communication from the leadership team
• Accountability
• Clear performance expectations
• Recognition and reinforcement of exceptional performance
• Rapid and continuous correction of performance issues
• Psychological Safety
• Development of trust by ensuring everyone is made to feel important
• Continuous encouragement for constructive feedback
• Open and transparent dialogue across all levels of hierarchy
• Leaders are the most important contributors towards team culture; they are often the source of the beliefs and values within a team. Individuals in technical teams are often promoted into roles of leadership because of their performance in a particular skillset (such as structural design expertise), but this justification neglects their core purpose: to inspire others to bring forth the leaders within themselves. I have seen the impact of focus, accountability and psychological safety firsthand.
• Ultimately, a team’s purpose is not to create a particular culture, but to produce a particular output. Teams must first understand exactly what they want to achieve, and then nurture a culture that ensures the team is able to be effective in their core purpose.

The framework above was formed to guide leadership coaching and process development in my Formula Student team, Monash Motorsport. I hope this article has inspired you to create an environment where everyone can thrive, and operate at their full potential.


Lights Out Alice!