Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has revealed his distaste towards being regarded as a “leader” as he believes he is not the sole individual who warrants that tag.
Wolff has been the dominant figure at Mercedes since taking over as Team Principal in 2013, in a deal which also saw him inherit the positions of CEO and Co-Owner.
The Austrian was a constant presence at the helm as Mercedes recorded an unprecedented eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and 2021.
But while he has come to be recognised as the German marque’s long-serving leader, Wolff has admitted the term is one he hasn’t got on board with during his tenure.
Explaining his stance, Wolff argued that the meaning of the word doesn’t subscribe to his mindset that Mercedes is a collective organisation that prioritises the group.
Instead, Wolff has stressed that Mercedes employs multiple people who are leaders, including talismanic driver Lewis Hamilton and Technical Director James Allison.
“I really struggle with the word ‘leader’ because a leader for me is that you stand above your people, not with them,” Wolff said on the High Performance podcast.
“There’s so many leaders in this organisation, and everybody tries to be the best team or yourself in the role.
“I’m trying to contribute best as a team principal; Lewis is a leader as a driver; James Allison is a leader with his engineers. So many other people are leaders in the organisation.
“Only if we do good in our position, and we share those objectives, are we going to be successful.
“There’s this metaphor that we have – we are not like a bunch of five-year-olds playing football, all running behind the ball, but we let the ball run.
“We stay where we are, in our centre of competence.”
Wolff documents his self-doubt
Wolff also detailed how the constant fight with self-doubt in his role has now even extended to ensuring he maximises his time when reading the morning newspaper.
“Every day there’s a moment where I’m thinking, ‘Am I really performing to my own expectations here?'” he added.
“It starts from the morning, have I used the morning positively? I’m reading the news in the morning for a long time.
“Did I read the right thing to put me in a good state of mind to perform in the morning, or did I read some trash?
“Literally, again, dissecting everything I do. Is it the right thing that I’m doing?”
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