{"id":33713,"date":"2026-02-20T10:13:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=33713"},"modified":"2026-02-22T11:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T11:00:48","slug":"too-often-the-person-is-a-sticking-plaster-for-a-lack-of-robust-systems-and-processes","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/too-often-the-person-is-a-sticking-plaster-for-a-lack-of-robust-systems-and-processes\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Often, the Person Is a Sticking Plaster for a Lack of Robust Systems and Processes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 20 Feb 2026 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Too Often, the Person Is a Sticking Plaster for a Lack of Robust Systems and Processes<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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During his time with the INEOS Britannia sailing team, Peter Hodgkinson built an environment that enabled his young staffers to learn and thrive under pressure. As he explains in this exclusive column, intent-based leadership and psychological safety were at the heart of his approach.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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Main Image: Getty Images\/Fiona Goodall<\/p>\n

By Peter Hodgkinson<\/h6>\n
I had the opportunity and privilege to be a part of the British challenge for the 37th<\/sup> America\u2019s Cup in 2024.<\/h6>\n

We achieved a number of national firsts: the first British team to win the Challenger Series, fending off some tough opponents; the first British team to contest the Match itself in 60 years; and the first British team to score points in the Match for 90 years.<\/p>\n

There was no shame in eventually losing 7-2 to Team New Zealand, who claimed their third consecutive victory. We gave it a good go against the team our helmsman, Sir Ben Ainslie, described as \u201cthe best team ever\u201d.<\/p>\n

This is the story of how we put ourselves in contention.<\/p>\n

Assembling a functioning team: the hard part<\/strong><\/p>\n

The INEOS Britannia Team was made up of two organisations: Athena Racing and Mercedes GP. It wasn\u2019t always easy \u2013 it was a collision of two different workplace cultures \u2013 but the common goal bonded the two companies together and we got on with the job.<\/p>\n

I learnt a lot about sailing and the maritime industry and while there are similarities to motorsport, where I have made a career for four decades, there are a number of big differences (that\u2019s a topic best saved for another day).<\/p>\n

One of the things I really enjoyed about working on the Cup was that we got to recruit a new Build Logistics Team. Basically the Build Logistics Team are parts chasers; in the Cup they looked after \u2018goods in\u2019, \u2018stores\u2019, stock checks, parts picking, moving parts through inspection, NDT (non-destructive testing), X ray etc. so it is a fluid and dynamic role with lots of pressure.<\/p>\n

The team we recruited had very little or no experience in this type of role but we believed it was more important to have the right mindset, practical intelligence and energy than experience. In the Cup, we didn\u2019t have all the structures, systems and processes in place that you have in an F1 team but we had enough to do the basics well, if we used what we had correctly.<\/p>\n

I believe if you have relatively fewer parts then you need additional people to manage those parts as they become more critical. Therefore, we ended up with a team of seven people in Build Logistics, which seems a lot, but considering the workload, I think this was the correct number.<\/p>\n

Almost all members of the team we assembled would be considered Gen Z, but I didn\u2019t view them in such narrow terms. I didn\u2019t put them in some kind of box with a label. To me they were a new team that we had to get moving as quickly as possible. This was the hard part.<\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t lose any parts\u2019\u2026 and \u2018no surprises\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The team\u2019s inexperience was difficult to manage at first but as they were all intelligent it didn\u2019t take long to get them up and running. Don\u2019t get me wrong: we had some very difficult moments and some very challenging conversations, but after a few months we started to see improvements and we were going in the right direction. The energy and passion this group displayed was not seen by the whole team as everyone was flat out, but I could see what they were achieving. I applied what I had learnt in my time in HR (I was Head of Employee Engagement at Mercedes F1 between 2019 and 2022) to this group using intent-based leadership and psychological safety.<\/p>\n

I gave the Build Logistics team two simple rules: \u2018don\u2019t lose any parts\u2019 and \u2018no surprises\u2019. Don\u2019t lose parts almost goes without saying, but it was important to articulate as it gave them a mental priority for what they were responsible for. I wanted them to feel that every part was important because, if we lost something, then we could miss an important test or delay a development item hitting the water, therefore delaying the opportunity to learn.<\/p>\n

We did<\/em> lose some parts but also we did<\/em> learn from this, and I like to think we didn\u2019t blame the person, as the process (or lack of) allowed it to happen. In most cases during my career, the human being was acting as a sticking plaster due to the lack of a robust process or system.<\/p>\n

I used \u2018no surprises\u2019 as a tool to try to build psychological safety. Surprises are for birthdays and Christmas, in my book. I wanted this young team under pressure to speak up. I wanted them to feel that it was wrong not to say something if they were concerned about a part or a process or were having a problem. I wanted to hear what they had to say, I was desperate to hear what they were thinking, and it was important that I responded productively when they did bring me bad news. As a Build Logistics Team, we needed to know now if there was an issue, as we simply didn\u2019t have time or resources to bury bad news. We needed to hear their voices and, for me, \u2018no surprises\u2019 gave them permission to speak.<\/p>\n

We had a daily meeting at 11:00am to go over the plan, projects and new parts \u2013 similar to what we did in F1 \u2013 and it took a while to truly hear everyone\u2019s voice. I would say to them: \u2018I woke up at 2:30am and thought about this, when you woke up last night, what did you think about?\u2019 Sometimes nobody had much to say when I asked this question but on many occasions there was a little nugget of information that came to light.<\/p>\n

If you are looking to build psychological safety in your team, try using \u2018no surprises\u2019. It gives your team permission to speak and it will help your team grow and develop as they feel they have a voice and will be respected for their contributions.<\/p>\n

The 2% vs the 98%<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now this might be a bit controversial: one nugget I gave to the young Build Logistics Team on the America\u2019s Cup was \u201cyou are only remembered for the 2% you get wrong, not the 98% you get right\u201d.<\/p>\n

If you are really honest and park up all the psychology for a moment, this is probably a pretty true statement.<\/p>\n

I am sure plenty of cleverer people than me will disagree with this sentiment, but this is how I see it. It is a bit below the line, but it did focus my mind on my own performance. I believe we remember negative moments or threats to help protect ourselves in the future if we see this type of situation happening again, and therefore it remains fresh in our memories.<\/p>\n

Others will have some good memories of some of the things we did but they will remember in detail our mistakes and the moments where we did not behave reliably or with competence. In other words, they lost trust in us. As human beings we will make mistakes, this is how we learn, grow and develop.<\/p>\n

Intent-based leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaders of new young teams need to provide a lot of control and support in the early stages of the team\u2019s development while the team members improve their competence and get aligned to the clarity of the intent. As the team\u2019s competence and clarity increases, the amount of leadership control decreases. This is built on the intent-based leadership theory devised by retired United States Navy captain David Marquet.<\/p>\n

This is a snapshot:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As a leader you are never quite sure what the people around you really think of you or if you have made a difference due to the pace of the world we live in. That said, a former member of the Mercedes F1 Build Logistics Team (and now a successful leader and manager in his own right) recently sent me one of the nicest bits of feedback I have ever received:<\/p>\n

Your leadership allowed many young people to grow and now forms a lot of their own leadership and general teamwork skills. The biggest thing I always felt that made you different was your ability to allow others to make mistakes whilst catching them before it was at the detriment of the team. Without that, none of us would have learnt to be independent.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think the key point from this is: I was catching the mistakes before they hit the 2% category while allowing the team to learn and become independent and responsible.<\/p>\n

How is your team learning? Or are you telling them what to do so they don\u2019t make mistakes? You don\u2019t want their mistakes to reflect poorly on you and get you into that 2% category.<\/p>\n

I hope this has given you something to think about. I am sure this may go against the grain for some of you but I suppose we can\u2019t all agree on everything.<\/p>\n

Peter Hodgkinson is a leadership and performance specialist skilled in helping high-performers become better at what they do. As an accomplished manager and mechanic, Peter has enjoyed almost three decades of success in elite sporting environments. His work in motorsport, as part of winning teams at Le Mans and Daytona, culminated in seven Formula 1 driver\u2019s world championships won at Brawn and Mercedes, where he led car-building operations. Peter was Mercedes\u2019 Head of Build during Lewis Hamilton\u2019s era-defining run of six world titles. After a spell serving as Mercedes\u2019 Head of Employee Engagement, Peter returned to the Factory Floor as Build Operations Manager for the INEOS Britannia sailing team when Mercedes supported their quest for the 37th<\/sup>\u00a0America\u2019s Cup.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you would like to speak to Peter, please contact a member of the Leaders Performance Institute team.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

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