It's almost impossible to 'teach' #leadership development. You have to get in there, get your hands dirty, be put under real world pressure, and work well with all different types of people. Leadership Speaker Sandi Coryell simulated real world situations to help an advertising agency team spot future stars, improve collaboration, and identify performance gaps. Effectively replicating real world situations in a safe learning environment. How well you make smart decisions, consider multiple perspectives, and stay creative under pressure determines how well you can #lead an #inclusive team in a modern workplace. #leadership #collaboration

1. Project NASCAR
Leadership Simulation Workshop

2. How do you gain insights
into performance gaps?
How do you determine
areas for improvement?
How do you identify
future stars?

3. “I feel like I got a pile of cattle chasing my ass, and
I’m pedaling as hard as I can to stay in front of ‘em.”
-- Rusty Wallace, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion

4. This project was run with an advertising agency to:
• Identify future stars
• Tighten up performance gaps
• Improve collaboration
The six-week project entailed a simulation of a new business
pitch in which NASCAR* was their potential ‘client.’ It recreated
real-world conditions in a safe learning environment.
Project background
*NASCAR was not a participant in this project.

5. To test and observe the leadership, collaboration, and
innovation skills of team members by recreating real
world dynamics of high pressure, tight timelines, and
competing demands under ‘safe’ learning conditions.
• High-pressure • Time-constrained
• Real-world situations • Non-defined hierarchy
Goal
Case study: Project NASCAR

6. Participants must:
• Take on totally unfamiliar roles
• Get up to speed quickly
• Strategize changing conditions
• Organize themselves independently
• Combine people into unexpected teams
Execution
Case study: Project NASCAR

7. Case study: Project NASCAR
• Ability to communicate ideas and direction easily
• Decisive and timely decision making
• Ability to influence action with diverse group of people
• Innovative ideas
• Strategic thinking and convincing presentation
• Adaptability under changing conditions
• Collaboration and open sharing of ideas
Critical success factors

8. “Highly successful participants sized people up,
connected with them in a way that developed an
influence to get buy- in to their ideas and move
them into action.”
Critical success factors
Case study: Project NASCAR

9. “The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car; it’s the one who refuses to lose.”
-- Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR Champion
“The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car;
it’s the one who refuses to lose.”
-- Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR Champion

10. 1. Change

11. • Identify everyone’s roles in the assignment
• Seek out knowledge and insights
• Find mentors in unexpected places
• Be supportive and open to new ideas
• Celebrate wins
• Evaluate processes and adjust
How to Establish Leadership

12. “The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car; it’s the one who refuses to lose.”
-- Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR Champion
“Driving a race car is like dancing with a chainsaw.”
-- Cale Yarborough, NASCAR Winston Cup Driver

13. 2. Collaboration

14. • Drive to a common goal
• Embrace new ways of thinking
• Incorporate diverse perspectives effectively
• Develop a process that embodies
collaboration and support
• Support each other in risk taking
How to develop
collaborative teams

15. “The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car; it’s the one who refuses to lose.”
-- Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR Champion
“I never lost my job while I was leading a race.”
-- Buddy Baker, Two-time NASCAR Winner

16. 3. Influence

17. • Understand what fires you up to get others excited also
• Be clear about your mission and communicate it concisely
• Ensure people feel safe to bring out what
makes them different
• Build connections and network of support
• Create partnerships
How to influence
action for a result

18. • Revealed hidden talent and exposed future stars
• Developed confidence
• Improved understanding of how to incorporate
different perspectives
• Exposed complacent habits
• Improved decision making and adaptability
under pressure
• Identified flaws in process that facilitates
collaboration and innovation
What were the results?

19. • Two people were tapped as high potentials
• One person was reassigned to another position
• Initiated processes to recognize, reward, and
celebrate innovative ideas and risk taking on
daily basis
What actions were taken?

20. “A switch was suddenly flipped in people’s
brains. They now understood how different
ways of thinking and different approaches to
solving problems operate as ‘advantages’ and
work in concert to achieve a common goal.”

21. If you would like to identify your future
stars, close performance gaps,
and set your team up for success,
contact Sandi Coryell at 818-288-3483

22. Thank you.
Visit www.thecoryellgroup.com