Leadership lessons from the NASCAR racetrack

When you think about some of the most challenging situations you’ve had to navigate at work, my guess is that it doesn’t include jacking up a car, changing 4 tires, and refueling it, all in about 8 seconds.

Just guessing 😉

But for my guest this week on Managing Made Simple, Shaun Peet, NASCAR pit crew coach and Chief Culture Officer of Trackhouse Racing, that’s the exact kind of challenge he supports his team through every single day.

It’s in the most stressful and high stakes situations that we learn the most valuable lessons, and I could not be more excited to share the wisdom Shaun has cultivated during his time as a NASCAR pit crew coach with all of you this week.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE (APPLE // SPOTIFY)

Here’s a sneak peak of some of what we covered in our conversation:

🤲 The Strength of Kindness and Empathy 🤲

 We dove into the heart of leadership, tackling misconceptions head-on. Shaun put it beautifully: “Kindness is not a weakness, it’s a strength in leadership.” This really resonated with me as we discussed how empathy and openness are key to building trust and driving results.

👥 Hiring with Heart and Mind 👥

Shaun and I connected in our shared ethos around reframing accountability into OWNERSHIP. “We’re not just looking for skills; we’re looking for that owner’s mentality,” he explained. To build a remarkable team, you need people who share your core values and take ownership of their roles.

🎯 The Power of Clear Expectations 🎯

And if you’ve been following the show for more than 30 seconds, you KNOW how much I love talking about the importance of clear expectations. Shaun shared an awesome process for how he tackles these at the macro level. “Every year we have an expectations meeting… we cover everything from how you present yourself online to punctuality.” Set those expectations up front, and everyone knows how to be successful.

And it just keeps going from there! I

f I can impart ONE THING on you to take away, it’s to genuinely care about your team members. We get busy, we get stressed, we’re all spread thin – but when we get to know our team members on a deeper level, they show up differently. The come to work everyday bringing their best — no matter what the economy is like, whatever is going on in their lives, how well they slept the night before.

Show that you care, and you’ll create a team people want to be a part of what you are creating, and keep working to be their best every single day.