Passion is the driving force, but it becomes destructive when it turns into uncontrolled emotion. McLaren's CEO Zak Brown advises leaders to avoid making critical decisions in emotionally charged moments, instead waiting to regain composure for a more rational approach.
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McLaren's CEO Zak Brown re-frames leadership as a service function. His primary job is to ensure his 1,400-person team has the tools, funding, and motivation to succeed. He sees himself as one employee whose responsibility is to "keep them all fed and hungry."
Described as "absolutely unflappable," CMO Laura Kneebush reveals her method is a deliberate process, not just a personality trait. When faced with a crisis, she intentionally pauses, listens to understand all perspectives, thinks about the big picture, and only then creates a path forward.
In a crisis, the instinct is to shout louder and match escalating chaos. True leadership involves 'energetic jujitsu': deliberately slowing down and bringing calmness to the situation. This rare skill is more powerful than simply increasing intensity.
In leadership, especially during conflict, you have a choice. You can be a 'thermometer,' merely reacting to the emotional temperature of the room, or a 'thermostat,' actively setting and controlling it. Great leaders intentionally manage the environment, calming panic or creating urgency as needed, rather than mirroring the ambient mood.
Zak Brown's first move at the struggling McLaren F1 team was to overhaul the leadership team, bringing in fresh blood to create alignment before tackling technical or commercial issues. This established a new, winning culture from the top down.
The brain's emotional center is five times stronger than its rational part. When triggered by stress, it shuts down executive function. A deliberate 90-second pause is a powerful antidote that allows the physiological wave of emotion to pass, enabling clearer, more considered decision-making.
When facing an existential business threat, the most effective response is to suppress emotional panic and adopt a calm, methodical mindset, like a pilot running through an emergency checklist. This allows for clear, logical decision-making when stakes are highest and prevents paralysis from fear.
The real leadership challenge isn't feeling negative emotions, but the "inflation" of those feelings into disproportionate reactions. This is caused by misinterpretations, taking things personally, or past trauma. The goal is to manage the intensity of the reaction, not the feeling itself.
In volatile times, the instinct is to act decisively and quickly. Brené Brown argues the more effective approach is to pause, assess the situation holistically (like a soccer player controlling the ball), and then make a strategic move. This prevents reactive, scarcity-driven decisions that often backfire.