Hunter Vs. Hunted: How To Win More Than Once
About Case Study Authors
Ibex Tactics LLC, was founded by Alex Bolowich & Ben Foodman. Before starting the company, Alex and Ben were working with athletes on an individual basis, helping them improve their mental performance using sport psychology-based interventions. While both professionals had incredible success working with some of the world’s most elite athletes, a significant portion of the time they were unable to help some of their clients due to the poor cultures these athletes were immersed in. As a result, Alex and Ben created Ibex Tactics LLC, which dedicated towards providing science-driven solutions to helping teams build resilient cultures.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: How Team Culture Impacts Winning In Professional Motorsports
PART I. Understanding How Team Culture Lays The Foundation For Sustained Winning
PART II. Introduction To Professional Racecar Driver Looking To Maximize Team Culture
PART III. Implementing Ibex Tactics To Improve Professional Motorsport Team Culture
PART IV. The Racecar Driver “Before & After” Experience Ibex Tactics Tier 1 Services
Introduction: How Team Culture Impacts Winning In Professional Motorsports
There is perhaps no environment in the world of sports that is more competitive than professional motorsports. Whether we are looking at athletes performing in Formula 1, NASCAR, IMSA, WRC, WEC or IndyCar, these competition settings set the stage for millions of dollars, larger than life egos, and high speed cars to collide all at the same time. Ibex Tactics coaches will tell you firsthand that there is no experience quite like having worked in this pressure cooker of an environment.
During this time, Ibex coaches learned invaluable lessons about the importance of fostering environments that optimize team chemistry, and how this can be the difference between a podium finish and being forgotten all together. So for this issue of the Ibex Tactics Case Studies, we wanted to provide you with an example of a client competing in NASCAR that we worked with years ago, and how they benefited from utilizing Tier 1 services to indirectly affect their driving performance.
Part I. Understanding How Team Culture Lays The Foundation For Sustained Winning
Before we jump right into the case study, there are some important factors unique to motorsports that readers need to understand. First, when you are watching a race in Formula 1, NASCAR, IMSA, WRC, WEC or IndyCar, it’s important to recognize that these sports are team sports. This can be confusing because the media tends to largely focus on the drivers and the cars. But behind this is an entire support group which includes but is not limited to the crew chief, car chief, pit crew, driving coach, strength & conditioning coach, nutritionist, sport psychologist, team owner, team sponsors, engineers, marketing managers, etc.
Interestingly, these different positions within a motorsports team such as a NASCAR cup team oftentimes are isolated and do not have regular communications with other groups. However, there is one position on a racecar team that has the largest network effect of anyone within the organization: the driver. The racecar driver at some point will come into contact with every member of the team, and as such is in position to have the most outsized influence on the organization. When you combine this with the obvious fact that they are also literally in the best seat to directly influence a race, it is easy to see why they occupy the most powerful political position on a racecar team.
Part II. Introduction To Professional Racecar Driver Looking To Maximize Team Culture
When Pete reached out to us, he was competing in his fourth season of the NASCAR Xfinity series. Prior to working with us, Pete had a productive career in motorsports. He had competed in karting, dirt racing, late model racing, ARCA, trucks and was largely very successful in those different series. Pete was incredibly dedicated to his craft and was consistent with his physical and mental training routines. He had been working extensively with a sport psychologist and had experience in the different driver performance programs. When Pete reached out to us, there were no “problems” that he was aware of with his team but rather was looking for a way to elevate his driving performances through his leadership of the organization. He believed that if he could find ways to motivate all members of the team and build a strong team culture, this would reduce mistakes on the team and increase his chances of success. Based on Pete’s needs and budget, we recommended that he utilize our Tier 2 package.
Based on our applied experience in the professional motorsports industry, we knew that we were going to have to introduce the Ibex 4 Pillars model and then customize our system to his team’s unique needs. Pete was in agreement with our recommendations and projections which allowed us to immediately start our onboarding and assessment process. The first part of our assessment and strategy development lasted about 1 month with Pete’s team. This included our coaches conducting a comprehensive assessment reviewing current performance, team dynamics, and cultural health of his organization. We then developed our Custom Roadmap with Pete, which included tailored strategies for talent acquisition, team alignment, and leadership development. Finally, we helped Pete implement micro and macro recovery practices to address immediate bottlenecks preventing performance optimized team culture so we could boost functionality.
Part III. Implementing Ibex Tactics To Improve Professional Motorsport Team Culture
Upon completion of the assessment, we began working with Pete on the first stage of Tier 1: culture & performance optimization. This included meeting on a weekly basis scheduling regular sessions to embed and refine high-performance systems and strategies related to Pete’s goals. Throughout this several month time period we were providing ongoing support in the form of continuous development of leadership, team chemistry, and cultural alignment. We also worked with Pete on strengthening his proactive performance strategies which included building systems to anticipate challenges to help separate his team from the rest of the competition in order to optimize long-term success. At the end of the nearly 12 months of work we completed with Pete, we concluded with our review and performance analysis.
This included a 1-Hour Review Session evaluating progress and integration of the strategies we developed with him and his team, providing a Performance Analysis which assessed cultural transformation, system effectiveness, and team cohesion. Finally, we concluded with future planning which involved competitive cultural comparisons and identifying potential points of leverage against opponents as he moved forward in his career. When we finished our contract with Pete, he reported that he saw significant improvement both from his subjective perspective and from the results of the weekly surveys. Pete reported that team members were showing up earlier to the garage, were going out of their way to bring new ideas and observations to leadership, and communication lines between different groups opened up. Most importantly, Pete also saw quantifiable improvements in his qualifying times and top 10 finishes.
Part IV. The Racecar Driver “Before & After” Experience Ibex Tactics Tier 1 Services
Before Pete came to work with us, there were no issues with his performance or the team dynamics. Pete had solid relationships with all of the different members of the organization and rather was looking for a way to improve his performance outcomes by creating a performance-optimized team culture. Pete agreed that Tier 2 services would best meet his needs and budget, and went through our assessment and optimization program.
At the conclusion of our services, Pete reported from his subjective experience and through the surveys we regularly administered that team members were showing up earlier to the garage, were going out of their way to bring new ideas and observations to leadership, and communication lines between different groups opened up. Pete also saw quantifiable improvements in his qualifying times and top 10 finishes. Even though Pete was intrigued with Tier 1 services, he chose to wait and spend time mastering the Ibex Tactics Tier 2 system.
NOTE TO READER:
Alex and Ben wanted to compile their expertise in the Ibex Tactics Case Studies to help teams in the sports and corporate sector better understand how many of the issues they are dealing with are more often than not related to culture. Most teams recognize that culture is an important component of their success, but do not always have the resources or expertise to analyze the complexity of culture. If you are interested in learning more about the services that Ibex Tactics offers to help with culture development, use the contact form below and sign up with your email to receive updates on new services and case studies!
Start your application today!
Are you looking for a way to enhance your organization’s performance outcomes? Are you curious to learn more strategies that can enhance your team culture? Use the form below to begin the application process to start the process of getting on our client list!
ARE YOU A PART OF THE HERD?!
Make sure you stay up to date on new case studies, services and relevant updates about Ibex Tactics! Don’t wait! Sign up below!
CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS IBEX TACTICS CASE STUDIES!
