{"id":5621,"date":"2026-01-29T03:24:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T08:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/?p=5621"},"modified":"2026-01-29T03:24:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T08:24:44","slug":"why-the-best-leaders-are-looking-inward-lessons-from-f1-and-panera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2026\/01\/29\/why-the-best-leaders-are-looking-inward-lessons-from-f1-and-panera\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the best leaders are looking inward (Lessons from F1 and Panera)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In business, we are taught to manage systems, P&Ls, and teams. But as Peter Drucker famously noted, the most difficult person you will ever have to manage is yourself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently attended a panel at the Peter Drucker Forum<\/strong> titled “The New Sciences of Managing Yourself.”<\/em> The speakers, ranging from F1 performance experts to global CEOs, all landed on a singular, striking truth: High performance is not a business strategy; it is a physiological and psychological state.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to lead in a turbulent world, you have to start in the driver’s seat of your own mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The F1 Principle: Recovery is Performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Annastiina Hintsa (CEO, Hintsa Performance)<\/strong> works with 60\u201370% of the F1 paddock. Her secret? She doesn’t just ask drivers how they drive; she asks them who they are when they aren’t<\/em> driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The Identity Trap:<\/strong> If your identity is 100% tied to your title (CEO, Manager, Founder), a setback at work becomes an existential crisis. To survive high pressure, you need pillars of identity outside the office.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Pit Stop Mentality:<\/strong> In F1, you don’t stop because the car is broken; you stop to ensure it doesn’t<\/em> break. Hintsa argues that sleep, nutrition, and mental energy are not “perks”: they are the prerequisites for the split-second decision-making leadership requires.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The Brain\u2019s Verdict: Fear vs. Readiness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Eva Asselmann (Professor of Psychology)<\/strong> reminded us that our brains treat failure like social rejection. When the “internal alarm” (the amygdala) fires, we freeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Action Shapes Belief:<\/strong> Don’t wait to feel confident before you act. Self-efficacy, the belief that you can handle what\u2019s coming, is built by doing<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The Story Matters:<\/strong> Your body feels the same during fear as it does during excitement (racing heart, sweaty palms). The elite leader reframes the story from “I\u2019m scared”<\/em> to “My body is pumping up to meet this challenge.”<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The Leader\u2019s Daily “Micro-Toolkit”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Niren Chaudhary (Former Chair, Panera Brands)<\/strong> shared six daily habits to bridge the gap between “knowing” and “leading.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. The Three Marbles:<\/strong> Carry three imaginary marbles into every meeting. Every time you speak, you lose one. Use them wisely to create space for your team to grow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Learn and Love AI:<\/strong> Spend 30 minutes daily playing with AI. It\u2019s not an end, it\u2019s a means to stay curious.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Choose Courage over Noise:<\/strong> When the world feels chaotic, ignore the macro-noise and ask: “What can I control in my immediate community today?”<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. Practice “Wicked” Goals:<\/strong> SMART goals are for maintenance. WILD<\/strong> goals (Wicked, Illogical, Disruptive) are for transformation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      5. Build Grit in the Small Stuff:<\/strong> Do the extra five minutes on the treadmill when you want to quit. That\u2019s how you train for the board room.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      6. The Compassion Multiplier:<\/strong> Trust = (Competence + Character) x Care<\/strong>. Showing you care is the ultimate force multiplier.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Final Thought: The Diamond of Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Niren closed with a beautiful metaphor. Life is not a flat marble; it is a diamond<\/strong> with many facets: work, family, health, and service. A leader who only shines in one facet is dimmed. To lead well is to do justice to the whole diamond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Sustainable performance isn’t about running faster. It’s about knowing when to make a pit stop to finish the race.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Next Step for You:<\/strong> Pick one “WILD” goal for this month, something that feels slightly impossible. How would your approach change if you started at “impossible” rather than “achievable”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Picture by Stuart Seeger from College Station, Texas, USA – Mika’s Lotus Debut, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=5495395<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        In business, we are taught to manage systems, P&Ls, and teams. But as Peter Drucker famously noted, the most difficult person you will ever have to manage is yourself. I recently attended a panel at the Peter Drucker Forum titled “The New Sciences of Managing Yourself.” The speakers, ranging from F1 performance experts to global […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Mika_Hakkinen_1991_USA.jpg?fit=1314%2C877&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paNjQG-1sF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3298,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2020\/03\/28\/chief-of-staff-in-the-tech-industry\/","url_meta":{"origin":5621,"position":0},"title":"Chief of Staff in the Tech Industry","author":"Alexis","date":"March 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In this article, I would like to provide information and pointers to information on the Chief of Staff's role in the tech industry. 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