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Published in Project Management
Courtney
The Effective Project Manager
The Accelerator Mindset: How Any Team Can Challenge Convention
Most people on most teams have at least one idea they have never said out loud. They are afraid it will sound stupid. They are afraid nothing will change anyway. Your job is to remove that fear. Show your team that unconventional thinking is welcome, not just tolerated.
McLaren Racing has a team called the Accelerator Team. Their job is simple: question everything. They do not accept that things are done a certain way just because they have always been done that way. Because of that mindset, they solve problems faster, smarter, and better than most.
You do not need an F1 budget to think like this. Any team can do it.
Turn One Question Into a Way of Life
The question is: "Why do we do it this way?"
When a process feels slow, ask it. When a task feels pointless, ask it. When the answer is "because we always have," that is your signal to look closer.
Don’t try to blow everything up. The goal is to make this question feel as normal as saying good morning. This starts with you. If your team never hears you question the way things work, they will not feel safe doing it either.
Build a Small Team With Full Freedom to Think
This should be part of everyones job: find better ways of working.
They should be free to think big, think strange, and think without limits. Their ideas do not need to be perfect. But give them the freedom to be heard. That part is on you. This only works if you are truly open to listening. Not pretending to listen. Actually listening.
If your team brings an idea forward and it gets ignored or buried, they will stop bringing ideas. And everyone else will notice.
Look Outside Your Industry
Look at how other sectors solve problems:
F1 pit crews change four tyres in under three seconds by removing every unnecessary step from the process
Airlines use simple checklists to prevent costly mistakes
Elite sports teams prepare, debrief, and adapt at speed
None of these industries look like yours. That is exactly why they are useful. When someone on your team says "what if we did it like they do in that other field," take it seriously. Because that kind of thinking is rare.
Make It Safe to Say Something Unconventional
Most people on most teams have at least one idea they have never said out loud. They are afraid it will sound stupid. They are afraid nothing will change anyway.
Your job is to remove that fear. Show your team that unconventional thinking is welcome, not just tolerated.
When someone brings you an idea that challenges the way things are done, engage with it. Ask questions. Take it seriously. Even if the idea goes nowhere, the person who shared it should leave the conversation feeling glad they spoke up. The culture of your team will only be as brave as you allow it to be.
This Is the Whole Playbook
None of this costs anything. What it does require is you genuinely believing that the people around you are capable of better ideas than the current system allows for.
Most teams already have the talent. They just have not been given the space. Treat every unconventional idea as a starting point rather than a risk. That is what McLaren does. And there is nothing stopping you from doing the same.
👋 Want to Learn More?
If you want to go deeper, I've put together resources to help:
LinkedIn Guide: Optimize Your Profile for Success
How to use the 80:20 rule to get more done in less time.
