Leadership Lessons from Winning at Cowes Week

Members of Resilience Racing participated in the UK regatta Cowes Week in 2023 as part of the California Luffin’ team. The following blog post is excerpted from a write-up by founder and skipper Jennifer Hinkel.

Some fun "personal news" — and some leadership insights gained on the water!

It's a bit over a month since this amazing Sausalito team got home from the Cowes Week Regatta, trophies in hand (one even had its own suitcase)! We were thrilled to win our class in the Sunsail 41s, and I have so much appreciation for this team and the many people who made this win possible on both sides of the pond. ⛵

As the skipper, what were my takeaways that I've brought back from the boat to my every day life? 🚢🏆

**1. Hire to Replace Yourself: 🌱 As proud as I am to be the skipper of this team, I was really proud of my decision to hire a stellar tactician and navigator who knew the local waters and knew the boat. Even though it meant that I had to take a backseat in some of the critical race-time decision-making (and some helm time!), the opportunity to tap into an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience meant that we all learned more, sailed faster, and took home wins.

**2. Put People Where They Can Succeed — and then Let the Stars Shine: 🚀 ✨ So much of our victory was about positioning every team member where they could play to their strengths. In some cases, this meant that people weren't in their most favorite position, but where their talent could make the most impact. This is sometimes an easy lesson to forget in business, but one that has an enormous level of influence over end results.

**4. Everyone Serves the Team: ⛵ Yacht racing often feels like the ultimate collaboration. I am so proud of how everyone on the team put the team and its mission ahead of themselves, even on the pouring-rain days (and the early mornings after some celebratory nights out)! Extraordinary results are possible when people put the team ahead of themselves and focused on the shared direction.

**5. Commit to Resilience: 🌊 We weren't without setbacks, unexpected problems, and difficult moments—but our commitment to resilience carried through. Remembering the shared goal and leaving setbacks behind help propel teams forward, even when the going gets tough.

Now that we're all back on land, we're excited for the next adventure together and thinking about the teamwork lessons we learned together on The Solent! ⚓

Let's navigate our leadership journeys together. I'd love to hear from others about the leadership and teamwork lessons they've learned from sailing. 🌐🤝