CALLUM MACLEOD
Callum lives life in the fast lane, one of the top racing drivers in the UK & now one of UK’s top driver coaches.
www.callummacleod.com
In 2007, Callum, like many of today’s F1 drivers, won the British Formula Ford Championship and he now enjoys a successful career in GT Sportscars.
His experience as a race engineer and understanding of car dynamics enable him to teach you how to improve your car’s handling as well as your driving to get you and your car working together to achieve the best results possible.
Over the last 10 years, Callum has been hired to work with drivers with all levels of experience ranging from complete beginners to established race winners.
He has had the pleasure of racing a huge variety of racing cars from 1960’s Historic Racing Cars to the most modern GT cars, Sports cars, and Single-seaters.
Callum, Welcome to the Leadership Interview.
How do you start your day?
My day usually starts the night before when I lay all my work clothes out in the bathroom so I don’t disturb the family too much at 5 am in the morning.
What was your first job and what is the worst job you’ve ever done?
I was a waiter in a pub restaurant. It was the worst.
What advice would you give to others about furthering their careers?
Learn.
Take your time to learn the industry you are in, don’t try to progress too quickly, make sure you are prepared for each step.
Who inspires you and why?
Michael Schumacher.
His leadership skills were incredible, in each team he raced for, he was able to build the team around him and lead them in the direction he wanted to go.
This kept him at the top for a very long time.
Do you think a talent to lead is nature or nurture?
I think it’s both, you do get natural leaders but the best ones are the ones who are also willing to learn and teach themselves to be a better person and leader.
Knowledge of your industry and the ability to learn from your mistakes are crucial.
Hoe can a leader fail? Do you have a personal example?
You can only fail by prematurely giving up, or by failing to recognise that you should give up and move on.
Not every idea works, realising the difference between a bad idea and a ‘difficult to make work’ idea is very important.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Difficult question. Probably my commitment to what I am doing, I give everything 100%.
Taking on too much at once is probably a weakness of mine as it can get in the way of the 100%. 24 hours in a day aren’t enough sometimes.
I’ve learned that it is important to focus on achieving one goal at a time.
What do you find most challenging about being a leader?
Switching off. It can be difficult to remember to find time to relax and recuperate.
What are you most proud of?
I would say it’s a case of who, rather than what.
My Mum.
She raised 5 children, all of who have gone on to be successful in different industries across the world.
She did this whilst running her own business and never let her work life get in the way of the family, in the good times or the bad.
How she managed to do that with the perfect balance is something I’m still trying to learn.
Follow Callum on Twitter: @cmacleodracing
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Callum runs one of our #BlowYouAwayDays courses for leaders and managers, Ultimate Grand Prix: Change through Challenge.
This is an exciting, bespoke team development programme, comprising a series of exercises, both physical and cognitive, to support the development of your team.
The programme includes a live driving exercise, a Formula 1 car simulation and exercises in the Silverstone Racing Circuit iZONE complex.
Take a look at all of our extreme away days for high performers