JR Motorsports and 23XI Racing are without a doubt two of the most ambitious organizations in NASCAR today. They have the resources; they have the people, and they have a vision. But how do they keep it all pointed toward the same direction of growth?

This was exactly the question that was posed to the CEO of JR Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Sister, Kelley Earnhardt, and Steve Lauletta, the President of Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing. They were asked, “How do you get an entire employee base to buy into a vision?”

Steve Lauletta on the “disease” that can creep into NASCAR organizations

In his response, Lauletta claimed it’s not an easy task, to keep all your employees subscribed to the same vision. But it starts from the top of the hill.

“It starts with Michael (Jordan) and Denny (Hamlin) and the leadership team making sure that we’re constantly talking to everybody to understand where their questions are, where they might have concerns, where they think we might be going off-track or on-track,” he described in a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download.

Lauletta claimed the need for building an environment where honesty is valued and being open is important because otherwise, fractures begin to show as “little groups opt to the side,” or “the water-cooler talk” starts to take place.

“You can’t let that happen because that’s where the disease starts to creep in or that’s where the fracture starts,” Lauletta said.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr’s sister on the importance of being clear with your employees

After Lauletta’s response, Kelley Earnhardt also started off by agreeing with the point he made about things starting from the top down. For her, it’s about “communicating the same things, setting the expectations, listening to what they have to say, allowing them to have feedback.”

In her case, as the CEO of JRM, Earnhardt said, “it’s always open door.”

“I have people who come right up off the shop floor, they’ll text me and say, ‘Do you have a few minutes?’ And it’ll be something as simple as ‘Hey, do you think we could get XYZ in the break room?’ But that’s fine,” she said.

“That’s the kind of communication I want, I want them to feel comfortable coming to me with that kind of thing.”

She emphasized the need to give the employees as clear a picture as possible so they don’t wonder about the why, the what, and the where. Having said that, Earnhardt agreed that they can’t give “all the details all the time.”

But what they can do is get up in front of them and say, “These are some of the reasons this decision is being made, or this is what we’re gonna be doing, or this is why.”

“I think it’s so critical because you don’t leave room for them to make assumptions have that water cooler talk,” Earnhardt said as Lauletta added, “Definitely, being open and honest is the key.”

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