Golf: A Near Perfect Metaphor for Leadership

Calling Leader in You

Over the years I`ve needed to adapt my management fashion and talent to satisfy demanding situations existence had thrown at me, mercilessly at times, simply because the golfer in me needed to adapt to play under trying conditions. Believe me; I`ve performed a whole lot of golfing rounds challenging the leader in me. I`ve carefully watched and coached many leaders at different levels of competency to play their rounds in attempting situations. I apply leadership development activities honed at the golf course to help others to be more effective leaders. It is the understanding gained through these efforts I wish to ask you, do you play golf? I do so as golf is a near-perfect metaphor for leadership.

It is said that many important business deals have been finalized while playing a round of golf. It’s true but for a different reason than generally thought of. The dealers meet with clear battle lines drawn across a befitting battlefield. Victory goes to the player with better skills. A golf course serves as an arena where your leadership skills are put to the test since the game of golf and the game of leadership both offer similar challenges.

Hurdles to Success

New challenges in each game are never far away and so are the rewards and risks. Good performance in both requires understanding and consistent practice of rudimentary fundamentals. Both demand, without exception, the necessity of rigorous regular practice. Though tools are readily available for each game, their selection to succeed is up to the player. Both are games for the rational person. Both require the use of management skills. You cannot consistently win at either game if you are not positive and optimistic about the results of your play. Possibly above all, the game of golf and the game of leadership require total focus and concentration if optimum results are to be achieved. We will illustrate further as we play the leadership course.

Arnold Palmer, the famous golfer once said, “The success in this game of golf depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character.” So is the game of leadership. Success at golf or leadership pivots on the application of fundamental skills refined through practice, performance, and repetition. Hone the skills required to play golf and you can consistently shoot respectable scores. Master the skills of playing the game of leadership and you can be an effective leader.

Improvement Around

Just like golfing, management is a sport that gives an entire life possibility for development. Enhancement in golfing calls for attention and a willingness to devote errors with the intention to progress. Self-motivation brings you again for another round. Leadership additionally calls for a willingness to make errors and to the consciousness of the task, one at a time. You become accountable for every action of yours and that’s what leadership is all about. There is no such thing as mastering golf or leadership, but improvement is sought always and forever.

Lay it out

A full golf course consists of 18 holes varying in length and difficulty. Each hole is assigned a ‘‘par,’’ the number of golf shots expected of a good golfer to finish the hole. Par can be 3, 4, or 5, based on the difficulty of the hole. The total of par for the 18 holes is generally 72 but can be 70, 71, or even 73, depending on the course layout. There are no umpires and you count your own score. Golf has such a hold on golfers because they compete not only against the opponent, but also against the course, against par, and most surely — against themselves. One reason golf is such a frustrating game is that what we learned is so easily forgotten, and we find ourselves struggling with the same old faults we had discovered and corrected so many times in the past. Sounds familiar!

Fail-safe

P.G. Wodehouse said, “Golf… is the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone, with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well. One of the most interesting things about golf is no matter what your score is – the next day you have to go back to the first hole and start all over again and make yourself into something.

Golfer in You

The game of leadership being personal has the same potential for motivation as the game of golf. Leaders, like golfers, never run out of challenges. Leadership offers the ‘‘real leader’’ the internal satisfaction of knowing that you have helped others to succeed. Leaders are expected to provide these same motivational opportunities to their followers.

If you love golf, you’ve got to love leadership. And if you’re not a golfer, but a leader even by default, you should love golf. It’s my sincere intention in this write-up to make you understand why it is a leadership game. Golfers who at an early stage, do not score reasonably well and more importantly, who don’t enjoy playing the game, usually stop playing golf. Leaders who do not learn to lead effectively and/or do not enjoy the game of leadership better find other avenues to pursue, both for their own well-being and for the good of those they are responsible to lead. Golfers work hard to be successful, and in the end, they must do it themselves. Leaders also have to work hard to be successful, and how they do it is up to them. A coach can be of great help to both.

Attitudinal Twist: Leadership Verses Management

Davis Love, Jr., 1997 PGA champion is quoted saying,” Let your mind-set decide your golfing sport. Don`t permit your golfing sport decide your mind-set”. Let`s replace the phrase management for golfing in this quote and examine it once more to fathom your management effectiveness, “Let your mindset decide your management. Don`t permit your management to decide your mindset”

It is said that golf is 20 percent talent and 80 percent management. A big part of being a leader is management. When you get on the course, focus on the game. You cannot fix your game on the course that is what the practice area is for. In leadership, when you are in the middle of a task, you need to react based on your skills and intuition. It is certainly not the time to “Do More Research”. Don’t forget that I recommended coaching.

kiss

KISS -Keep It Simple Sir! Low scores in golf result when players simply follow three fundamentals. Keep the ‘‘ball in the fairway, ’’hit greens in regulation’’ (which means using no more than two shots on a par 4 and three shots on a par 5 hole) and have a good ‘‘short game’’ (near and on the green). As simple as that!

Leadership is also a simple game of skilled execution of key fundamentals. Management guru Peter F. Drucker says common sense is the foundation of leadership. According to him, like golf, leadership is centered on the integration of the 3Cs, ‘‘contribution to the mission of the organization, concentration on key tasks, and commitment to professional standards.’’ But we all know common sense is not so common. Leaders seem to work very hard at making the game of leadership unnecessarily complicated resulting in setbacks.

Stay relevant at all times

To be in the game, a golfer should keep his ball in the fairway, the assigned area for playing a particular hole. When it comes to leadership, sometimes we need to take risks by extending our brief. The safe shot may keep you in the fairway, but if it is essential to reduce your score, lying short is not going to help. There are times to play safe and there are others when you have to go for it. It takes courage to go for it. Golf prepares you to take calculated risks, repeatedly. Then there are times when lay-up i.e. staying short pays dividends. Guard against your ego though, all leaders should.

Be Mister Persistence

It is said that golf is a game of recovery. You will hit bed shots. Failure is just round the dog leg – a turning fairway. The best shot is the next shot provided you stop brooding over the last one. A leader who has not failed is no leader. Don’t wait to fail. Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary for leadership. It’s a mixed bag and that’s why players score differently. What is important is to finish the round learning from your mistakes with minimum mistakes. A notion that I can’t fail is a notion very few golfers/leaders have survived with.

A Gentleman’s Game

You are your own umpire in golf calling out penalties and scores. It’s a game that calls for the character. The values you nurture are at the core of your character. They help us decide the rightness of our actions. Though not inculcated on the golf course or in the leadership setting, they are on display in these environments. Many of the values required to be a golfer are the values required to be a leader. Prosperous organizations are guided by clearly stated core values that leaders are expected to model and uphold. Golfers uphold values every day. Can you in your experience as a leader vouch for the same? Yes, you can, provided you have the strength of character developed over time to hold you in your weaker moments. “Character is what you do when no one else is looking”, said somebody.

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