Last year I was talked in to having a few golf lessons. This turned into 12 lessons, new shoes, golf clubs (second hand of course), a trolley and a glove. In addition I've now played quite a few games and lost a lot of balls!
People that I have met on the course have always told me the same thing: it's a life's work. Totally true!! In many ways not that different from leadership, here's how:.
#1 Nail the basics
Chris, our golf coach, spent weeks and weeks with us on the basics before we he even let us loose on the course. We spent endless hours totally focussed on our grip, holding the club, setting our posture and our stance etc.
To be a good leader you need to continue to practice the art of leadership and for me this starts with honing some basics too: communication, self awareness, etc. Taking time to reflect and refine these before you get ahead of yourself pays off.
#2 Understand how the ball gets into the air
Once Chris had reasonable confidence that we could get our pre shoot routine together he shifted his focus to our awareness of hitting the ball and mastering our swing.
Getting into the swing of leadership involves establishing routines and being consistent. Mastering your rhythm pays dividends and ensures you can most effectively manage your busy work life and focus on the things that matter most. Also, removing interference can massively help you up your game. #innergame
#3 Know how far your clubs go
By this point in the lessons I felt we were really motoring. How naïve! However after a few games, noticing and experimenting, I've got a little better at this. Using the wrong club can lose you the game, sole reliance on one club is not sustainable nor will it deliver the best results. Keeping track of how each club performs and when best to use it it is key - it's not a 'once and done' thing.
Deploying the right resource at the right time is a key part of leadership. This involves building a strong diverse team, understanding the individual capabilities in your team and knowing how they can operate to their full potential both individually and collectively. Sometimes you don't have what you need and so you may need to add, change or even borrow for a while!
My advice to anyone thinking of taking up golf is to enjoy the experience and remember: it's a life's work.. Just as you think you've got the hang of it you can have a really terrible performance but it will improve again the next time. Over time you'll see the improvement so keep going.
The good news is that you hopefully wont have so many up's and down's in leadership, and definitely fewer moments of total despair !
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