I have been fortunate in my professional life to have met and interacted on a personal level with some incredible business leaders. Golf, being the corporate game it can be, gave me the opportunity to apply my skills and expertise to the lives of not only the CEOs of companies but their fascinating clients too.
It was no coincidence to me that the great leaders I met also had substantive and sincere relationships with their employees, staff and customers. During my career I ALWAYS did my best work when I invested in the student in a genuinely authentic way rather than just in a mechanistic rules and regulations, sterile manner.
Leadership reveals itself when the chips are down. Anyone can look great when flow is in abundance, but when people are butting heads and productivity is mysteriously poor who will people look towards? You.
If I’m standing on the practice ground of a U.S. Open and my player has 20 minutes before they compete, and things aren’t quite firing on all cylinders, I have to come up with the goods. That is in large part what leadership is; real-time decisiveness.
In order to execute and triumph in this pressured situation, the communication between the two parties must have no agenda and no ego; it must be pure.
Like all of the great leaders with whom I have worked, take the time on a human level to get to know your key people. Encourage them to also familiarize themselves with their teams. It is only when the BS is removed that you can really move people into productivity.
Look them in the eye. Show them appreciation. Speak to them on a deeper level.
Lip service only leads to poor service from the top…to the bottom!
Best,
Nick Bradley