At a recent golf tournament, my goodie bag had a coupon for a free golf lesson. If you’ve watched me play, you would strongly recommend that I use the coupon! This week I took Mike up on his offer and spent an hour with him on the driving range. As often happens, I was amazed by the parallels between what I learned as a golfer and the leadership principles that I use with clients.
So, as you prepare to unplug and relax over the summer holidays, allow me to share three leadership lessons that Mike taught me while swinging a piece of metal at a little white ball.
Leadership Application: Are you brave enough to admit that you don’t know? We all have blind spots – in fact, research tells us that you have an average of 3.4! It takes humility to admit you don’t know a lot of things? Are you actively working to lower your leadership handicap by trying to know more about what you don’t know?
Leadership Application: Few of us are good at asking for help and I praise those of you who do so! While you can improve your leadership game on your own over time, your perspective is based on your own personal insights. And some of them are not even correct! An outside perspective (or several) will provide you with a different look at your leadership. Others can help you differentiate between the little things and the big things. Do you intentionally get perspective on your leadership from others?
Leadership Application: Whether it is taking time for education, being a voracious reader of asking a lot of questions, your leadership success is also contingent on practice. What are you doing to practice and improve your leadership game?
To conclude, I’ll also offer a plug for Michael Maggs – he is very good at what he does. If you’re in Southern California and you need some coaching to help you get rid of your slice or add a few extra yards send him an email and tell him Jeff sent you (mike@maggsgolf.com or his website).
Dr. Jeff Suderman is a futurist, consultant, and professor who works in the field of organizational development. He partners with clients to improve culture, leadership, teamwork, organizational alignment, strategy and organizational future-readiness. He resides in Palm Desert, California. Twitter: @jlsuderman Email: jeff@jeffsuderman.com
Cover Photo: Jeff Suderman (Indian Wells Country Club, Indian Wells, CA)