3 AimPoint Actions That Make Your Leadership More Valuable

If you are going to spend a full week in the same environment, it might as well be one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. And if you spend a full week at one of the most beautiful spots on the planet, you might as well take note of little things that reinforce your approach to transformative leadership.

So join me for a short trip down memory lane at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado, where my wife and I spent seven days in late August working as volunteers and cheering as fans at the PGA’s 2024 BMW Championship.

We’ve been blessed to play many of the world’s top golf courses, and, for my money, only Augusta National rivals Castle Pines when it comes to breathtaking beauty. The course itself is pristine, but the surrounding landscapes offer flowers in full bloom, tall trees (mostly pines, of course!), and magnificent views of the Rocky Mountains.

We were exhausted after spending most days working as volunteers, but we also enjoyed the scenery and the golf during one of the more competitive PGA Tour events of the year.

Keegan Bradley provided a terrific storyline, going from the last man to make the field to the tournament’s winner. And it was while watching him compete that I was reminded of one of the most important aspects of leadership success: the power of routines.

Some of Bradley’s pre-shot routines, like the way he flexes his knees, might seem a little quirky, but golfers know that routines help develop the muscle memory and confidence it takes to consistently hit shots well.

Bradley’s routine when preparing to putt includes using the AimPoint method of reading greens. If you’ve watched much professional golf over the last two or three years, you’ve noticed several players using this approach, including Adam Scott (who tied for second at the BMW), Justin Rose, and LPGA star Stacy Lewis.

Golfers primarily read greens from behind the ball and behind the hole. With AimPoint, you also straddle the ball’s path to the hole, moving progressively closer to the hole and rating the slopes you feel beneath your feet. Then you examine the putt from four locations—behind the ball, behind the hole, and to each side—using your fingers to help sight and measure the percent of slope you think will affect your putt. (This 30-second video by Erika Larkin shows how it works.)

My putting also improved significantly when I adopted this approach. So it was natural that I also saw at least three ways the AimPoint principles apply to leadership.

Seek Perspective

When reading a green, you want to see the nuanced undulations that might carry your ball left or right of the target or that might cause the putt to speed up or slow down. Gathering more information as a leader by looking at challenges from multiple angles and seeking diverse opinions gives you a better perspective on what you are truly facing and how to tackle the issues.

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Use Multiple Senses

When you watch golf on television, the greens can look like flat, well-mowed surfaces. And even when you see them in person, you can miss the more subtle ways they bend and break if you rely totally on your vision.

Straddling the line of the putt provides a feel for the way the ball will break as it moves toward the hole. But you have to learn to trust what your feet feel, and that’s not always easy because it isn’t always the same as what you see with your eyes.

Great leaders need to develop a feel for the culture around them. That takes more than looking around at what’s going on. It takes other senses, as well, like listening to what’s said and what’s unsaid.

Putt With Confidence

When I first tried the AimPoint approach, the results were mixed. I was uncomfortable trusting what I felt with my feet and at times the information was overwhelming.

The rating aspects helped, because I began to consistently measure what I saw and felt in quantifiable ways. And the more I practiced and applied the method, the more confidence I gained.

When I stand over a putt, I don’t want to overthink all the information and second guess my options. I want to relax and confidently hit the ball in the right direction at the right speed. And when I engage with people, I don’t want information overload to paralyze my leadership. With practice, however, I’ve found I can naturally gain the perspective I need on the information I have, then trust what my senses tell me so I can lead with confidence. I won’t make every putt or act perfectly as a leader, but I’ll consistently get close to the target.