Applying Leadership Lessons from a Round with Lefty

It’s safe to say that LIV Golf has created a wedge between professional players and fans, alike.? Two months prior to anyone knowing what the heck LIV Golf was, in September 2021, I had the opportunity of a lifetime in getting invited to play in my first PGA Tour Pro-Am on Wednesday before the tournament started at the #Fortinet Championship in Napa.? The night before the event, pairings were announced.? The event quickly went from being a bucket list item to an “are you kidding me?!” moment in being paired with Ken Xie (Co-Founder & CEO of Fortinet, who is as nice & humble as they come), an Infrastructure Executive from Salesforce, and Phil Mickelson.? Yep, lefty himself.? We then played the back 9 with Michael Thompson.? Let’s just say that sleep that night never really came.?

Regardless of which side of the LIV Golf (and Phil Mickelson) coin you land on, I’m hopeful that the experience can be of value to you. ?I’ve often thought about that day (and shared it with probably far too many) and about how many of the leadership qualities I often aspire to live out were found during and even before the golf round.

On the first tee, after Phil arrived and approached us amateurs waiting to meet him and begin our adventure, I was immediately surprised with how approachable he was.? Extending his closed hand for a fist bump (this was during the height of COVID), he said “Hi, I’m Phil”.? As if he needed an introduction.? And we were off.

To those who play golf and have ever had the first-tee jitters because of people who may have been watching, this was a whole other level as I stood there about to do so in front of one of the all-time best players in the game.? And in front of his gallery, though a bit thinner due to COVID.? I realized I had a choice.? I could think about the situation in negative terms with thoughts like, “don’t make a fool of yourself”, “don’t hit over there”, etc or I could put focus over fear and think about the shot at hand.? How do I picture it?? Which way is the wind blowing and how hard?? What’s my target?? “You’ve got this”, I told myself.? Par on the first hole…okay, exhale.

One of the benefits of playing in a Pro-Am is that even us lowly amateurs are provided with caddies to carry our bags, give yardages, and generally try to keep us in the present before we hit each shot.? Leaders often depend on their teams to provide them with information from which to make good decisions.? But at the point the data is presented, the leader must use it in concert with their previous experience, vision of what’s coming and then be decisive.? Having a caddy to provide such insights was no different.? He could give me the all the information I could possibly want, but it was up to me to focus on what was pertinent and then execute the shot.

As our group walked up the first fairway, I had to purposefully ignore the cameras that were in our faces and quickly learned that it was something professional golfers must do every single round.? Not to mention the occasional heckler, which Phil later in the round said he was used to and just ignores.? Fortunately, Phil again put us at ease in asking about what we did, what our partnership was with Fortinet, and so forth.? It wasn’t long before you start just having normal conversations, forgetting that this is someone who, in refusing to let naysayers or age get the best of him, just became the oldest person ever to win the PGA Championship a few months prior.

Confidence on the first hole (and any shot thereafter) was simply the result of time & effort put in during many hours and practice rounds before that day ever arrived.? Famed coach John Wooden often quoted Benjamin Franklin, who said that “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”.? Such confidence does not mean failure won’t happen but that if and when it does, you can be confident that you have the skills to recover.?

The PGA Tour keeps statistics of what’s known as the “bounce-back”, which is how often a player makes a birdie or better following a hole where bogie or worse was made.? In the business world, that’s simply called resilience.? I liken resilience with perseverance and confidence, which combined are as much a requirement for success on the golf course as they are in so many facets of professional life.? And when a poor shot is hit (and they will happen), but is then followed by one that you can store in the “remember that one” memory bank, confidence is built even more in knowing that you’re capable.? Recovery is part of the adventure.? Getting a “nice shot” a couple times from Phil was a reward in itself that I now get to refer back to in my mind whenever I need to hit a similar shot.? Just wish I had recorded his compliment on my phone for a ring tone.

So my biggest takeaways and reminders in applying leadership lessons from this amazing experience:

1.????? Be approachable.

2.????? Fear can paralyze or fear can inspire and motivate.? Keep composed and choose the latter.

3.????? Focus on what’s relevant to key decisions, drown out everything else, be decisive and execute.

4.????? Confidence comes from preparation.? Preparation leads to opportunities to challenge yourself and show that you can do it, even in the face of any doubters.

5.????? When mistakes are made, own them, learn from them, and be resilient.

6.????? Be respectful, but don’t be intimidated by anyone.

7.????? Finally, show genuine interest in others and have conversations about something other than what seems obvious.? Most people will appreciate that, Tour Pros included.? Did you know that Phil’s daughter is a black belt?

As for Phil, he was genuinely friendly, engaged, and a lot of fun.? Something I’ll always remember and be grateful to Fortinet for.? However, I was so disappointed that my new bestie didn’t divulge that he was about to leave the PGA Tour for greener pastures.? The nerve.