Full Swing & Business

“They say a winner is just a loser that kept on trying, and that's me to a tee,” How many times do I lose? But one thing I won't do is give up, and I'm only here as a winner because I chose not to give up and just kept going.” – Tony Finau

As an avid golfer, I was excited to watch Full Swing on Netflix. ? It’s a documentary that tracks the professional and personal lives of several different players on the PGA Tour.

What I found most interesting about it though was that it was actually less about playing golf and more about the psyche of these top professional athletes.

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There are a few important lessons in leadership and culture I took from it:

1) The top golfers in the world are very similar as far as talent goes, but what separates the very best is their mental fortitude.?????

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As a professional golfer, you lose 90% of the time you play a tournament, and that’s if you’re one of the best.? Some of the best players in the world have had multiyear slumps (ie Brooks Koepka who was injured, not sure he would ever play again at peak form and just won the PGA Championship in May).

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The famous golfer Walter Hagan used to say that you’re going to make at least seven mistakes each round.? Accepting that is key.

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Golf is all about mistakes and losing….a lot.?

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But more importantly, it’s about how you bounce back from this.?

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Do you let those mistakes compound?

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Do you let one tough loss derail you in the next tournament?

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Two things were evident from the top players as it relates to this.

One, the top golfers all had short memories.? They might get upset over a shot or losing a tournament, but they quickly get over it, learn from their mistakes and move on.

The second thing that was evident was the best golfers had a great support system that was not only rooting for them along the way, but also was there to pick them up after a tough defeat.?

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The best leaders I’ve had were always big cheerleaders and I always felt they had my back.? They fostered a culture of trust and security.

After a mistake was made or after a big loss, we’d focus on what could be learned and then we’d move on to the next challenge, with that same level of support.? I’ve modeled the same philosophy as a leader myself.

2)? Risk/Reward

One thing I love about golf is that it’s a perpetual game of risk vs reward.?

When I first started playing, I took far too many risks.? I was always using a driver off the tee, never laying up, pin seeking every shot and going for the green in two on every par five.? After doing this for quite some time, it became evident I was never going to shoot low scores this way and that the perpetual gambling wasn’t paying off.

As a big data guy, I started tracking all of this in an app and could see where I was losing the most strokes.? With data in hand, I could now see when I needed to play more safely and realized in what situations I could continue taking on risk.? I also knew where I needed to focus when I practiced.

I’ve seen this in the business world as well.? The best leaders don’t just always swing for the fences or don’t always play it safe, but they leverage data to understand the risks and make calculated decisions based on it.

3)? Understanding the Why is important

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Tony Finau, from the quote up top, had a very specific why.? His parents made unbelievable sacrifices when he was a child.?

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He didn’t come from wealth and his parents sacrificed their time and the little money they had to drive him to events to compete.

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Unfortunately, his mom was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 47.?

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Tony’s why isn’t about making $100M or becoming famous.? Tony’s why is that he wants to succeed to honor the sacrifices his mom made for him and for his family.

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As a leader, get to know your team and get to know their why.? Not everyone is purely money motivated and not everyone is looking to become a manager.? The more you understand about their why the more you can do to help support and motivate.

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4)? Pay it forward

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Rory Mcllroy is one of the most accomplished golfers in history.? In the show, you see one of the big focuses is on helping the next generation of golfers.

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Not only does it show him working with the current younger PGA players to help with making some changes to the tour, but you see him working with kids who are looking to take up the game.?

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As an accomplished leader, pay it forward and share what you’ve learned with others.? Help those coming up as I’m sure there were those that helped you in the early days.

Even if golf isn’t your thing, I highly recommend checking out Full Swing as it’s a fascinating look inside the minds of some top tier athletes.