Management and Golf - A Comparison
Every golfer has heard the saying, Drive for show. Putt for dough. They know that the game is won or lost within 100 yards of the hole, yet they ignore the fundamentals chipping, putting, sand shots - preferring to opt for the more glamorous drives. Go to a driving range and see what club everyone is hitting. If it were called a chipping range, no one would go! Same is true for managers. They ignore the fact that things like vision and strategy dont mean squat in the absence of sound fundamentals. Its hard to execute strategy for instance, when a project cant be completed on time.
Most golfers dont want to practice. They want to play. Its not a matter of time. They log many hours on the course. Their spouses would attest to that! Unfortunately the time is not spent on the right stuff. Sure, some subscribe to Golf digest or hit the range every so often, but they are unwilling to put in the requisite time to learn and master a new skill. As a result, they continue to make the same mistakes. They even avoid hitting certain clubs ensuring the skill will never be developed. They end up using the wrong tool for the job. Sometimes they can get by. More often, they severely hamper their chances for success.
The same is true with management. Managers, especially seasoned ones, dont want to bother with training. They certainly dont want to practice honing their craft. many put in tons of overtime, but they just blow with the wind, not knowing what theyll be doing from one day to the next. They dont set aside the time to work on improving. A small percentage will read a management book every once in a while, but precious few will act on the teachings. They have their tried and true methods that they employ regardless of the circumstances with widely varying degrees of success. To maximize results a manager must continue to learn and expand on his/her toolset.
Have you ever seen the golfers that prance around decked out in the latest designer golf attire? They have the dynamite clubs and the golf bag that is as finely equipped as a small apartment. They appear to be concerned much more about how they look than how they play, and it shows in the final score even with the mulligans, the hand wedges, and the forgotten strokes! many managers are no different. They dress the part, and they pride themselves in having the latest gadgets the PDAs, the finest, tiniest, and most powerful laptops (for speedier email reading!), the plush office furniture, etc. There is no denying that there is value in projecting a good image, and some tools can be very helpful, but the fact remains, there is no substitute for the basics. If a manager and his/her team cant execute the fundamentals no Armani suit or fancy new tool can make up for it. Acting the part just makes matters worse. Witness the wildly successful Dilbert comic strip.
Golf, like most sports is a game of confidence. If you dont have it you are doomed. If you think you are going to top the ball, you will. If you get a case of the yips others will sense it too. Similarly, team members can sense a lack of confidence in their managers. To lead successfully a manager must develop confidence. It comes from winning and it comes from losing. It comes from continuous learning and attainment of new skills. When you learn from your mistakes and work to improve, when the team achieves success, you become comfortable in your own skin. You realize that you dont need to know or do it all. You know how to approach and make difficult decisions. You learn how to gravitate toward uncomfortable tasks and complete them for the good of the team and the organization.
OK, so there are a lot of similarities between golf and management actually a lot more than discussed here. How about the differences? Lets check a few of them out.
In the game of golf there is one unavoidable titanic metric the score. Its a non-biased, cut and dry way to judge performance for a particular round. Further, the average number of strokes above par for a series of rounds (called a handicap), along with course difficulty, also determines the skill level of the golfer.
Metrics vary considerably for managers both in number and in their ability to accurately gauge performance. Surprisingly, some managers have no metrics at all. Performance is completely arbitrary, and they like it that way! Of course even with metrics, figures can lie and liars can figure, and managers do their share sandbagging and manipulating the numbers to their advantage. Similarly, golfers can cheat, and cheat they do! Any time a golfer starts adding up his/her score after completing a hole it spells trouble! Some golfers and managers feel compelled to try to convince others (and sometimes they seem to even convince themselves) that they are better than they truly are. Managers need to leave the ego at home, create accurate metrics, and continuously work with their teams to improve performance.
Although it can be, golf is typically not played as a team game, whereas management is, or at least it should be a team endeavor. As a result, when a golfer screws up s/he usually only impacts her/himself. Management is an altogether different ballgame. As a matter of fact, its not a game at all. A manager screw up can have serious impacts on the lives of many others all the more reason to work at getting it right!
The good news is that unlike in golf, a manager is typically not alone. Sure the big time golfers have a caddy to help out, but most fly solo. Managers on the other hand have lots of people they can go to for help. Current managers, former managers and peers can all assist. Ask for help. Take it and give it freely.
For all the frustration that golf can cause (why is it so hard to hit the ball? Its just sitting there!), there are few thrills that compare with hitting a ball right on the sweet spot, or sinking a 30 foot putt for birdie. It makes the golfer forget the poor shots, even the very next one that hooked out of bounds. Similarly, there are few better feelings for a manager than witnessing a team or team member enjoy success. It makes all the administration and the personnel issues worth while.
The important thing to realize is that like golf, management is not just one shot. Its not one hole, and its not one round. Its hundreds of rounds backed by hundreds of hours of practice. Consistency is crucial, and so is resiliency. There will always be mistakes. Balls will slice out of bonds and plop into water hazards. Throwing clubs, screaming, and yelling wont help. Learning from mistakes, practicing, and sticking with it will. Is a managers approach all that different?
According to a study done by Revista Golf International a few years ago, 80% of golfers never achieve a handicap of 18 or less, and the average golf score for 18 holes is 107. We could certainly use a few more scratch managers, but wouldnt it be great if there were more bogey managers? With practice and a drive toward continuous improvement, the double bogey managers can make it to the next level. Separate from the crowd. Keep swinging managers! Practice, practice, practice.
nick McCormick is a Principal with Be Good Ventures, LLC. Would you like to improve your management performance? Go to http://BeGoodVentures.com/ to download a FREE file containing 5"x7" training cards based on Nick's book Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager. Act on some of the tips today! Be Good!
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