BETTER GOLF…BETTER WORK
Every round of golf creates challenges and opportunities to improve our work performance. Golf requires attention to detail, doing the right thing when no one is watching, maintaining our dignity in the face of stress, finding strength to persevere when things look bleak, showing courtesy to others, bringing the right frame of mind, and maintaining composure. Don’t these qualities also sound like a menu for business success? All golfers aspire to these traits to improve their scores, and should not be surprised to realize that they are also necessities for high level performance at work.
I’m a Professor of Psychiatry who has converted his career into mental golf coaching. I often work with business leaders trying to improve their golf game. Let me share a case example involving a business executive who sought me out for mental golf coaching because of her poor putting. Three-foot putts were the worst part of her game, despite drills, devices, YouTubes and an endless series of new putters.
As we worked together, I learned how scattered her attention was at the critical moment before putting. Many extraneous thoughts and emotions emerged – fears of repeated misses, self-consciousness about what other golfers would think, and more. Her mind was everywhere except where it should be – completely present over the golf ball. So, I helped her learn how to “be completely present” with the golf ball – by calmly breathing, focusing her vision on that beautiful white sphere at her feet and learning to be aware of the face of her putter – to the exclusion of everything else. Well, she started to putt a lot better. She even started to look forward to these short putts because she said these became moments of peace for her, instead of moments of terror.
Golf is just a game. Yet, it’s a game that can bring some powerful changes into your lives – and into our work. It’s great that learning to be present can improve putting, but imagine if you as a business leader could learn to be “more present” in the everyday encounters with people looking to you for guidance. Imagine the positive impact of looking people in the eye, listening, and giving the moment your full attention. Your staff will feel validated and valued and be more likely to want to contribute. So almost every leader at work can learn how to be a more effective executive by learning how to putt better.
Dr Rich speaks to business groups about mental golf to help them become more effective business leaders and colleagues, as well as to improve their golf game. He can be contacted at 401-578-3887 or at drrichgolf@gmail.com to discuss how this might fit into one of your business meetings or golf outings.