Every Club Counts
Yesterday, while co-facilitating a Lead the Way session at Aviva in Perth, we were exploring leadership styles.
Towards the end of the session, I thought it was time to bring a little unexpected fun into the room. Earlier that morning, in my preparations for the session, I’d had a silly idea…
So… out came the golf clubs. ⛳
A driver, 3 wood, 4 iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge and of course… my putter.
A few slightly puzzled faces looked back at me!
I asked if there were any golfers in the room and one participant bravely volunteered to come forward.
What followed was part leadership lesson, part comedy golf challenge.
We talked about how no golfer would ever play an entire round with just one club.
The driver might help you launch down the fairway, but it’s hopeless in a bunker.
And a putter is perfect on the green, but not much use off the tee.
The wedge helps with delicate recovery shots.
Each club has a purpose for a specific situation and good golfers learn to read the course ahead of them.
In a sense Leadership styles are very similar.
Great leaders don’t rely on one dominant style for every circumstance.
Sometimes a team needs a visionary leader who paints a compelling picture of the future.
At other times they need coaching and encouragement.
Or they may need clarity, pace, collaboration, challenge, reassurance or direction.
The real skill is sensing what the situation requires… and then reaching for the right “club.”
Of course, no leadership activity involving golf clubs would be complete without a little chaos.
So naturally, we finished by attempting to putt golf balls into a mug from across the room using different clubs.
Let’s just say the success rate varied considerably depending on the club selected!
There was plenty laughter, a little competitiveness, and more than a few surprisingly passionate putting techniques on display.
But beneath the fun sat a simple reminder:
Leadership flexibility matters and there is always a choice, but as we watched John we all realised how he slowed down and really concentred too.
The key message landed – the best leaders are not those who master only one style.
They are the ones who develop the awareness, confidence and adaptability to use the right style at the right moment for the people in front of them.
Or, to put it another way…
Sometimes leadership requires a driver, and sometimes it simply requires a very careful putt into a pink mug!
As leaders, are we carrying a full bag of clubs… or just swinging the same one over and over again?
