Being Tested

“We’re not trying to embarrass the best players in the world.  We’re trying to identify them.”

–        David Fay, former Executive Director, United States Golf Association

OK, OK, with apologies, a golfing metaphor to illustrate a point…

PGA Professionals can be prima donnas.  Most really talented people can be.  Early in my career it was a trap that I fell in to way too readily.  When something good happened, as a younger man, I just assumed it must be me that made it happen.  It was easy, with that mindset, to see the path of least resistance, so that I could artificially feel good about the outcome — whether or not I played much of a role in creating it.

In the case of the golf example, the US Open Championship tends to be the most difficult test of the best players in the world, year in and year out.  The USGA grows the grass in the rough up to some 5 inches or more.  They make the fairways narrower than at any other tournament.  The putting greens tend to be a lot like marble countertops in our kitchens…hard and fast.  They try to create the hardest test of golf they can, within the bounds of the game.  Every now and then, some of the best golfers in the world complain that the USGA is trying to embarrass them, even though every single player plays the same course in a balanced competition to identify who the best of the best really are.  Only the best — and toughest of mind — have a chance to win on the biggest stage, when, in their context, the outcome really matters.

Sort of like a sales professional in a really tough or dynamic market.  Or a relationship professional in a really competitive market.  Or a server in an over-saturated restaurant town.  Or a pediatric dentist is a rapidly growing community.  Or a kid who cuts lawns on a block with ten other pre-teens saving for their first car.  Or a parent whose kids is struggling with decision making, prioritization, etc.

See where I’m going?  The bigger the stakes, the harder the test.  The harder the test, the better it feels when we get it right.  The bigger the stakes and the harder the test, the better it feels when we get it right.  When we beat that test of our skills, our experiences, our belief and our abilities.

And, just as only the best players in the world qualify to play in the US Open, as leaders, our goal ought to be to have the best team in the world.  Not to embarrass them, rather to identify, hire and then challenge them so that they can / will do their best work on the biggest stage.

If your boss is tough on you, or if  your job is tough, or if a particular relationship goes through a tough patch, remember, if it was easy, it wouldn’t take a difference maker.  Anyone could do it, and, by definition, it wouldn’t be as rewarding or gratifying when we get it completely right.