30
Golf and the Game of Leadership
enforced by referees, umpires, and other officials. However, some
players seem to stretch the rules whenever they can. This is espe-
cially true in football and basketball. The most egregious violation
is the common practice of ‘‘holding’’ one’s opponent, both on the
football field and on the basketball court. It is often called by
officials, and penalties are assessed.
It also seems that ‘‘holding’’ is often overlooked. When that
happens, does the football or basketball player who holds an op-
ponent in violation of the rules request a timeout to notify the
officials that a penalty should have been called? NO WAY! Foot-
ball and basketball players do not stand in line to report their
violations of the rules. Do you think they should?
In contrast to those sports in which players sometimes appear
to be trying to get away with as much as they can, the game of
golf expects you to call penalties on yourself. As an example, Tom
Lehman, a professional since 1982, did just that in the 1997 British
Open. He called a two-shot penalty on himself for playing his ball
from the wrong place.
Also, Meg Mallon, playing in the first round of the 1996
LPGA Jamie Farr Kroger Classic, led the field with a 6-under-par
65. During her round, on the 17th green, she had a 15-foot putt
die (stop) on the lip of the cup. She thought the ball was still
moving and so she waited, anticipating it would drop in. It did.
However, in waiting 18 seconds for the ball to drop, because she
thought it was moving, she applied the wrong rule. The ball over-
hung the lip of the cup and therefore was subject to the 10 seconds
allowed by rule, without unreasonable delay, to see if the ball
would drop. She took a score of 4 on the par-5 hole, finished her
round, and signed and turned in her scorecard. She should have

to live. The young man enters the hospital room. He sees the old
man in his bed surrounded by life support equipment. The young
man hesitates for a moment and then he pulls a chair over to the
side of the bed. He sits down, takes the old man’s hand and begins
talking to him. Every once in a while he feels what could be a tug
of recognition from the hand he is holding.
Shortly after 5 .., the old man passes away. The marine
ends his bedside vigil and advises the nurse of the old man’s death.
And then he asks, ‘‘Who was that old man?’’
The nurse is stunned, ‘‘Why, he’s your father.’’
‘‘No, he’s not,’’ says the young man. ‘‘I never saw him before
tonight.’’
‘‘I don’t understand, why didn’t you say so earlier?’’
‘‘Well, it was clear he wouldn’t last long. I thought if he felt I
was his son it would help him to go peacefully.’’
The nurse, clearly impressed, said, ‘‘That’s so thoughtful. Peo-
ple just don’t show that much caring for others. Why would you
do it?’’
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Golf and the Game of Leadership
The marine replied without hesitation, ‘‘I was just doing what
my mother taught me. She told me that when I grew up I would
be faced with many situations not of my making. Sometimes, I
would be in the position of being in the right place at the wrong
time. At other times, I would be in the wrong place at the right
time. The measure of me, she said, will be how I handle those
situations.’’
Do you have some understanding of the values of the young
marine? Would he be able to accept and pursue the values of your

Values Are the Drivers
and actions. In a recent conversation with a strategy planner for a
major corporation, I was advised of an equal opportunity problem
perceived by the planner.
‘‘Our top management is too young! This hurts us now, and
will increasingly do so in the future. Already we are experiencing
a poor use of older people and a reduction in their morale and
motivation. A fixation on youth has caused us to devalue the ex-
perience and dedication of our longer service employees. There is
little opportunity for people 45 to 50 and older now, and down
the road there will be decreased opportunity for young people.
We’ve created an imbalance in our human resource structure that
threatens future success. The environment in the organization, as
represented by our practices, doesn’t match up with our pro-
claimed equal career development policy.’’ As a leader, what value
do you place on age and experience? Does your organization
walk-the-talk regarding its human resource policies and practices?
Noel M. Tichy, author of The Leadership Engine, comments
on the power of values:
Winning leaders have turned to emphasizing values for purely
practical reasons. . . . A typical GE manager [supervises] fifteen
to twenty and sometimes more [subordinates]. The point is
simple: When you can’t control, dictate, or monitor, the only
thing you can do is trust. And that means leaders have to be
sure that the people they are trusting have values that are going
to elicit the decisions and actions they want.
2
Organizational Values
Organizations, large and small, have increasingly recognized the
need for, and the power of, values. Successful organizations, those

Embracing Speed and Excellence: Using the benefits of
a digital age to accelerate our success and build a faster and
smarter GE
■
Living the Hallmarks of GE Leadership:
■
Passion for learning and sharing ideas
■
Committed to delivering results in every environment
■
Ability to energize and inspire global, diverse teams
■
Connected to workplace, customers and communities
intouch with the world’’
3
Similarly, General Motors Corporation has an established set
of core values.
■
Customer Enthusiasm: We will dedicate ourselves to prod-
ucts and services that create enthusiastic customers. No one will
be second-guessed for doing the right thing for the customer.
■
Continuous Improvement: We will set ambitious goals,
stretch to meet them, and then ‘‘raise the bar’’ again and again.
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35
Values Are the Drivers
We believe that everything can be done better, faster, and more
effectively in a learning environment.
■

Phil, Johnny, and Ford; walking-the-talk; and establishing and liv-
ing organization values like GE’s, GM’s, and Southwest’s. In your
job or career changes, have organization values played a role in
your decisions? Will they if you change in the future?
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36
Golf and the Game of Leadership
The Sense of Integrity
The professional golfer’s sense of integrity is enforced during
tournament play because everyone is watching. Most weekend
golfers are not held to the same standard. We often end up off the
fairway where no one is watching. How many opportunities do
we have to kick the ball out of the rough and improve our lie? Are
we tempted to not count a whiff or topped shot that moves only
a few feet? Our golf game often tests our personal honor. A little
fudging is not a big deal. No one is hurt, right? Have you ever
played with a ‘‘sandbagger’’ (cheater)? You see them adjusting
their lie. You know they are not recording all their shots on the
scorecard. What do you think of that person? Would you, or do
you, trust them off the course?
The game of leadership is no different. Leaders often find
themselves in the rough with no one watching. It’s tempting to
adjust the figures in a report to improve your lie. It won’t hurt to
take credit for work that isn’t yours. We have seen the actions of
leaders who lack the integrity to do the right thing in these and
similar situations. How effective are they? How many actually get
away with it? How do you feel about working with them, or work-
ing for them?
In golf, do you look for golfing partners with whom you have
shared values? Are you most comfortable working with organiza-

Author Unknown
Quick Tips for Improving Your Leadership
Game
Real leaders typically understand and model the following in their
day-to-day actions:
■
Serve your family.
Serve your customers.
Serve others.
You’ll do well in life.
■
Take care of your people and they will take care of you. Not
just those who follow you, but those who lead with you.
■
Never say anything about a person who is not present that
you would not say in that person’s presence.
■
Maintain the highest of ethical standards, that is, integrity,
fairness, honesty, and a determination to do what’s right.
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5
4
Play by the Rules
When the leader is morally weak and his discipline not
strict, when his instructions and guidance are not
enlightened, when there are no consistent rules,
neighboring rulers will take advantage of this.
Sun Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher
Malcolm Campbell, in his book Ultimate Golf Techniques, writes:
To be a golfer rather than just a hitter of golf balls is to under-

from there, preferably from a nice tuft of grass.’’
■
Rule 3. ‘‘There shall be no such thing as a lost ball. The
missing ball is on or near the course somewhere and eventually
will be found and pocketed by someone else. It thus becomes a
stolen ball, and the player should not compound the felony by
charging himself with a penalty stroke.’’
■
Rule 4. ‘‘If a putt passes over the hole without dropping, it
is deemed to have dropped. The law of gravity holds that any
object attempting to maintain a position in the atmosphere with-
out something to support it must drop. The law of gravity super-
sedes the law of golf.’’
■
Rule 5. ‘‘Same thing for a ball that stops on the brink of the
hole and hangs there defying gravity. You cannot defy the law.’’
■
Rule 6. ‘‘Same thing goes for a ball that rims the cup. A ball
should not go sideways. This violates the laws of physics.’’
■
Rule 7. ‘‘A putt that stops close enough to inspire such
comments as ‘You could blow it in’ may be blown in. This rule
does not apply if the ball is more than three inches from the hole,
because no one wants to make a travesty of the game.’’
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