Leadership on the links: How America won the Ryder Cup

This is a wonderfully written article appearing in The Wall Street Journal/Golf Journal recently. Titled “Team USA's Management Victory” by John Paul Newport, this article transcends golf and can be an enlightening example of how many corporations could achieve new heights of greatness. The article points out how Ryder Cup captain, Paul Azinger, utilized a group-dynamic philosophy to assist his team in achieving what few before him have been able to achieve – beat the European squad. Paul’s approach to breaking up the group into 4 smaller units and appointing a ‘sub captain’ to each unit displays remarkable trust – trust that each group clearly understood the mission and were clearly motivated into helping each other achieve that mission. Realizing that golf is very much an individual rather than team sport, this is truly something worth noticing. What a great philosophy for corporate – the company President, builds a team, clearly articulates the company vision and mission, provides them the tools they need to accomplish the mission, then keeps them highly motivated and gives them SPACE to do their job!
There are some great lessons out there as long as we are willing to remain open to them!
Enjoy the read, and until next time…