Leadership - Flow - Gratitude

Leadership - Flow - Gratitude

Greetings Golfers,

(I hate to start with this … but everybody is asking about the Sale … it’s Saturday, Dec. 6 … 9 to noon.)

 
Ok … here we go … bear with me … I want to talk about Leadership, Flow, and Gratitude. Let’s see where this goes.

 
So the Vikings are 9-2. Did you watch last week’s game against the Bears? How crazy was that? But the Vikings won. Again.

 
Why are they winning? They don’t look very good. The reason they don’t look very good … is because they don’t have the horses. Some people would blame the coach … rather than realize the coach is why they’re winning.

 
Leadership is underrated. I’m serious. Some people like to think that leaders are just figureheads … or just the person in the role … but not really that important. They think that the team or organization is what it’s all about … leadership or not.

 
I’m not saying it’s all a one-man-show … but leadership is the vital role.

 
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity … but is best known as the architect of the notion of Flow. He said that “people are happiest when they are in a state of Flow … a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand”.

 
Can a great football coach get his guys there?

 
Doing things for the love of it … not for the reward … is the secret. The reward will follow.

 
As Cicero said “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others”.

 
I know … I know … another leap. But … what if the coach/leader can get his people to a place of Gratitude? Wouldn’t that lead to a place of Flow?

 
You see it in everything. People who go through treatment and come out motivated to do the right thing … usually get their life back on track. Their goal is not the money/success … but rather to do things right … which usually leads to success.

Too often, just focusing on the reward … leads to acting like a criminal. That doesn’t make someone strong. And a good leader gets people to do the right thing for the right reason.

Playing golf for the sheer love of it is very different from playing golf for the reward. How often have we seen a Tour player win after the loss of a family member who they dedicated the tournament to. They were playing for love.

Or the player who lost their card and crashed and burned. And came back with a new attitude of playing for the love of the game.

Well, I think a good leader inspires. A poor leader is just a boss who controls by fear.

A good leader makes it look easy. A good golfer makes it look easy. Being in the Flow makes things look easy.

 
It looks like Kevin O’Connell connects with his players. I hope they keep playing for the sheer joy of playing the game. If they do … good things will happen.

They should be grateful that they have the opportunity to play football for their living. And they should be grateful for waking up each day.

 
So should we.

 
Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com