As our tournament season winds down, I want to offer a special thanks to our Section tournament staff. Great job this year! It was a trying and tiring season, and I could not be prouder of the job you did for the members and amateurs that played this season. Congratulations to Colin Inglis for winning the PPC at Arrowhead and all the other players who qualified for the National Championship. To Rob Gibbons and the owners and staff at Arrowhead, a special thanks. It is tough to give up that revenue by letting us use your facilities for three days. A big THANK YOU!
Over the past months, I have shared my thoughts on different leadership and personal development approaches with you. These often came from a book or tape I had discovered. In this article, I am going back to an “oldie but goodie.”
But before I start, I want to create some context. Think about the parable of the Broiled Frog. Frogs can change their body temperature based on the water temperature. If you put a frog in a beaker of water and added a heat source to the beaker, the frog would slowly adjust its body temperature to match the changing water temperature. This is what the frog has always done, and it has worked in the past, except if the water boils, so does the frog. The point is, if you think about leadership the same way you always have, you could end up like a frog.
In the ’90s Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner published a book titled “The Leadership Challenge.” They reaffirmed that leadership is not about personality; it’s about behavior. What do effective leaders do when achieving their personal best? The authors determined five core practices: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. These are the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.
Summary of the Five Leadership Practices
| Key Behaviors | Details | |
| Model the Way | Set the example by behaving in ways that reflect shared values.
Achieve small wins that build confidence, commitment and consistent progress. |
The leader sets an example. Define shared behavioural standards and then exemplify them. Kouses and Posner also believe it is essential to achieve some small wins. (eat the elephant one bite at a time) |
| Inspiring a Shared Vision | Envision an uplifting, exciting, meaningful future. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to their values, interests, hopes, and dreams. | Leaders should work on their vision before enlisting others to refine it and make it theirs. Use powerful, evocative language to capture the vision and inspire others. |
| Challenge the Process | Search out challenging opportunities to change, grow, innovate and improve.
Take a risk and learn from your mistakes. |
The leader is a change agent-questioning, challenging, and seeking new ideas. Take risks, experiment, learning from, and allowing mistakes. Importantly, encourage new ideas. Let them flourish. |
| Enable Others to Act | Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.
Strengthen people’s ability by delegating power, developing their competence, and offering visible support. |
Build a spirit of trust and collaboration. Encourage people to share information. Kouzes and Posner believe that leaders must disclose what they believe and care about and, when necessary, show some vulnerability. This means delegating power, believing in others, and investing in their development. |
| Encourage the Heart | Recognize individual contributions: praise and celebration.
Celebrate team accomplishments often. |
OGO! |
Please give the practices some thought and give them a try. If you are in a leadership rut, get out! A rut and a grave are very similar. One has the ends kicked out.
As always, please stay safe, reach out, and contact someone you have not seen or talked to in a while.
Howie Pruitt, PGA
Director, Golf Operations, Aspen Lakes GC
President, Pacific Northwest Section