Leadership Lessons From The Ryder Cup

I’ll admit I’m a golf tragic, picking up the game when I was 12 years old and playing as a competitive junior in Brisbane, Australia. So, it was no surprise to anyone in my family that I was looking forward to the Ryder Cup golf tournament this past weekend between the U.S. and Europe.

I was as interested to view the Ryder Cup from a leadership perspective as I was on watching three days of amazing golf because golf is primarily an individual sport except for team tournaments like the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and the Solheim Cup which are played every couple of years.

A lot had been written about why, with so much talent, the U.S. had not won as often in the past as much as the statistics would have predicted. And in this year’s Ryder Cup, while talented and favored again, the U.S. team faced the same question marks but ultimately romped to a 19-9 victory.

There are a few leadership lessons that I believe stood out from this year’s Ryder Cup:

1. Introverts Make Effective Leaders, Too

Too often we tend to think of effective leaders as outgoing, talkative, inspirational- traits of extraversion. We think of people like Winston Churchill, Jack Welch and Martin Luther King, Jr. who were all incredible, extraverted leaders. So, in a high-stakes competition drawing millions of viewers and with a number of very large personalities making up the U.S. Ryder Cup team, it seemed like Steve Stricker, a self-proclaimed introvert, being named as Captain was an odd decision. Steve is a man of few words but when he speaks, he chooses his words carefully. He is vulnerable and wears his feelings on his sleeve. Instead of rousing speeches, showing his team videos from past champions or organizing visits from famed celebrities like had often been done in the leadup to past Ryder Cup tournaments, Steve chose to be himself. He focused on preparation, understanding the chemistry of his players to ensure the best matchups possible, including pairing great friends Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, and as he said, his job really was to make it “easy” for his team to go out and be themselves. Ultimately, Steve led the U.S. team not only to victory, but he also led them to the largest margin of victory since 1967. Research shows that introverts and extraverts are equally effective as leaders, but as psychologist Adam Grant has shown, introverts are better leaders with proactive teams where the players are taking initiative. It’s time for businesses to rethink what makes a great leader. Introverts should not be overlooked.

2. Great Leaders Aren’t Always the Best Players

Steve Stricker is a great golfer in his own right, having reached a career-high world ranking of #2. However, he is the first U.S. Ryder Cup captain to have never won a major championship. In business, as in sports, we tend to assume that the best leaders had to be the best at their chosen profession earlier in their careers. I’ve always contended that leadership is a position on the team and the leader shouldn’t be decided simply based on performance in their current role. Great leaders and coaches like Bill Belichick, Gregg Popovich and Jose Mourinho had unimpressive playing careers to say the least. Bill even preferred playing lacrosse over football. But all three know how to get the most out of their teams and have proven successful leaders despite lacking the talent to play at the top level themselves. Businesses must uncover and nurture great leaders too.

3. Age and Rank are No Excuse for Opportunity

“I didn’t know that being 32 was considered old these days,” said U.S. player Harris English after the team selection was announced. English was joking of course, in response to seeing that Steve Stricker had assembled the youngest team in Ryder Cup history. 8 of the 12 U.S. players are in their 20’s, and 6 of the 12 appeared in their very first Ryder Cup. Following three dominant performances over the first two days by world no. 1, Spaniard John Rahm, I was eagerly waiting to see who Steve Stricker would pair up against him for the final day singles matchups. When it was to be the lowest ranked of the U.S. players, Scottie Scheffler, fans on social media quickly dismissed this matchup as a point to the Europeans. But in the end, Scottie won the matchup, and the U.S. completed their Ryder Cup victory. Why is it in business that we have this fear of letting young enthusiastic employees lead because they “lack experience” or because they haven’t “earned their stripes?” I still remember having ideas 40 years ago and being told things like “your time will come “or the classic lines “we’ve tried that before “and “that’s never going to happen.” As I became CEO of Taco Bell and eventually Yum! Brands, I made it my mission to give everyone a chance.

This year’s Ryder Cup was another spectacle of incredible golf and playing for collective pride. But it also showcased valuable lessons for all business leaders out there too. Recognize the inherent leadership attributes of introverts, identify leadership potential not based on current results alone, and give people you lead the chance to prove themselves. As the late Leila Janah said, “talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.”