Rory and Tiger and You
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Yesterday Rory McIlroy broke through. Last year he picked up his first PGA Tour victory and tied for third at the British Open. A couple of months ago he led most of the way at the Master's, only to come apart on the final day. You knew it was only a matter of time until he won his first major tournament. This weekend Rory McIlroy won the US Open.
He didn't just win. He set twelve US Open Records in the process. A hero-starved press immediately began comparing young Mr. McIlroy to Tiger Woods. Other than the fact that both men are spectacularly good golfers, there's not much to compare.
Tiger Woods in his prime was often compared to a machine. He walked the course concentrating on the next challenge as if the spectators weren't there. At the news conferences that followed his victories, he often mouthed bits of the slogans of his sponsors, as if he'd just thought of them. You often got the impression that golf would be a whole lot more to Tiger's liking if those pesky fans weren't around so much.
Rory McIlroy is the polar opposite of the detached and machine-like Tiger. Read the NY Times article, "A Fresh Young Star Easily Wins the Open, and the Fans’ Affection." You'll get an idea of what the fuss is all about.
McIlroy is gracious, human, and easy to like. He also has what Ernest Hemingway called "grace under pressure." After his collapse in the Masters, he was as polite to the media and the fans as if he'd just shot the best round of his life. Golf columnist Tom Callahan spoke for many others when he said this.
"He’s the one who’s been on the horizon, the guy everybody has been hoping would come along. I’m ready for a sports hero who doesn’t treat the world like his spittoon."
That's where the leadership lesson lies in all of this. There are lots of bosses who think that the way they get results doesn't matter. There are others who say they "want to be respected, not liked," as if it were a choice between the two. The fact is that the most successful bosses are most often both respected and liked.
Boss's Bottom Line
Why not go for liked and respected? Why treat the world like your
spittoon, when with the same effort you can be gracious and polite.
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
I have long followed Tiger Woods and recently Rorey McIlroy. You made insightful comparisons here. Athletes performing in whatever games they play provide some of the best opportunities for observing the good, the bad, and the ugly in leadership.
Your observation about how leaders can be liked and respected is the essential one. It isn't either or but both and. When the two traits work together, the results show it.
Great post, Wally. Thanks, ~Dawn
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Thanks for the kind words, Dawn. I think it usually works out better for the team and the leader if the leader acts in ways that lead to both respect and linking.
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Brilliant post!
Bosses heavily undermine 'being liked'. It is true that one can get work done by being curt, brusque and discourteous. But small gestures that show respect and approval can go a long way in increasing the motivation of your employees, and ultimately, the productivity of your organization. Breed an environment that gives and you'll certainly get back a lot more.
- Sindoora
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I like that line: "Breed an environment that gives and you'll get back a lot more."
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Great post indeed. I am really grabbed by Callahan's words, "He’s the one who’s been on the horizon, the guy everybody has been hoping would come along. I’m ready for a sports hero who doesn’t treat the world like his spittoon."
These larger than life personalities are gloried way too much and humility is in turn misunderstood as a sign of weakness.
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Thanks, Thabo. I think that glorifying athletes and others is something that humans do and not likely to go away.
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Though it's hard to argue with you about what Tiger has become, he wasn't always that way. When he came onto the scene, he seemed to my recollection more engaging and affable. I wonder what 15 years in the spotlight will do to Rory.
Regardless, let's not forget that one of the real appeals to Rory is he isn't Tiger Woods, and frankly everyone in and around golf is sick and tired of talking about Woods, in every possible way. Just as the backup quarterback is always the most popular player on the team, so the fresh face is more beloved than the veteran, simply for being different.
Why yes, I am a contrarian, why do you ask?
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Good points, Dan, especially about how McIlroy benefits from the fact that he's NOT Tiger.
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Great post, Wally. I'm glad to see it pointed out again that being liked and being respected are not mutually exclusive. A sport is only a hobby unless there are fans to appreciate it. More than a few "stars" would do well to remember that.
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Thanks, Derek. "Stars" of any kind should take the advice to heart. I thought Callahan had a partcularly wonderful way of making the point,.
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As is so often the case Wally you write something that helps me work out what I am thinking. I don't know either Tiger or Rory personally so I am engaging here with their public persona but what I sense is that Rory is a young man with a very clear sense of who he is - as a golfer and a person - and that he is happy with that. I hear about too many bosses who behave in what they consider to be a "boss like" way which is at odds with how they were before they had the responsablity - or maybe the power. Who knows?
What I understand from the press coverage about Rory is the strength of his support team - led I think by his parents who tell him what they are noticing and allowing him to take that into account in his behaviour.
Something that a few more sports stars and a great many bosses could really do with too!
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Thanks for those comments, Jackie. I think you've zeroed in on a good point. Both Tiger and Rory had strong support systems in the beginning. Dan's comment above speaks to the way Tiger is today versus the way Dan remembers him at the beginning of his career. My quick take on this is that Tiger's support system involved his father who prepared him to be a great golfer and have a great career and his family. His father died, as humans do, and Tiger's own behavior cost him his wife and children. He still has support from his family, but two key sources of support vaporized for him and it's hard to be all you can be without support. As you can read in the NY Times article I referenced, Rory's parents support him in his career, but seem to have made an effort to raise him t be a good man and work to keep him grounded amidst the strong winds of fame and fortune.
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