Pause at the top

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a pause at the top of my golf swing.

For my non-golfer readers, every person’s golf swing is a little different, kind of like a fingerprint. It reflects their natural state of being, to a certain extent a golf swing reflects who they are as a person. How their body moves (compare Arnold Palmer’s golf swing to Tiger Woods or Lydia Ko to see examples of this difference), the shape and length of their body, even the person who first taught them to swing a golf club impacts a golf swing.

For me, the pause at the top of my swing allows me just a moment to prepare and set my hips to pivot as I begin my downswing. This pause is noticeable. A few years ago a donor commented “I could smoke a cigarette at the top of your golf swing.”

When I don’t pause at the top, it results in a rushed and often off balanced swing, which is never a good thing. The pause at the top of my swing is essential for me to play well.

So why is a human and organizational development Process Consultant writing about the nuances of a golf swing? Well, it’s rather simple really:

Your leadership style is your leadership style

And, you better live into it. We each have a style of leading that we learn, improve, and adapt over time. It’s yours and no one else.

Unfortunately, we are often trained (or told) to emulate the leadership styles of others. These voices often come from well-meaning individuals, we are wanting the best for us and believe if we only led this way, we would be better leaders. Unfortunately, these communications are not always helpful because they push you to be someone other than who you are as a leader.

Don’t get me wrong, developing new leadership muscles is essential in adapting your style to fit your surroundings, especially in an ever-changing marketplace. However, your leadership style comes from your deeply held beliefs and values that form the essence of your leadership philosophy.

For me, I lead very collectively. I care deeply about what others think (sometimes too much, no surprise, I’m an Enneagram 2.) What I’ve learned overtime, is that sometimes I have to lead in other ways too. Not all situations call for the same style of leadership. Mine included.

(Below is a little more on the Enneagram 2. If you'd like to learn your type, please give me a call or email at lons@designgroupintl.com)

Over the past year, I’ve been working with a Client who has a very team-oriented style of leadership. She has chosen to lead her organization as a team. In her case, with five other senior leaders. Their collective wisdom is significant and has had a huge impact on the organization. They have grown in revenue, employees, and net income, expanded into new marketplaces, and purchased other companies to expand their portfolio of offerings to customers. She and they have been a huge success.

Her form of collective and team leadership is uncommon. Even with their success, she gets pushback to lead more individually, more top down, to go in a new direction. However, this is not who she is and has resisted this skepticism and critique. To which I say, great job!

She continues to learn, adapt, and incorporate new ways of thinking into her leadership. This has helped her meet the challenges of a growing company. It has also provided her insight into making the decisions only she can make as CEO.

As you consider your natural leadership style, its nuances, challenges, even weaknesses, recognize that it is yours and that it can be improved, strengthened, even transformed. But these innovations have to come from you and your DNA, if they come from someone else, you will be trying to be someone else…and that tends to backfire.

So, as you approach an upcoming leadership moment, pause at the top and consider how your natural leadership style fits that moment and if a slight adjustment is needed to meet the situation in front of you.

Mind how you go,

Lon

Lon L. Swartzentruber

Design Group International

Managing Partner & CEO 

Interim - CEO, Society for Process Consulting

If you’d like to go deeper in your leadership style please schedule a call. I’d be honored to listen and learn more about your journey as a leader and where you’d like to go next.

Here is what is in my backpack:

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman

Rereading Humble Leadership 2^nd Edition, by Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein

Rereading Immortal Diamond, by Richard Rohr.