Recap of Leadership Lessons at U.S. Ryder Cup

By: Nancy Berkley


I can't believe it happened again. Just as Davis Love III, the 2012 Ryder Cup captain, did not understand the difference between a corporate committee and a team, Tom Watson didn't either.

In the post-game recaps, it was shocking to hear players report that Watson never discussed the pairings with them or asked the players for their views. He said he left that up to his vice-captains.

Watson apparently thought he was the CEO. In the corporate world when a department doesn't get results, department executives and their employees get fired. But Watson has no one to fire and, instead, can lay blame on his team members for just not playing well or the other team just playing better.

But the buck stops with Watson on the leadership issue. So bring in the leadership coaches for the next Ryder Cup - forget the swing coaches. I said all this in my 2012 article: "Understanding Leadership and Loss" http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/the_ryder_cup_understanding_leadership_loss.

My favorite definition of a team is: "A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable." This came from the Harvard Business School book, "The Wisdom of Teams," by Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith.

The key terms are "common purpose" and "mutual accountability." The only way to establish team success is through communication at all levels - the kind of communication that builds trust among players and promotes confidence on the playing field.

That is communication from the top down, bottom up and among the players. According to reports, that didn't happen on the 2014 U.S. team.

It's possible that team management was more obvious and critical for the European captain because he has players from different countries and cultures. He knows that building a "team" is essential when players bring difference cultures and styles into the equation.

On the other hand, it's possible that Watson took for granted that our players all share the "American" culture. But as enlightened Americans know, this country is having its problems operating as a team at many levels of society - from sports to politics.

But, a closer look at the organization of the PGA of America offers even more insights into why the U.S. team was handicapped entering the competition. The PGA of America itself is organized like a corporation. At the PGA's annual meeting in November of 2012, Ted Bishop, formerly vice president of the PGA, was named the new president. Shortly thereafter, Peter Bevacqua, was named the new CEO, replacing Joe Steranka.

One month later, in December of 2012, Bishop announced Watson as the Ryder Cup captain. It's hard to believe that Bishop had not already selected Watson since he had two years as the association's VP to think about it. With only a month on the job, it was also highly unlikely that Bevacqua would have tried to change that decision - even if he wanted to. It is interesting to note that Bevacqua has kept a very low profile during this Ryder Cup. My intuition tells me he will have a bigger role behind the scenes in 2016.

But before the next Ryder Cup, to take place in my home state of Minnesota two years from now, the golf world will watch the women's version of the Ryder Cup - the Solheim Cup: Team U.S. versus Team Europe - September 15-17, 2015. The captain of the United States team is Juli Inkster, and the matches will take place in Germany not far from Heidelberg and a short flight from Frankfurt. See more details at http://www.solheimcupusa.com.

Juli, are you listening to all the recaps and theories of why Watson and our U.S. Team couldn't pull out a victory this year? I've met you on the golf course in Los Altos, Calif., watched you balance golf and motherhood, watched you win LPGA Tour events and clearly remember following your two victories in the U.S. Women's Open. Please show America how a winning team works.

Nancy Berkley, President of Berkley Golf Consulting, is an expert on women's golf and junior-girls golf. She is a frequent contributor to www.cybergolf.com/womensgolf. Her book, "Women Welcome Here! A Guide to Growing Women's Golf," published by the National Golf Foundation, is an industry reference on marketing golf to women and spotting trends within the industry. She offers information and advice about the golf industry on www.berkleygolfconsulting.com and is often quoted in national publications. She was a contributing editor of "Golf for Women" magazine and a founding advisor of "Golfer Girl Magazine." Her interviews with women in the golf industry now appear on www.golfergirlcareers.com. Nancy lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Harvard University and Rutgers Law School. After a business and legal career, she decided to write about the game she learned and loved as a teenager. She describes herself as a good bogey golfer with permanent potential.