Do you know who won the 2022 Masters Golf Tournament last week? I think more people knew that Tiger Woods competed and lost. Let’s talk about Scottie Scheffler and vulnerability and openness. Scottie Scheffler won the Masters and stayed out of limelight and credited his wife, Meredith. Look at this quote from the NY Post to see vulnerability in action.
“I cried like a baby this morning,” the New Jersey native recalled. “I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do. I was sitting there telling Meredith, ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready, I don’t feel like I’m ready for this kind of stuff.’ I just felt overwhelmed.
“She told me, ‘Who are you to say that you are not ready?’ What we talked about is that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me; and if today is my time, it’s my time.”
Leadership that succeeds, surprisingly, is a lot like Scottie Scheffler. Take notice, he won the Masters and hardly anybody noticed. He admitted he was super nervous before his final round and the truth is, not many people heard him say that. I had to do some digging to find it.
Surprisingly, vulnerability and openness are key qualities of a great leader. Yet, not many leaders have realized this. We have fabulous success at placing “Scheffler’s” in every industry. Noticeably, these guys are not grandstanding. They are often hard to even find. However, they win in the long run because they draw people to want to work with them.
Amazing What Vulnerability and Openness Can Do
As I am coining it, “Schefflers” do it quietly and often give credit to others inspiring their team to greater efforts. Note how Scheffler gave credit to his wife. These vulnerable candidates are not the ones who make politics grow, but rather are the ones who promote people who do real work and live out servant leadership. These hidden great leaders are the ones who bring their heart to work every day and can find ways to bring success. In short, vulnerability is of great value.
Great workers flock to them. The best workers stay, and the politicians find the door. If you’ve read my blog for long enough you know my view on politicians. Politics and business don’t mix well. Back to the topic at hand.
You may ask, how can one know all of that just from seeing vulnerability and openness? I say that it is a sign. I implement this philosophy in my work. No one gets our recommendation without passing our intensive background check. I see that part of our success is getting these quiet champions to the background check.
Many interviewers will pass over them as they report real numbers and not exciting fiction. Truthfully speaking, these candidates don’t perform the best in interviews, and get dropped despite being a gem. We can support these people and bring them in. They make your company better if you can only see what we see. To continue on the golf metaphor, Tiger Woods continues to get all the press even though his performance this year was shabby, and he finds himself in much trouble due to his private life. Companies tend to hire flashy candidates like Woods when the Schefflers are winning. You can trust in our years of hiring, that this method has proved to yield the candidates with lasting talent and that you never want to let go.
