Leading professional vs. Professional leader
Being a leading professional is different to being a professional leader. Photo from bobbywaliagolf.com
My golf coach, Bobby describes himself as a golf professional, not a professional golfer.
He used to be a professional golfer. To make it on to a professional golf tour is a remarkable achievement means he was an exceptional golfer.. As a professional golfer, he worked hard and his only professional concern was the performance of one golfer – him.
In 2024 as a golf professional, he played only 10 rounds of golf. That’s not much focus on his personal golf game.
As a golf professional, Bobby spent a lot more time helping others with their games. He works hard – especially on these winter mornings - and his concern is no longer his golf (which is nowhere near as good as his peak individual performance). His focus is now helping his students like me improve. It works – I have halved my handicap since I worked with him (thanks, Bobby!).
In 2024, he taught 2 827 people and 1 796 lessons across 1 951 hours.
Professional golfer – Optimise performance of one golfer
Golf professional – Support improved performance in many golfers
I love this distinction that Bobby makes. So much so that I have started applying it to leadership.
Leading professional vs. Professional leader.
Leading professionals:
Recognised for expertise
Solves problems
Highly effective individually
Works in the system
These are people who are excellent lawyers, marketers, sales people and engineers. They have dedicated time and effort to being great at their area of expertise and make significant individual contributions as a result.
Professional leaders:
Recognised for enabling others
Develops capacity for others to solve
Multiplies team effectiveness
Works on the system
These are people that commit themselves to supporting collective performance. They dedicate time and effort to improving their ability to lead and support the performance of others - and contribute to significant collective contributions as a result.
Your organisation is full of leading professionals.
Your organisation has a dearth of professional leaders.
Here are a few things to consider this week:
Have you noticed professional leadership in yourself or others?
What is the impact of having leading professionals without professional leaders?
Are there things that make it difficult for leading professionals to operate as professional leaders?