By now, anyone with an internet connection knows that the top-ranked golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, was arrested while driving to the golf course at the PGA Championship in Kentucky.
Scheffler was arrested after an incident where he allegedly attempted to bypass traffic and did not comply with an officer’s instructions to stop. The police report says the officer was dragged to the ground. Scheffler called this a “big misunderstanding.” From any vantage, Scheffler did something extraordinary when the officer pulled him out of his vehicle and handcuffed him.
Scheffler didn’t make it about himself, his status, or his fame. He simply obeyed instructions and was marched into another patrol car before being escorted to, and booked into, the local jail. It wasn’t until fingerprinting and inmate processing that Scheffler told the officers his name. Evidently, his high regard for the situation and the need to de-escalate the emotions of the moment seemed to take precedent.
Most impressively, he never uttered the words, “Do you know who I am?” Those are ugly words to anyone who understands leadership. Scheffler showed the world more about his character by what he didn’t say, which is so often the case in highly charged situations.
When leaders or performers make the situation about themselves, referring to their need to be treated differently, they send a loud message to those watching that their self-importance trumps whatever has occurred. Taking situations more seriously than themselves is what good people and leaders do.
Scheffler likely has ice in his veins. After spending the morning in a jail cell, a rain delay allowed him to make his tee time and complete an impressive round of golf. That he could shake off what had occurred and focus exclusively on what he loves to do speaks to why he is likely the world’s best golfer.
But the most important lesson he showed others was how to maintain control in a chaotic situation. Doing everything they can to make the best of a bad situation is the ultimate goal of every good leader.
In Scheffler’s case, the only way to de-escalate the conflict was to make himself unimportant in the moment. Good leaders think about how to do exactly that in almost every situation they face.
Taking oneself too seriously is a challenge many leaders face and fail. In the heat of a conflict, it is a curse that makes everything so much worse.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
