It seems that every non-profit agency in our community hosts an annual golf scramble as a means of raising funds for their particular service. That is fine with me. What a great excuse to play golf! This morning I got together with a few of the police officers and put together a scramble of our own. Our motives for such an event were not as lofty. We just went out to have fun. The scramble format makes for a great golfing experience.

Everyone starts the hole by teeing off. The best tee shot is chosen, and everyone in the foursome hits from that position. The same format continues until the hole is completed. The score is obviously much lower at the end of the round, and everyone in the foursome has contributed to that team’s success.

I like the scramble format, because it is fun to see the unique strengths of each player. One person is strong off the tee box and another one can save the day by sinking a long putt. In a crunch, the team is depending on those strengths! It creates a great bond among four players during the course of the round.

I wish I could take this principle from a golf scramble and translate it to the challenges that life brings everyday. Most of us work with other people on our jobs everyday. Each of those individuals have positive attributes to bring to the workplace. They also bring liabilities too. I suspect a lot of us focus primarily on that person’s weak spots and not on their giftedness.

What if we looked at work like a golf scramble? What if we made it clear to our co-workers that their unique gifts are desperately needed, if the mission of the organization is to be accomplished? Why cannot we not figure out ways to compliment each other? Why do I think it has something to do with egos as big as Texas?

A golf scramble is no fun at all, if one person’s ego takes center stage in the game. A scramble format will not work under such circumstances. There has to be an appreciation for what each person can do, or it is impossible to put together a decent score. It has been my experience in all of the tournaments I have played in that most people are able to check their egos in the parking lot before they unload their clubs. What if we could do the same thing at work? It could transform an orgnization.

I think I will promote the idea of playing in more golf scrambles. After all, it teaches teamwork and respect for the talents of others. Golf is enriching professionally. Perhaps orgnanizations should allow additional enrichment for their employees by allowing time off for golf scrambles. I am liking this idea more all of the time. I think this is a great line of reasoning to impress on Jan next time I am invited to play in a scramble. I am sure she will buy into it immediately…Or maybe not? Hmm…I have two more golf outings on the calendar coming up soon. If that line of reasoning does not work, I had better be coming up with one that will!