Getting your swing back: Performing under pressure
19 April 2011
Lane4's Managing Director Adrian Moorhouse reflects on Rory McIlroy's Masters performance and the need for sports and business leaders to develop mental toughness in this HR Magazine article.
Pressure is an inherent and incessant part of the modern world; and no one knows more about performing under pressure right now than 21 year old Rory McIlroy.
Having played brilliantly throughout the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta he threw away a four-shot lead in the final round to finish tied 15th. Talking to the BBC, he said "I can't really put my finger on what went wrong. I lost a lot of confidence with my putting, but I just hit a poor tee shot on 10 and sort of unravelled from there."
McIlroy let the pressure of the occasion get to him, and affect him to such a degree that he did not perform to his full potential. But pressure doesn't just affect athletes. In a pressurised business situation, with a deadline looming and demands from stakeholders, business leaders face equal levels of stress. In order to thrive under pressure, rather than let it debilitate you, you must develop mental toughness.
Read the article in full on the HR Magazine website.
2011-04-19