How to Get Your Performance Expectations to Work for You

What are your expectations for your golf game or yourself in everyday life?

How do you know if your expectations are appropriate?

What effect do your expectations have on you and your performance?

Do your expectations make it difficult to feel satisfied?

How can your expectations work for you?

Expectations are a curious thing. We are told that we should expect more of ourselves and yet expectations can often lead us to put pressure on ourselves which actually undermine our best performance. Our expectations are usually based on past experiences. For example, if you played your personal best round on a particular course you are more likely to expect more from yourself when you play that course the next time.

Finding the “sweet spot” for expectations can be challenging. One extreme approach is to always expect perfection which leads to feeling disappointed and frustrated on the course. Don’t expect to play flawlessly. Mistakes will happen and it’s OK to expect that. On the other end of the spectrum is to not expect enough from yourself.  This approach leads to low confidence and poor performance.

We suggest that you think about the questions above and get clear about what your expectations are. Then spend some time noticing how your expectations affect your play or your performance at work or home and adjust them accordingly. There is no magic formula for having appropriate expectations. Noticing how your expectations affect your performance both positively and negatively will help you dial into what works best for you.

If you’d like to learn more from Elena and get your golf game on, there’s still time to register for the upcoming Women & Business Golf Series beginning May 16th.  This  is a five- week series that will include four weeks of clinic work to focus on improving your game and learning how to do business on the golf course from successful business women. On the fifth week you will play 9 holes of golf to implement what you have learned and then enjoy networking over hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

Elena King, Director of Instruction, ExperienceGolf at CommonGround Golf Course and Dr. Denise McGuire, Performance Coach, coach golfers of all abilities, by sharing processes that enable students to tap into their own resources to achieve their best on each shot, resulting in a more enjoyable golf experience.   Elena and Denise provide services for individuals, groups, corporate outings and keynote speaking.

What’s the Secret to Sharon Linhart’s Success?

Before she became a successful entrepreneur and council to top brands, Sharon Linhart grew up in Colorado and earned a journalism degree from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.  Her entrepreneurial spirit may have been handed down from her father, the late John Haley, who was a founding partner of the Nelson, Haley, Patterson and Quirk engineering firm in Greeley.

Now Sharon runs one of the most successful and highly decorated PR firms in Denver. In the last decade Sharon Linhart can count numerous significant awards that have honored her personally or recognized her firm, Linhart PR.  In fact, the CWCC recognized Sharon as an ATHENA Award Finalist in 2009.  In 2011 alone the firm received major recognition such as ranking No. 3,668 on the Inc. 5,000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies and PR News magazine naming it the Small PR Firm of the Year. Inc. magazine also picked Linhart PR as one of only 50 U.S. companies to receive its Top Small Company Workplace award.   And just announced this week by the Colorado chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, Linhart PR won the grand Gold Pick award for its “Culture Matters at Linhart Public Relations” campaign, plus five more golds and two silvers.

Yes, she’s got business smarts, but what sets her apart is her optimism, her unique style and motivation skills and her understanding of communications.  She’s a powerhouse when it comes to crisis communications and strategic planning, executive counsel and issues management.  No doubt this is why Sharon has been able to land big-name clients Tiffany & Co., Southwest Airlines, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Firstbank and United Health Care among many others.

Sharon is also actively involved in her community as a board member of Junior Achievement, Craig Hospital Foundation and she’s on the Boy Scouts Board of Trustees in addition to being involved with other local and national organizations.

So, we know she’s a dynamite business woman, a leader in her field and active in her community.  But what got her to where she is today?  What in her journey prepared her to be the kind of businesswoman who could start a company and grow its revenue by 43 percent, to $4.1 million from $2.9 million in three years during a struggling economy?

How did Sharon build not only a successful company but a culture that attracts great clients and sustains a talented, happy staff (Inc Magazine 2011 Top Small Company Workplaces winner)?  We can read her bios and list of accolades, but what isn’t captured there is how she became Sharon Linhart.  How did she become the respected leader and amazing businesswomen she is today?  What was her foundation for success? What obstacles did she face, and how did she overcome them?

For the answers to all of these questions and more, and to meet Sharon Linhart in person, reserve your ticket to the May 16^th, 2012 Downtown Luncheon. You won’t want to miss it.

What Gets in the Way of Playing Your Best in Golf and Business?

In what areas of your game or life do you tend to doubt yourself more than others?

Do you worry about embarrassing yourself on the course or at work?

Are you frequently criticizing yourself?

The above questions all point to examples of interference.  We tend to think of interference or distractions as external factors. For example, a playing partner that has poor etiquette, slow play, wind, maintenance crew, etc. However, our internal dialogue is often the greatest source of interference which affects our ability to perform at our best.

Three types of internal interference are:

Self-doubt “I don’t know if I can play as well today as I did yesterday.” Maybe I don’t belong here. I’m out of my league” “I am not qualified to do this job.”

Self-consciousness “I hope I don’t screw up in front of my friends or husband.” “What are they going to think of me if I don’t play well?”  “I hope I don’t embarrass myself in front of my boss.”

Self-judgment “What an idiot! I can’t believe I missed that three-foot putt! That’s ridiculous!” “What’s wrong with me?!”

The brain is designed to pay more attention to negative thoughts or things that might harm us. In light of this fact, more emphasis should be placed on the positive aspects of your game. Fortunately, you have control over internal interference.  By paying more attention to your habits and becoming aware of your self-talk you can then make a choice to change it, eliminate the interference and improve your performance.

If you’d like to learn more from Elena and get your golf game on, clear your calendar for the upcoming Women & Business Golf Series beginning May 16th.  This  is a five- week series that will include four weeks of clinic work to focus on improving your game and learning how to do business on the golf course from successful business women. On the fifth week you will play 9 holes of golf to implement what you have learned and then enjoy networking over hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

Elena King, Director of Instruction, ExperienceGolf at CommonGround Golf Course and Dr. Denise McGuire, Performance Coach, coach golfers of all abilities, by sharing processes that enable students to tap into their own resources to achieve their best on each shot, resulting in a more enjoyable golf experience.   Elena and Denise provide services for individuals, groups, corporate outings and keynote speaking.

Setting Expectations on the Golf Course and in Life

What are your expectations for your golf game or for yourself in everyday life?

How do you know if your expectations are appropriate?

What effect do your expectations have on you and your performance?

Do your expectations make it difficult to feel satisfied?

How can your expectations work for you?

Expectations are a curious thing. We are told that we should expect more of ourselves and yet expectations can often lead us to put pressure on ourselves which actually undermine our best performance. Our expectations are usually based on past experiences. For example, if you played your personal best round on a particular course you are more likely to expect more from yourself when you play that course the next time.

Finding the “sweet spot” for expectations can be challenging. One extreme approach is to always expect perfection which leads to feeling disappointed and frustrated on the course. Don’t expect to play flawlessly. Mistakes will happen and it’s OK to expect that. On the other end of the spectrum is to not expect enough from yourself.  This approach leads to low confidence and poor performance.

We suggest that you think about the questions above and get clear about what your expectations are. Then spend some time noticing how your expectations affect your play or your performance at work or home and adjust them accordingly. There is no magic formula for having appropriate expectations. Noticing how your expectations affect your performance both positively and negatively will help you dial into what works best for you.

If you’d like to learn more from Elena, clear your calendar for the upcoming Women & Business Golf Series beginning May 16th.  This  is a five- week series that will include four weeks of clinic work to focus on improving your game and learning how to do business on the golf course from successful business women. On the fifth week you will play 9 holes of golf to implement what you have learned and then enjoy networking over hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

Elena King, Director of Instruction, ExperienceGolf at CommonGround Golf Course and Dr. Denise McGuire, Performance Coach, coach golfers of all abilities, by sharing processes that enable students to tap into their own resources to achieve their best on each shot, resulting in a more enjoyable golf experience.   Elena and Denise provide services for individuals, groups, corporate outings and keynote speaking.