Danny Willett 0:00 

What has worked in the past? I keep notes of lessons and things like that. So, you know, you go back and you look over, is that the right thing I need to be doing right now? Am I working well? Am I working at the right things? Have I got the right information? You know, if you've got those three things, then everything will be fine. You

David Novak 0:23 

the best lessons come from your own experiences, that is, if you take the time to capture them. Welcome to how leaders lead. I'm David Novak, and every week I have conversations with the very best leaders in the world to help you become the best leader that you can be. Well, it's April, and that means we can all officially start getting into masters mode. I know I am, and after this episode, you will be too, because today I'm talking with Danny Willett. He's a professional golfer and the 2016

masters champion. He won his green jacket and one of the wildest Sunday back nines I can remember. And in today's episode, he tells a story from that day that you absolutely cannot miss. You'll also see that Danny is a thoughtful and intentional guy. He's great at documenting his own experiences, and learning from that habit has helped him refine his game, and it's helped him pivot when things aren't working because, let's face it, just like golf, leadership is full of ups and downs, but when you're intentional about tracking your progress and reflecting on it, it's a lot easier to fix what's not working and get back on track. So here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours. Danny Willett, you

I had the distinct pleasure of getting to play with you. You weren't my partner, but I got to play with you in a seminal pro member, and you were so much fun to play with. You were laid back. You know, when you play in a real golf tournament, you know a you know, a tour event. How does your demeanor shift? Or does it? Yeah,

Danny Willett 2:04 

I think it's changed over the years. I think I was probably really, really serious when I first got on tour, and then, you know, I'm not, I'm not old, but I'm not young. You know, being on tour for 15 years, you kind of you realize that if you're serious all the time, it's just hard, it's tiring. It's mentally exhausting. So, yeah, I've tried to get a little bit more laid back. I think it helps, it helps me perform better. It helps me enjoy the game better. I'm really lucky. I get to play golf for a living. So, you know, you should be enjoying it anyway. So, yeah, so, yeah, try to, it'd be good if I could be more like that, like I was at Seminole every time. I think, you know, I'd probably play better anyway. Yeah, I was

David Novak 2:39 

gonna ask you can, you know, how hard is it? You know, when you when you got the Masters coming up that How challenging is it to just get that kind of relaxed energy and fun perspective when you're walking around the grounds of Augusta National,

Danny Willett 2:53 

I find it really hard. It's a really tough balancing act between, you're trying to take your job seriously, you're trying to be as professional as you can, but actually then also knowing that when you play with your friends, and like when we played, and you're in that relaxed state and enjoying it, you actually enable yourself to play better anyway. So it's a really fine line. I think that, I think that certain guys, over the years have done it incredibly well professionally, and then certain guys, you can see almost put too much pressure on when they're playing and take it too seriously, and ultimately don't enjoy it and don't play well. So yeah, it's a real juggle between, you know, how much, how much to enjoy it, how much to relax. And then you know, also, when you need to how much to focus in and crack on.

David Novak 3:32 

As I mentioned top of the show, you you won the the green jacket in 2016 what's it like? You know, when you're you're driving in as a past champion. You're coming up Magnolia lane. What? What kind of feelings do you

Danny Willett 3:44 

have every time, goosebumps, every time you turn in the gate, and the sheriffs, you know, say, Hello, welcome you back, Mr. Will it love to have you back. You know, I know. I know all the guys up in the locker room. And as you drive down Magnolia I'm really fortunate now, obviously, that my lockers at the top, just above the turning circle there. So the first thing I always do is go upstairs, pop the jacket on, and then come out on that balcony, look back down Magnolia, back out to the entrance. And, yeah, gives, I mean, it gives me goosebumps, talking about, it's a real place. And, yeah, very fortunate that'll be, you know that I can, I can go back.

David Novak 4:17 

Danny, what's story from winning the masters that maybe you've never told before. I mean, something that happened, that you kind of know happened, but never really talked about.

Danny Willett 4:27 

It's a crazy week. That week was all crazy. My little boy was born just before. I wasn't going to go. He was due masters Sunday. He came early. Nick was fine. So she was like, you know, go. You need to go. She was only my second masters, and I played well the year before. And she was like, you know, she was like, you know, I've been fine. I've got my family. I'm all good. You go, go play, you know, because I was playing really well at the time. The fact that I was, we talked about just before, you know, being relaxed. I took seven of my friends out, we hired two houses down the road, and we had a blast. We had a great week, you know, we were grilling out, you know, every night we were, you know. Laughing, joking, you know, without a glass of wine, we just just really relaxing, chilling out. And then, you know, you find yourself in a surreal moment on on the back nine on Sunday, when you've got a chance. And one of the, one of the ones that a few people know, not loads of people, is that, and you might know where this bathroom is, but from that whole week, the most, one of the most important moments of that whole week was on 15, I tapped in for I tapped in for par. And at the time I was, think I was still too behind everyone. You know, there was a massive like, Oh, when I look up around that massive leaderboard on 15, and Jordan had just obviously messed around on 12, and they changed his score from whatever he was at the time, I think seven to seven to three. And at the time, I was at four. So then all of a sudden, we've gone from chasing, chasing, chasing to leading the Masters with three holes to go. And West he was in so we were playing with Westie. West he was in second. He just chipped in for Eagles like a really crazy 15 minutes. But then there is, if anyone's ever been fortunate enough to go my little sacred place now at Augusta, there's a little bathroom off the back of 16 T Down, set back in the woods, and I needed a pee, so I've gone down. I've gone down. I've gone down into this, into this little bathroom. And the most surreal quiet, you know, it's loud everyone. It's so busy around that corner, around 16 and 15 green. And I just had a little 2030, seconds of peace. I had a P and I've looked in the mirror. Watchman's looked in the mirror and said, you know, this is, this is what you know. Again, goosebumps everywhere. This is what you practice for. You know, you've got to make five more good swings and try and hold a couple of putts. And in 45 minutes time, we'll, we'll see where we're at. So just a, really, this, it's like, it's almost like someone at the time you needed, like, a little getaway box, someone had just gone and dropped a toilet, a bathroom, just where I needed it, just at the right time for me to go and have a minute on my own and just like, kind of get my thoughts gather myself and be like, right? You know, you're playing really well, but let's keep pressing. Put the foot down, five good swings, couple of putts, and, you know, after we get done, we'll see, and then, lo and behold, if 45 minutes an hour later, we've done, we've done some pretty cool things.

David Novak 7:06 

You can say that again, I heard that your coach at the time, you know, the legendary Pete Cowan, had been preaching to you to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Say more about that.

Danny Willett 7:18 

Basically, with golf. I mean, I've been comfortable on a golf course a few times when you've been playing really well, you play golf yourself. Sometimes you feel comfortable, and sometimes you just don't. You just everything doesn't. Nothing feels right. And me and Pete got to a stage where it didn't matter what situation I was in, I was I knew that, I knew that we'd honed in, and I had the tools to play all the correct shots at the right time. So the uncomfortable situation is the fact that you're in a position to win a major championship, a highly pressurized situation, but because of the work that we'd done over countless amounts of years, you I knew that regardless of how that was going to pan out, I was going to have the tools in my armory, the shots in my armory, to be able to get out of a bad situation, or to hit good shots and hold puts and and do whatever I think it's we got to a stage where I felt like nearly bulletproof in that, you know, you could hit terrible golf shots, but I knew that I had the ability to kind of get out of this, to play well and to hit the shot, to get me back in position and ultimately keep playing well. And it was just that is basically getting used to, you know, the uncomfortable missing golf is under pressure on the back nine, but unfortunately, that's where we all want to be every Sunday. So you bet you best get used to it. It's a nice feeling to have, but it's also can destroy people, because it's hard. Winning is hard. Getting over the line in the golf tournament is hard, but we got to the stage where, and I think, you know, in all the tournaments I've won, I'm pretty good down the stretch, because when I'm in that position, I know that I'm playing well, and I know that I've got all the array of shots to help me complete the task in how much is to try and win a golf tournament. So, so you know

David Novak 9:10 

when, when you're in that situation, you come out of the bathroom, you've got the call. You know, was there a that seminal moment where you said, Hey, this is my time. This is, I'm gonna win this sucker. This is, this is my time.

Danny Willett 9:24 

I don't know if I ever thought it until I'd finished, but there's a, there's a really good clip of the I hit a back foot drawing eight iron into 16. And there's a really good, I like watching a video because it's my eyes. I look like I'm about to go into a fight, like I'm just, I know that I've hit they I am perfect on 16, and the glare in my eyes is just of, like, I don't know, just that was probably out of all the shots I hit down the stretch, that was one of the best. And that was when, after hitting that, I was like, right? You know, this is, this is a perfect opportunity for me to now go ahead and really, you know. I put the throttle down and I ended up making two. Westie end up making four. So from nowhere in 25 minutes, I've gone from being three behind to one in front to now three in front. Just a, like a, I mean, talk about a crazy roller coaster of of emotions and of everything that goes into it, you know, especially, you know, around that golf course. And, yeah, it was just a really surreal 45 minutes. So

David Novak 10:23 

you go to Butler cabin. Now, you got this green jacket being put on you, and you're the Masters champion, and then you're the Masters champion forever, you know? And that never goes away. What's the biggest perk of being a Masters champion that no one ever really talks about

Danny Willett 10:41 

the list is The list is endless. It's just an honor. It really is an honor, a real privilege to be. I say every year, I go back on the Tuesday to champions dinner, and I pinch myself, I'm sat there, look around the room, and I'm like, I feel like a bit of an imposter here. Like, you know, it's like I've stolen someone's jacket and kind of snuck into the champions dinner, and I'm sitting there, but you know, you're in that you're in that room with, you know, there's usually between 30 and 33 you know, living past champions, and we obviously gather on that Tuesday for dinner. And it's just a real privilege, a real honor. I mean, you know, you get to take the jacket for a year off off site. You know, obviously you can't take the jacket off site until you win it again. So now mine sits in Augusta, and it sits in the locker next to was Ian, but for that first year afterwards, you can take it and you can showcase the green jacket around the world. You know, I travel around the world, played, you know, countless golf tournaments around the world, and was able to take it, and fortunately, I got to wear it at Wimbledon and the rollbacks, which in the roll box, which was pretty cool, and to a few other venues. And it's yeah, there's just Yeah. The perks are the perks are pretty endless to it. Hi

Koula Callahan 11:47 

everyone. It's Kula from how leaders lead. And if you're seeing my face right now, it means you're watching this interview on YouTube. I want to say thanks. Thanks for watching it on YouTube. And if you love the show, subscribe to the channel so you never miss an episode, and if you like one of the episodes, let us know in the comments. I want to just give a shout out to a couple folks who have left some positive reviews. This guy says, You are a great podcaster. David, shout out, David. You are a great podcaster. Someone else said, earn to subscribe to the channel I listened from start to end. You guys, these conversations are incredible, as you know, and if you love them, hit subscribe on our channel. Leave a comment. If you love one of the episodes, it'll help us in our mission to make the world a better place by developing better leaders. And you know, we truly believe that better workplaces, better communities and a better world starts with better leaders. And when you help this podcast grow. It helps us do more of that. So subscribe to the channel. Let us know if you love one of the shows and that we might even feature you in one of the episodes. So subscribe to the channel today, and thank you so much for listening. You know, a lot

David Novak 12:53 

of leaders have their challenges with imposter syndrome. That's something that people talk about, you know, how do you work through it?

Danny Willett 13:03 

I found it really hard. I was, I mean, I still am an incredible golfer, but, you know, I was ninth in the world after Augusta. And the the difference is, I didn't realize how big winning that tournament was, and I really struggled for like, 1218, months. There was cameras following me everywhere. As soon as soon as I got on property. At any golf tournament, there was cameras there. And, you know, at a tournament, I quite like to keep myself to myself, and then all of a sudden that's that's gone, that ability to to have your own time, or to have, you know, a bit of a head off, or an argument with coaches, or whatever, something doesn't feel right. You just every everything changes. So you can't, I kind of felt like I stopped being me and started to almost make sure that I was doing everything, you know, right by the cameras and making sure, you know, I wasn't swearing or doing anything you know. I mean, just, just a really strange place to be when I was struggling with my game, and then people were then watching, and then, because of TV and Internet and everything. People then had their ability to have their say on why they thought I was struggling without really knowing me. And I got delved into, you know, reading what people were putting on Facebooks and the Instagrams of what it was and and then it kind of made me feel like I wasn't deserving of of what I just accomplished. And it was a really strange place. You know, I'd come off the highest of highs of, like, the last kind of three or four months, and all of a sudden, pretty quickly, I was in quite a low place with my game of golf. And then because of that, then I was like, well, maybe people are right. Maybe I did just get lucky this one time. And did just, you know, do this and, you know. And then, like I said, I go into the room at the champions dinner every year, and I look around, and I'm like, you know, legends of the game, you know that I've looked up to for years, and I do it. I mean, I still sit there. Now, like I said, You look around, you go, you know, how the how the hell did I get in this room? But then, for. Me, it was, you know, I've obviously, I've got great people around me, my wife, you know, mainly, and you are there because you weren't, you weren't it. You earned it. It's not, it's not given to you. No one gives you, no one gives you, you know, these things with especially within golf, you've got to earn them. And for me, it was just a constant reminder of, of of the fact that I, I was there and I'm in that position because I earned it through playing good golf, you know, and through all the hard work that I put in over the previous 20 years. You know, these things don't happen, you know, overnight. You know, everyone always talks about this overnight success. Well, it's not, it's 20 years leads to, leads to a good week that eventually, then people will say that. But so Yeah, mine was just a real good dedication of going back to processes and trying to work hard and work through it. And it took me three, just shy of three years, to win again after Augusta. And that win was probably the sweetest one, because I'd kind of overcome a lot of challenges within it and came back from real depths of depths of despair in real dark places within golf and myself, and ultimately came through it. But yeah, it's just just working through the processes. And

David Novak 16:08 

the fact of the matter is, like you say, you know, you won that day, but you spent 20 years getting to that day, and you know, you got to give yourself a little bit of credit. Not many people get to wear that green jacket, and you had the skill to really pull that up. You know, you mentioned your wife, Nick, you know, and she being such a strong supporter to you, we can tell how much winning the Masters has meant to you. What does it come to mean to your family?

Danny Willett 16:33 

It's funny, actually, my two boys still, they don't care. I don't think they call you dad, saying, you know, you get home and it's Daddy, and it's that you get, you get home on a Friday night, and they look at you and go, Why are you home so early? And it's like, well, I didn't play very well. So you get so you get to spend the weekend with me now. But yeah, it's, I mean, for us as a family, you know, obviously, Zach had just been born, and, you know, for my mom and dad and stuff, it's just they were all really proud of obviously, been able to do it. So it's, you know, I look back and I'm, you know, you try and speak to yourself as like, in a third person and go, you know, you'd like, I said, You earned it. You did well. You know, you should be proud of yourself and all this stuff. And for me, it's, it's, it's more of a it's an amazing thing to have done, but a lot of the time, when you win a tournament, it's the relief. Is why people end up being so happy about it's the relief of finally, finally been able to do it. And then the people around you, obviously, they see how hard you work. Nick sees how hard I work every day and what I do. So I think for her as well, it was the relief of, you know, getting, you know, getting a reward for all the hard work you put in. And, you know, she sacrifices more than anyone. She's, you know, she keeps everything together within the family. You know, because I go away and get to play golf half the year, and I think she was obviously incredibly proud of what we did. And luckily for me, it's not changed how we are as a family. It's just, it kind of just adds to the fact that, you know we, we, for me, you know, you get the recognition of being a major champion. But if I'd have never won the Masters, and I'd have never won another golf tournament, you know, fortunately for me, I don't think Nick would care, which is ultimately why, you know we, we work so well, and we are so good as a family.

David Novak 18:19 

I want to shift gears for a second here, Danny, you know, and I want to take you back what would be a story from your childhood that really shaped the kind of leader you are today, the kind of person you are today.

Danny Willett 18:31 

I think just, you know, for me, my whole my whole life really has been about grit and determination and just trying to work harder. And I think that that for me, just comes back to having two older brothers that I tried to beat in every sport, and couldn't until I found golf. And then it was good, because it was the main it was the only sport where, you know, size doesn't matter, age doesn't matter, you know, it's a skill set. And then I think, from that and being able to beat them, you know, and then that kind of gave them that little bit of a determination to keep practicing see how good I got. You know, I wasn't the best in Sheffield, I wasn't the best in my county, I wasn't the best in the country, you know, for a long, long time. But just kept knocking down the doors and just kept working, kept grinding until eventually, you know, I was the best in my region. I was the best in England as a junior, as an adult, you know, I was, you know, I was one, number one amateur in the world, being a leader of, you know, the group of lads that played for England, played for Yorkshire. For me, I constantly try to set an example of work ethic. Was, was the main thing, you know, the guys would get up, would go to training camps in Spain, with England, you know. And I had to be the quickest. I had to do the most push ups. I had to get the best skills challenge scores. I had to shoot the best score. And for me, it was just a constant. I. Endless work of trying to be beat everyone, day in, day out. And I think that came from, you know, me having two really competitive older brothers that I was just trying to be on a daily basis at whatever we did. And, yeah, it's, you know, come from a very normal family background. The main thing that in all of it, that ever, that always, ever, comes back to his hard work, like we were saying earlier, nothing's gifted if you work hard and do the right things. You know eventually, you know you keep knocking on the door, and eventually that door will open when you put that

David Novak 20:33 

hard work in. And you know in you you're working your way. And you get this belief that, finally, that maybe you can really turn golf into your career. Do you think that required more of a technical skill, or was it mental that took you to the next level? I mean, you know, the realization that you could do it, or that you just kept getting better at the technical side of the game?

Danny Willett 20:57 

I think they go hand in hand. I've spoken to many psychologists about it, and you speak to coaches about it, you know some psychologists will say that you can think your way to better scores. And then coaches will say, Well, your technique needs to be in level to where you can do that. So I'm like, I think they go perfectly hand in hand. I think the more that you work, the better you work, and the better you get technically. I think that gives you the belief that, if you didn't already have it, and then that then enables you to then step up in terms of, then how you think about what you know, and how you can go ahead and play well. And that then gives you the confidence to play well in, you know, in front of millions of people and and kind of do your job. And it's for me, they really are, you know, stepping stones that go, you know, really closely hand in hand. The better you get at golf, the more confidence it gives you. It's very hard to gain confidence when things aren't technically in a great place. Some people can do it. I'm not amazing at doing that, but I've worked hard at knowing that if I just keep doing the the right things eventually, because I've done it now two or three times in my career, it's been a bit of a roller coaster. If I keep doing those things, you know, eventually you will get a peak again. If you are in a trough, you will get to a peak again. And it's just about putting the time in.

David Novak 22:10 

You play in pro AMS every week. So you get exposed to a lot of terrific business leaders. And you know, like, like you, they're, they're very competitive. I'm sure you know, what do you see as the characteristics of the leaders that you've been around that you admire the most?

Danny Willett 22:28 

Yeah, I've been really fortunate to meet some great this game's really enabled me to meet some great people. The main thing that I see with all of them is they work their butt off all the time, you know, I many, many of the guys I get to play with now are, most of the time, you know, mid 60s. They've built great businesses up over 3040, years, and these guys are still getting up at five in the morning, you know, working out a little bit starting the day doing, you know, doing things that if you were to tell a 22 year old guy, 22 year old me, to do that, I would have maybe done it. But like you look at the fact that they just unwavering, the couple of people I've got in my head specifically are unwavering at how hard they work to try and just keep pushing and keep getting better. A friend of mine, I was down. I saw him in Puerto Rico last week, and I said, what you're doing? Just retire. And he's like, I'm working harder now than I ever have. And I'm like, why? And he's like, because his exact words to me, which are quite a clever one, he said, because why would I give up my advantage that I've built up over 35 years now. This is where I can really, really, really take it, you know, to a, to a, to an insane level. And I'm, you know, I'm there thinking, you know, if I was a successfulism, I might hang my shoes up and retire. But, you know, for him to say that he's working as hard as ever, I'm like, right? Let's stop dinner. I'm going to the I'm going back to the range. And it is, but it is. It's everyone that you speak to, and everyone that's successful within it that I know, that I now know as a friend, they just, they just work hard, and that is, ultimately, in life, what it comes down to,

David Novak 24:12 

you're coming back, you know, you're coming back from an injury that you had that sidelined you for 18 months or so, you know. And setbacks like this can happen to all of us, you know, and they keep us from performing the way we know we can. What did you learn about yourself in terms of how to work through that and to handle a setback that keeps you from, you know, being on your game and playing the game that you love so much?

Danny Willett 24:39 

Yeah, it was, it was, it was tough. Yeah, I had double labrum surgery on my left shoulder. It was, it was hard. I was, I should have probably done it earlier, in hindsight now, because it's worked out great, but sitting on the sofa, watch first. Remember the first two or three months, sat on the sofa with my arm in a sling, watching guys playing golf, and I'm like, you know, Will I ever get to play again? I don't know how it's going to go the surgery. Apparently went well, but the same this the same thing I got. I got a great team around me, and we had a really good rehab process. And one of the main things that I did that I think, helped me, both physically and mentally, as I kept a diary of what I did day by day, a to see how much load I was putting through the shoulder, to make sure I didn't do too much, and B just to just so that if you were ever having a bad day, you can look back through that and actually say to yourself, you know what? I've worked, I've worked really hard to get back to where I am, like, don't get down. Don't get down. If one day it doesn't feel great or or you feel like you've had a setback with it, you know, just, actually, just keep logging up the days of doing good work with it and getting back. And the same as golf, the same as business, you work and work and work, and then nothing happens. And all of a sudden something kind of came really nicely together about four months after I'd had it, and I went from feeling like not sure about this, to actually really taking off. And the rehab really went really well, and I got a lot stronger really quickly, because I'd done them little baby steps for so long, the boring, mundane baby steps that then enabled me to then go ahead and really crack on with the rehab and get it to where it is. So yeah, yeah, the Met. But like I said, the main thing there for me was, was keeping a I've not really ever done it before with other things, but kept a diary, just more for the mental side of than anything. You know, you know you're in the house all day on your own. You know, moping around, there's nothing that you can do. You're in a sling. You know, basically nothing you can do. So keeping that, you know, that little log book of work, just so that you can look back at it.

David Novak 26:35 

Now, I also understand that you, you oftentimes, not necessarily from a diary standpoint, in terms of your golf you, but you do jog down or write down some key points about the lessons that you've taken, or when you're when you're hitting the ball a certain way, feeling good. Talk more about that and the impact that's had on your performance. You know, capturing just your your your journey of golf as you, as you learn.

Danny Willett 27:00 

Yeah, so it's, it's a lot easier these days with, obviously technology and phones and but, yeah, I've got hundreds of books, and for me, whenever I have a good lesson or a good day, really try and take out at the end of the day, really try and take out what it was, you know, What? What? What What was it? Was it a feeling? Was it something technical? Was it something mental? What? Which area, whatever area it was, try and try and take out, and then I now leave voice notes and write stuff down, or even video myself. If it's something technical, I'll video myself whilst talking, so that you can really, really try and almost relive that moment. You know, if you are struggling at some point in the future, the best thing, I think, with that is you if the more detailed you can write it down, you know, the more into it you can get. And you can close your eyes and almost then visualize a certain movement or a certain feeling. I did a lot of visualization stuff with a guy called Jason Goldsmith, who was fabulous in terms of performance and visualization keys to try and help you with that. And so for me, yeah, the writing down the notes, being able to write them down as thoroughly as possible, or, like I said, Leave voice notes to then be able to visualize either a swing or a golf course or a shot, you know, to try and help you, know, what if that shot ever came back up or help you to do something the next day, or whatever it may be, you

David Novak 28:25 

know, it's funny thing. Jason is maybe my best friend in life, you know, and he's an awesome guy. You know, it's great that you you've got so much from him. And you know when, when you're working so hard, like you obviously do, and you know you're doing the right things, but you're just not getting the results that you think are going to be coming. What do you do? I mean, how do you how do

Danny Willett 28:47 

you look at that? I think there's, like, one or two ways, and I've done both, and tried and tested both, and they both do work. It just depends on what you need. I either just keep head down, gung ho, keep working, just keep pressing on and knowing that at some point you will get through it. Or the other one that I think sometimes you do then need, if things really aren't clicking, is like a full reset. So like, for me, that'd be like clubs down for a month maybe, and almost to this stage where you get that burning desire again to to want to practice. I play golf for a living. It's fantastic. But at the same time, it is a job. It's what I use to, you know, to live, to fund my family, to do the things we do. So I think that sometimes the it can get quite boring and repetitive, just going up and practicing day after day after day. So it's, it's quite nice when you get that burning desire inside you that you want to go practice, you know, and sometimes when things aren't going your way, that that desire that you know, that fire goes out, you know, pretty quickly when things aren't going your way. So for me, I think it's one. It's either, I think when I had the shoulder surgery, I think it was quite a nice time for me, because when I eventually did get back to. Hitting balls again. I was like a little kid. I was excited about about hitting balls to see how it would feel. So I think that for me, I've tried to use the shoulder surgery as, like a forced reset, almost my body, saying, you know, you needed this to get better. You need it to heal, you know. And now being able to actually, now really press on. And I think that's why, at least, I feel like I'm really trying to enjoy the game more, because I've had that little bit of a force reset, but now you can put the work ethic back in there and get back to working, you know, as hard as you can. So yeah, I think you can do both. And luckily, the last kind of 18 months, it's kind of, I've had the nice little mix of actually being able to put both into practice. We'll

David Novak 30:40 

be back with the rest of my conversation with Danny Willett in just a moment. Well, the world lost a legend and I lost a dear friend when Junior Bridgeman passed away a few weeks ago, he was the definition of a truly great man. He was an NBA great who went on to become an even more incredible businessman, all while living the kind of life that blessed and served others. To honor his memory, I wanted to share this insight of his from our conversation on how leaders lead.

Junior Bridgeman 31:09 

When you look at our our company, whether it's Heartland in the United States or, you know, Canada, Canadian bottling company in Canada, what we've tried to do, instill that hometown attitude, that you're in this city or that city, you know, you are part of that community there. You are there to make a difference in the community and to make a difference with the people that are involved with you, and to just make it a great place, not just to work, but a great place for the community. And I think we've instilled that hometown attitude, that hometown pride. I mean, we just won the bottler of the Year by beverage digest here in the United States and in Canada, we were awarded one of the best places to work in the whole country of Canada. So I think we're doing something right? But it's all stemmed from the fact that it's been about we say not just the people that work there, but the families. Because you know, when you hire someone, if someone comes to work with you, and you're basically hiring their family. And so we say, in the United States here, we've got 2300 families that we're responsible for, and we don't take that lightly, because what we decisions we make don't just affect that one person is coming to work, but it affects that whole family and in a positive way or negative way. And so that's something that we don't take lightly and really focus on. You know, in every decision that we have to make,

David Novak 32:38 

it's well worth your time to go back to Episode 123, and learn more from the one and only Junior Bridgeman. I've heard you talk about not performing as well as you wanted to in the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine. And you know, that's such a huge event. You know, for the world, and particularly Europeans, are always like so much fun to watch. I love the passion that you guys have, you know, so you didn't play your best in that kind of situation. How long does it take you to get over something like that? And is it, does it linger with you, or can you get back into the present? Just move on. No,

Danny Willett 33:17 

that one, that one stung, that one took a while, and it's an interesting one, the Ryder Cup. It's a phenomenal, phenomenal event. Obviously, I had a pretty terrible experience, purely because I was not playing very well. For me, it was a really strange week, and the Ryder Cup is a really strange week, and I'll try and explain so on a, on a on a on a Sunday of a golf tournament, on the back nine, you've worked and you've played your way into being in that position of pressure. You're in that position because you've played well. So yesterday, you feel pressure because you're in a situation that you're going to win a golf tournament, but you know that you're playing well to actually get in that position. So the rider cups, obviously, you get in the rider cup over, a, you know, a one or a two year period on the point system. So when I won Augusta, I was basically a lock. I was already in the unfortunate then thing is that my form then had a downturn. So I won in April, and this was, you know, six months later in September. So you then got, I then got thrown into a pressured situation of being, you know, reigning master champion and a major winner. I didn't have the game at the time to back up the pressure that I was under, because I just wasn't playing well. So I'd already earned my spot in the team, but that particular week, I wasn't playing well, so I'd not, I'd not like, I'd not earn, I'd earn them. I ended to the team year before, but just not that week. So it's a really strange situation to be in, in that I was there and I was, I was a major winner, but I wasn't playing very well. And then to put you then under the in that little pressure cooker of what it was at Hazeltine. It was a very Americanized golf course against a very good American team, and all of a sudden, you know. I'm put there, and I'm expected to play well. I'm expecting myself to play well, but I'm just struggling. And it just, it was, yeah, it was, it was, it was a horrible week for me. And it took that took the best part of six months to kind of get over once again, you know, being everything being scrutinized, everything being watched, what you do and didn't handle a situation great. And it took me a while to kind of figure out, you know, how to get over it and what to do. You

David Novak 35:23 

know you're in these pressure situations all the time. I mean, you're going to be going back to Augusta as a Master's champion, you're going to be teeing it up, and you got that pressure. What have you learned about handling pressure that other leaders could could pick up? I

Danny Willett 35:39 

think you've really got to take it in your stride. And I always say that, you know, pressure 95% of the time, 99% of the time, pressure is a privilege, especially in what I do. If I feel under extreme pressure, it's because I'm doing something really good. So for me, it's taking it and using it and being able to go back for me and relive the shots that I fit under extreme pressure, and knowing that I've hit great shots under extreme pressure, so I can and will do it again and again. I think it's the same within any business or any leadership role in if you're feeling under pressure for something, there's a there's a reason, and it's most of the time, it's a good reason, because something special could maybe come from the situation that you're putting yourself in, whether it's you feel pressure going into a business meeting. You know, for us, we feel pressure going on to the First Tee on a Thursday or a Friday or a Saturday or a Sunday. Every week we tee up, we've got a chance of changing our lives and winning the golf tournament, so that that is, that is pressure, but it's only pressure, because something really cool can happen, you know, at the end of it, and the end goal,

David Novak 36:50 

I love that. You know, it's you reframe it. It's a it's a privilege, and you wouldn't be having the pressure if you weren't damn good

Danny Willett 36:57 

Exactly. You know, if I felt no pressure on a daily basis, and I'm playing some pretty rubbish call.

David Novak 37:03 

We don't want that to happen. Now, you mentioned you got a full team around you, the physio, your coaches. What's good coaching look like from your perspective? What have you learned? You know, working with some of the best coaches in the world,

Danny Willett 37:16 

I now use coaches as more of like a sounding board. I'm 37 years old. I've had I've had 1000s and 1000s of hours of lessons, and I probably still use snippets of every single coach I've ever seen. So now what I'm trying to do with my coach at the minute is we're trying to do the basic things really well, day in, day out. Tick off the things that I can achieve on my own really easily. You know, set up how you stand to it, how your posture is, all that kind of easy stuff. And now it's more of, like I said, a sounding board of, right? If I, you know, if I make this move or do this in the back swing, this is going to, you know, make sure the club does this on the way down. And it's now it's more of I'm almost trying to organize it in my own head as to where I can semi coach myself, but using Andy as a really good sounding board, another pair of eyes, because I miss things at times, even on a video, I'll miss things I don't see all of it put together. Yeah, with coaches. Now I would like I said I've had enough lessons as to where it's not that someone's going to teach me something, but I'm not going to reinvent a golf swing, you know, it's more just making sure that I do the right things enough times, repetition wise, as to where you start from a good place in setup, and kind of make sure that everything from there is built, is built around it.

David Novak 38:38 

You know? The other thing is, a key partner for you is your caddy. You know, how do you define the expectations for your your right hand person out there on the course? And, you know, how do you, how do you build that relationship as a leader? It's,

Danny Willett 38:52 

it's an interesting one. I think, depending on who you are as a person, you need someone next year to either be very similar or the exact opposite. Especially within golf, you need someone to be able to I want to go for a silly shot over water from 270 you know, you either need someone who's going to be if it's possible, someone who's going to really back you up and tell you that that's definitely the play and that's the right thing to do, or some people need someone who the exact opposite end of the spectrum and be really cautious and say, Well, no, that's silly. Statistically, we should do this and and kind of go from here. So for me, you've really got to find which side of that you want. My caddy now is my best phrase by my best man at my wedding, is the godfather to Zach, but we've known each other for years, and we've played lots of golf together, so he knows my game probably better than anyone else around. So I've gone down that route of a very good golfer in his own right that knows my game really well, but then also a friend, because we spend 12 hours a day with him, six days a. Week, 26 weeks a year. You know, you spend more time. I spend more time with them than your wife most of the time. So it's you know, you need to make sure that you get on as well. But yeah, I think that you need, you either need someone who's going to really compliment what you do, and at the same time, if there's a decision needs to be made, you know, you need to respect each other enough that you're going to listen to what you know, what the other ones saying. Other one's

David Novak 40:23 

saying, you know. Danny, this has been so much fun, and I want to have some more with what I call my lightning round of questions. Are you ready for this? Connor, okay, what three words best describe you?

Danny Willett 40:33 

Selfless, generous, hard working. If you could

David Novak 40:38 

be one person besides yourself for a day. Who would it be? I would have liked to have been jack back in the day. Your biggest pet peeve, tardiness. Who would play you in a movie? Daniel, Craig. What feels more like home? The US or UK? UK? What's your favorite non golf sport to watch? Football, soccer, football? Who would be in your dream for some dead or alive. Hogan Jack and Tiger, imagine this is your final round of the big tournament. You're on the 18th hole, a par four, and you need a birdie to win, but someone has to hit your shots for you. Who would hit your drive? Rory, who's hitting your approach shot,

Danny Willett 41:21 

Scottish, who's putting Ben Crenshaw. If you could pick

David Novak 41:24 

any golf tournament to win in the next 12 months, what would it be? It's hard

Danny Willett 41:29 

when there's only one, it'd be well to Augusta or the open. What's the one thing you do just for you? My time in the gym is probably my my alone time on my own,

David Novak 41:39 

besides your family, what's your most prized possession? Probably

Danny Willett 41:42 

my green jacket that's hung up in my locker.

David Novak 41:46 

If I turned on the radio in your car, what would I hear currently?

Danny Willett 41:50 

Would be 97.5 country. Would you believe favorite country song I like? Morgan Wallen stuff, Luke combs, obviously a bit different. I've got a real funky mix on my playlist.

David Novak 42:04 

What's something about you? Few people would know the fact

Danny Willett 42:07 

that I listened to country music. An English boy listens to country music. What's one of your daily rituals? Something that you never miss that first morning coffee? There you go. We're out of the lightning round.

David Novak 42:17 

Good job. Appreciate it. Danny, outside the golf course. Are there other business ventures you're involved in? And what's that part of your career

Danny Willett 42:26 

look like? Yeah, so we do a few things. My wife used to be in real estate, so we've got a few properties all around the world, and then recently started to get involved in a few like things that I wouldn't ordinarily get involved with, safe and fair and just water, two that I've just got involved in. Quite a few other guys that I know and trust their opinions on are involved as well. And so that's going to be an interesting one. Great sparkling water in just water and safe and fair are coming up with a range of snacks that basically are like, completely allergen free, really healthy, really good for you. We all know what's going on at the minute with food, not only in America but back home, that there's so much rubbish that people put in the food these days that it was something that, you know, I got involved because I think it's a great company, but also something that's close to my heart in that, you know, I've got two young kids, and I want them to eat better. I want to eat better. I want to, you know, live as long as possible and and do the right thing. So, yeah, there are a couple of the ones that were going down right now. So excited to see, you know, kind of how that goes, what kind of paths I can create and help and, yeah, and just see, it's an interesting one. You know, for us, our main business is golf. You know, we earn our money playing golf, and that's what we do. But,

David Novak 43:43 

you know, you're obviously a celebrity, okay? And as a celebrity, in a professional golfer, you have a brand. You know, how do you, how do you think about your brand and leveraging that in the future as you think about business?

Danny Willett 43:59 

I think that me as a me as a golfer, that brand is been very good in Europe. I'm really well known in Europe, in America a little bit, but really trying to push the brand of just being being a better version of yourself each and every day, and trying to do things better, and really try to prove to people that, you know, from a really normal background and a normal upbringing, you know, if you, if you put the work in and do the right things, you can achieve, you know, incredible things that you never thought were possible, which is, you know, fortunately, if I've been able to

David Novak 44:37 

do that, you and your wife, Nick, you have two young kids. You mentioned, you know, how do you? How do you lead at home?

Danny Willett 44:42 

Leading at home is a completely different skill set altogether from leading anywhere else. When you employ people to do work, such as physios, coaches or caddies, ultimately, if you say something, they listen, whereas at home, home is a very different thing. So for me, I. I love being at home. I love seeing how the boys grow up and how they do things, and it is a real challenge to to instill, you know, I'm trying to instill great values within what they do, while still trying to have a good time with it, but while still trying to make sure that the disciplined it's out of everything that I do in life, being a husband and a father are, by far and away, the most challenging yet the most rewarding things ever. So it's yeah, just trying to instill everything that I was fortunate enough that my parents instilled on me, like I said, trying to be trying to be hard with them to make sure that they are disciplined, but you know, ultimately, still, you know you want to, you want to love them, and just hope that you know whatever they do in life they're going to enjoy. You

David Novak 45:47 

know, it's interesting. Your career, it's had its ups and downs. You've been ninth and World Masters champion, and then you've, like you said, you got off your game for a really long time. You had to go through the struggles of all of that, you know, that happens in business as well, you know. And for all leaders, you know, you have the good year, and then somehow things slip and you don't make plan, or you don't get done what you want to get done? What coaching would you give to other leaders in terms of, you know, how to get back on track?

Danny Willett 46:19 

I think you've really got to go back down the route of, you know, what has worked in the past? Like I said, I kept, I keep notes of lessons and things like that. So, you know, you go back and you look over, is that the right thing I need to be doing right now? So for me, it's you need to look at, does something need to change? If it does, then you're better off doing it sooner rather than later. I think a lot of the times when I've had a slump that's lasted a bit too long, I've maybe held on to things for too long and worked at the wrong things. So, like I was saying before, it's like you have a bit of a reset, you know, you need to weigh up, you know, am I doing the right things? Am I working well, am I working at the right things? Have I got the right information? You know, if you've got those three things, then everything will be fine, but you need to really seriously question and ask yourself, if those things are correct, are you working hard enough? Are you working at the right things? Have you got the right people around with the correct knowledge, you know, to help you all thrive and do well? How

David Novak 47:15 

are you feeling about your game going into this master's? Danny, you know what?

Danny Willett 47:19 

I'm pretty I'm pretty optimistic the practice at home is going really well. I've not played much yet since because of the medical stuff, but some years I've gone into August and I've been playing poorly. But I'm in a really nice place at the minute where I know what I'm wanting to do. I know I want to do within the golf swing. I know what I want to do within certain areas of the golf game. So I'm actually really excited to go back this year and and hopefully have a really good crack at it. Played great first round last year, and then the shoulder tied a little bit so but yeah, no, I'm excited about the next kind of 1218, months of golf and what I might be able to do. And

David Novak 47:51 

when you look to the future, what do you see as your unfinished business? Danny, I'd love

Danny Willett 47:55 

to be in contention in some more majors, and I'd love to be playing some more rider cups. Again, the to win one major in anyone's career is a fantastic feat. I've won eight times around the world. I really would like to get back on a Ryder Cup team and have what I would consider a great Ryder Cup, not only for myself, but for Europe. Whether that's this time round or in a few years, I don't know that would be definitely a part of unfinished business that before my career ended, I would like to resurrect.

David Novak 48:24 

I hope that definitely happens. And last question here, what's one piece of advice you'd give to anyone who wants to be a better leader? I would say

Danny Willett 48:32 

trusting yourself you are, ultimately, you are your CEO. You're your own boss, and you've got to trust that gut instinct and listen to it and go with it.

David Novak 48:45 

Fantastic. Danny, and I want to thank you so much for taking the time to be on this podcast. This conversation has been fantastic, and you have a lot of great insights people are going to learn from and appreciate you very much. You're a hell of a guy

Danny Willett 48:58 

now. Thank you. I appreciate it. Good fun.

David Novak 49:06 

If you've watched this show for a while, you probably know I'm a big proponent of active learning, and Danny is a great example of an active learner, someone who doesn't just collect information, but also applies it. I love how he writes things down, reflects on them and uses them to get better. Too often, we just barrel through our work without stopping to capture what we've learned. But when you take notes on your life, whether it's lessons from a big win or a tough setback, you give yourself a roadmap for improvement. That is what separates top performers. They don't just move forward blindly. They track their progress, they study what's working, and they make adjustments along the way. So here's an idea. At the end of each day this week, write down one thing you learn. It could be something that went well, something that didn't, or just an insight you don't want to forget, because remember. Sure the lessons you write down today become the wisdom you rely on tomorrow. So do you want to know how leaders lead? What we learned today is the great leaders take notes, then learn from them. Coming up next on how leaders lead is Mary Barra, the chair and CEO of General Motors. See

Mary Barra 50:18 

truth was really our message to the entire company, don't just give us something that optimizes your area. But it was that frustration of decisions coming to us that weren't the whole truth because they didn't look at it from an enterprise perspective. Let's get to the truth that what someone wants it to be, what is it? How can you demonstrate it with information, data and information, so we can make the very best decision quickly.

David Novak 50:41 

So be sure to subscribe to YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts, so you don't miss it. Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of how leaders lead, where every Thursday you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. I make it a point to give you something simple on each episode that you can apply to your business so that you will become the best leader that you can be. You.