Rory McIlroy's triumph at the Masters golf tournament was a remarkable example of overcoming extreme ... More pressure. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) Getty Images Anybody who witnessed the dramatic victory of Rory McIlroy in the Masters golf tournament last weekend will be familiar with the role that a sports psychologist played in this long-awaited achievement. The man in question — Bob Rotella — has been quoted as saying that, in being able to pull off spectacular shots shortly after undergoing setbacks, McElroy had “found out how unbelievably tough he is.” There is, of course, something about golf — especially the fact that each player is playing the course (which can change from day to day, or even hour to hour) as well as his or her fellow players — that makes it particularly prone to psychological analysis. Not for nothing is there the concept of the “yips,” the involuntary wrist spasms that, while also applicable to other sports, are most often associated with golfers who lose their ability to putt. Nor a whole collection of books exploring the mental side of the sport. But psychology is playing an increasingly important role in a host of other sports. For example, Thomas Tuchel, the recently appointed coach of the England men’s soccer team claimed that the players had been more concerned with not losing rather than winning and that he wanted to instil a different mindset. And so to business. Many executives play and follow golf and other sports and it is often felt that certain aspects of sport — for instance, the need for resilience, the power of team work, the importance of leadership — can be applied to business. But, except in the realm of individual coaching of senior executives, psychology is probably not one of the concepts that has made the transition. A book published this week, The Psychology of Leadership, could go some way towards changing that. In his foreword, H. Lawrence Culp Jr, chairman and chief executive of General Electric, quotes approvingly another psychologist, Michael Gervais, who coached Felix Baumgartner, who in 2012 became the first skydiver to break the sound barrier in a jump that began 24 miles above the Earth’s surface. “At the elite levels of sport, the game is played above the shoulders. The paper-thin margins between victory and defeat are more often than not determined by how skilled an athlete is at using their mind,” he said. Culp added: “Business is not all that different from sports. To be an elite leader, remember that the game is played above the shoulders.” Curiously perhaps, the author of this book — Sebastien Page — is not a professional psychologist. He is a finance guy who is currently chief investment officer at the investment management company T. Rowe Price. He began to see the potential benefits of the concepts used by sports psychologist when he sought advice from one when feeling stressed and concerned about his performance in his work. As he puts it, “I became a better leader at work, acquired wisdom and developed resilience in all aspects of my life.” So convinced was he by this life-changing experience that he felt it "worth sharing with the world.” And, to make sure that he did not misinterpret his studies of the subject, he employed that sports psychologist, Dr Daniel M. Zimet, as his “scientific referee.” MORE FOR YOU Trump Approval Rating Tracker: Majority Disapprove In Latest Poll As Americans Reject New Tariffs Microsoft Warns Millions Of Windows Users—Do Not Update Your PC Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Wednesday, April 16th The lessons the pair wish to impart have been broken down into 18 “timeless principles” that are themselves divided into three groups: setting long-term goals, executing your goals and “unleashing the power of personality psychology.” The first two sections contain many fascinating insights into such areas as motivation and rewards, focusing on what matters rather than being distracted by less important things and thinking strategically. But it is the final section — on personality psychology — that is probably the most important. In particular, a section entitled “how to improve as a leader based on the Big Five model” takes what many will regard as a typical finance person’s approach to analysing the five key personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness and conscientiousness) and how they might affect an individual’s progression in an organization. More pertinently, Page looks at how it is possible to moderate the behavior associated with one trait or another in order to succeed. In the end, it seems it comes down to finding the right balance. McIlroy succeeded last Sunday, not by changing his personality so that he played like a more journeyman version of himself. He still played extraordinary shots that probably only he could pull off. He won through coming to terms with the challenges that his sport throws at him and finding a way to overcome them through a new sense of self-belief. Check out my website. Editorial StandardsForbes Accolades