What The Masters Teaches Us About Presence in Leadership

I don’t play golf. I rarely follow it or even watch it. But every year, this weekend rolls around, and I’m locked in.

The Masters.

A relatively short drive from Atlanta, where I call home, down I-20 East, you’ll find the home of this historic event: Augusta National Golf Club.

I’ve been fortunate through the work I do and the relationships I’ve built to secure a weekend badge and experience this beautiful course and tournament in person.

You walk onto the grounds of Augusta National, and everything shifts. The azaleas are bursting with their springtime splendor. The lush green fairways look perfectly painted. And the air just feels quieter somehow.

It’s almost too perfect. Like you’ve stepped into something sacred.

And then you watch.

The best golfers in the world standing over shots they’ve hit their entire lives and hesitating. A second look. A subtle shift. A swing that feels just a little off.

And you realize...that perfect place?

It isn’t built for perfection. It’s built to reveal you. And that’s what gets me.

Not the leaderboard. Not even the game itself. The feeling. The stillness. The precision. The weight of every single moment.

In a world that celebrates speed, noise, and constant motion, The Masters demands the exact opposite.

And if I’m being honest, that’s a lesson in presence in leadership I had to learn the hard way.

Earlier in my career, I equated speed with value.

I’d sit in meetings already thinking about what I was going to say next before someone else had even finished talking. I rushed decisions just to show I could make them. And I missed moments that mattered because I was so focused on what was coming next.

Augusta National doesn’t let you do that.

You can’t rush a shot. You can’t skip a moment. You can’t fake presence.

And neither can great leaders.

The leaders people trust most aren’t the ones who move the fastest. They’re the ones who are the most present.

They slow the moment down. They listen all the way through. They think before they respond. They respect the moment in front of them.

Because those moments? They compound. Just like shots at Augusta.

You don’t win it all at once. You win it one intentional moment at a time.

So, here’s the question I’m sitting with this weekend about presence in leadership: Where in your leadership are you trying to rush the shot when the moment is asking you to slow down?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin is passionate about helping people and organizations understand and foster belonging. Drawing on both personal experience and professional expertise, he helps leaders design cultures and experiences where individuals, teams, and communities can thrive and feel they truly belong.