On Sept. 4, the “No Harm in Charm” workshop, a McDermond Center’s program. was hosted in The Percy L. Julian Science and Mathematics Center. The workshop brought three guest speakers including Leslie Nicole Smith, Vince Lazar and Paige Sanfelippo. The panel discussed the importance of talking in golf and how you can use charisma to stand out in relationships with peers.
Smith is a full-time executive search consultant with Boyden Boston. Smith has over 20 years of leadership experience in entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, project management, insurance, people management and education administration. Smith was also an executive director of alumni engagement at DePauw and a volunteer columnist for the nation's fourth oldest African American newspaper.
Sanfelippo, an alumnus from DePauw with a bachelor’s degree in economics, has also played on the women's golf team. She was actively involved in various leadership roles as a member of the Management Fellows Program and team representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. She was also an ambassador for DePauw and was part of Alpha Chi Omega. After graduating from DePauw, Paige interned as a wealth management intern at UBS and is now a full time financial analyst at Valeo Financial Advisors LLC.
Lazar has coached DePauw’s men and women’s golf teams to attain numerous achievements. These achievements include 34 All-American Scholar accolades, 12 conference titles and named conference coach of the year 12 times. Beside coaching and former players, Lazar also served NCAA committees while also pursuing his other qualities like public speaking, fundraising, accountability and maintaining finance. Lazar also graduated with a masters degree from Indiana University Bloomington.
The workshop gathered several Management Fellows and discussed the importance of soft skills and first impressions upon meeting someone new. One of the few points Smith made is how potential employers get an impression from your first appearance. Lazar and Sanfelippo further explained with golf terminology and sportsmanship.
Firstly, golf has the ability to create social connections with co-workers. Second, it can create networking with young professionals. You can also play with customers and clients.
The first thing to make sure is to focus on your environment. Have good eye contact while listening and following what other people are saying. When you play golf, you are not trying to be competitive but having a good time. Having fun and being relaxed is important. Don’t be dominating and teaching people; rather, let them try to play golf first.
The importance of these soft skills can be further be practiced on your own. So what can you do about it? You can find a group of friends to practice and play casually with. You can learn general terminology. And can invest in a starter set of clubs for less than $1,000. But the important thing is to practice these skills and keep improving them.