10 Leadership Lessons from Dangal

My wife invited me for Dangal. The literal meaning of Dangal is a wrestling competition. Generally our Dangal starts at any time without any warning. This was the first time that there was a formal invitation. Later, I found out she had invited me for an Aamir Khan Starrer movie. The movie is much more than a wrestling competition. It is a wrestling of ideologies. Although I did not watch the movie with an intention to write leadership lessons but I could not resist myself. Here are the 10 leadership lessons to be learnt from Dangal.

1. Dream to create champions

You can create a better future only when you dream for it. Discontent creates Desire. Desire creates Dreams. Aamir wanted to get a gold medal for his country. Since he could not achieve it, he wanted his son to fulfil his dream. Only problem was that he did not have a son. There were several failed attempts and each attempt awarded him with a daughter.

Finally he created a champion out of her daughter who won a gold medal for the country.

2. Believe in Competencies

When you start believing in competencies, gender becomes irrelevant. Aamir looked at the state of boys beaten by his daughters.

He realised that he never needed a son to create a world class wrestler.

3. Find Solutions not excuses

When you want to achieve something, then you don't see obstacles. You try to overcome them by finding ways, however unconventional they are. You don't care about - “What will people say?”  That is what Aamir did. He brought a boy to fight the girls, fed chicken to vegetarian girls to build strength, got their clothes changed, trimmed their hair, created floor mats using cotton mattresses, he even left his job to support the cause.

4. Make others believe in vision

All leaders build vision and give people a cause that motivates them to achieve more. The second most important aspect is to make others believe in the vision and gather the needed support to realize the vision. Aamir sold his vision to the chicken shop owner that if he offers discount, tomorrow a national champion will be his brand ambassador.

Aamir did something similar with his daughter when he told his daughter before the final fight that millions of girls can live their dreams if she wins this fight. He converted a fight into much bigger cause for his daughter.

5. Balance motivation with Internal Realization

Leaders do provide external motivation to the team to achieve the vision. Until the team realizes what is in it for them, getting extra ordinary results is not possible. That is why leaders need to explain the stake of team in the vision rather that constantly repeating what they want to achieve. Aamir pushed his daughters hard and the entire program was about to fail. Accidentally, his daughters realized that most of the girls don’t such chance in their life. That realization changed everything.

Remember the boy. He did not achieve much in wrestling even though he was being trained with the best and by the best.

 6. Take Calculated Risks

Leaders take calculated risks to realize their vision. When Aamir was confident that his daughter can fight well, he introduced her to a local wrestling competition. She could have been hurt fighting boys in the competition but she succeeded to prove Aamir right.

 7. Overcome your fears to be successful

You need to overcome your fears to be successful. If you want to be the best then you need to compete with the best. This is a solid confidence booster. His daughter overcame her fears by selecting the toughest competitor in the local wrestling competition. Even though she lost her first match, she earned respect. That respect and self-confidence helped her win the subsequent competitions.

8. Be Disciplined and Work Hard

There are no alternatives to Discipline and Hard work. When you are after a goal, you must build your life around the goal and you must start enjoying it. If you try to find happiness outside, then you compromise with your dreams.

After becoming the national champion, Aamir’s daughter shifted to National sports academy for training. She discovered that she can practice and have fun too. While doing so, she lost her way and could not win a single international match, which was when she realized the importance of discipline and hard work.

9. Prepare Strategy on your strengths

Generic strategies don’t work in competitive world. You need to analyse your strengths and craft your winning strategies yourself. Aamir analysed his daughter’s international fights and guided her to use her strengths rather than going by the conventional wisdom.

10. Teach how to fish

It is important to teach your team how to fish because you cannot be around all the time. In the final medal winning match, Aamir was not around. His daughter was nervous but she remembered the teachings of her father, she figured out the winning move on her own.

Conclusion

After the movie, my wife wanted me to replicate Aamir. I told her that I don’t have daughters. She told me to focus on competency not on gender. Make our son a champion. All my arguments were perceived as excuses. She wanted me to first believe in the vision myself before making anyone else believe in it. My internal realization was extremely strong on the other side and I took a calculated risk of remaining silent in the argument I can’t win. I have been working hard on my fears in a disciplined manner as standard methods have failed multiple times. So playing on my strength of alignment, I am teaching my son how to fish.

This is author's personal view point and is not influenced by any person or organization. Image Credit to Walt Disney Pictures, Aamir Khan Productions, UTV Motion Pictures