Great leadership lessons from the movie – 83

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Kabir Khan’s latest movie - ‘83’ has been an experience filled with pride and celebration. It's clear that the director and his team did a great job on the filmmaking front. However, I found that it was more than just entertainment. The movie teaches some amazing leadership principles. Here is my attempt to decode the lessons from the movie - 83.??

1. Mediocrity is the biggest challenge??

I was thrilled when Kapil Dev explained that he is not angry when people say 'you cannot win the world cup' but he is angry when people say 'you did a good job with winning two opening matches. That's not bad!’?

Let it be career, dreams, or goals, we always think big and feel great when we achieve even a small milestone. We get early recognition and often get into the comfort zone. Lots of dreams are lost in the process and we settle down with mediocre achievements. The enlightening message here was to dream big and never settle down with early rewards. Pursue your goals till you achieve the final target. This is something I will surely try to incorporate into our teams.?

2. Start with ‘Why’?

Kapil Dev knew right from the start why team India was playing in the world cup. The answer was simple for him - they wanted to win it. He never played for glory and fame, nor did he ever motivate his teammates with money and fame.???

When the leader is clear with ‘Why he/she is doing, ‘what’ and ‘how’ follow. Every move the leader takes is aligned with the purpose and helps the team to go closer to achieving their dreams. Glory and fame follow the team when the leader follows ‘Why’.

3. Give them the bigger purpose??

The best moment for me in this movie was when K. Srikanth explains ‘how they laughed at the skipper when he said they could beat the two-time champions – legendary West Indies team. Perhaps the greatest team in the history of the cricket world cup belonged to the champions. However, soon they realized how serious Kapil was and how deeply he believed in his teammates. Later, the vision was imparted to every team member, and everyone played beyond their potential and defeated the world champions. The boost in confidence led them to win the world cup together.??

Despite all odds, it is a leader's belief and vision that develops synergy and inspiration in the team. What matters most is how much and how truly the leader believes in his/her vision.

4. Let your performance answer the critics

When the entire world laughed at Kapil Dev’s statement ‘we are here to win the world cup’ the captain was calm and composed. When the team manager and even teammates wanted him to issue the statements against baseless criticism, his answer was ‘let our performance on the ground answer them.’??

As Mahatma Gandhi quoted "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”?????

5. Lead when your team is in need??

Kapil Dev was neither considered a great allrounder nor a great batsman. He was not even in his top form. However, when the team needed him the most in a do-or-die match, when the top order batsmen were collapsed, Kapil Dev delivered the world record with unbeaten 175 runs.??

Leadership is required the most when the team is crumbling. Leading from the front is one of the most fundamental qualities of a leader.??

6. Heroes rise from the ashes??

After the initial success, the Indian team had lost two matches in a row by a big margin. Key players like Sunil Gavaskar and Roger Binny were not fully fit to play. Dilip Vengsarkar was out of the tournament after a fatal bouncer broke his jaw. Even in the do-or-die match team India was 5 down with just 17 runs on board. But what happened next is history.??

Team India had proved the famous dialogue from the movie Rocky- “It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how you can get hit and keep moving forward” even before it was written. Flawless success stories are written in films, but failure is an inevitable part of every success story. It is all about the never-give-up attitude while chasing your dreams.??