Leadership Lessons from the Gentleman’s Sport

Cricket has been much more than a sport to us Indians. Every youngster dreams of donning the colours of the Indian team, every little decision on the field is scrutinized by the entire country, every win is celebrated and loss is mourned. The icons of the game have transcended the barriers and have become a part of our culture, folklore, anecdotes, and examples.

I have personally always been a follower of the sport. And with Mastercard as the proud partner of every home-game that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organizes, I feel even closer to the sport. Cricket has become even more 'Priceless' as I am constantly experiencing life and leadership lessons coming out of the arena and from the people that make this sport great.

The most recent being the T20 series between India and South Africa where we saw how former Indian captain Virat Kohli let go of the opportunity to complete half century and asked his colleague Dinesh Karthik to continue hitting boundaries. This small but an incredible gesture displays an unparalleled team spirit and personifies some very basic leadership lessons that we often take for granted.

Practice being calm: Cricket has evolved from a leisurely activity to an extremely competitive sport over the last two centuries. But even in this high-octane environment, it's the calm and composed who wins the battle. Look at MS Dhoni -- Captain Cool – his composure even in difficult times or rewind the years to think about Rahul 'The Wall' Dravid, who would remain focused even during the most trying times.

As a professional, there are bound to be stressful times in our boardroom too. Different temperaments, different perspectives and ego clashes will happen. But a good leader will never lose her/his calm. In fact, by keeping the composure intact, the leader not only comes up with reasonable solutions but also earns the team’s respect in the long run.

Don’t shy away from risks: During the T20 World Cup 2007, who can forget that evening in Johannesburg when a young gritty Indian captain took one of the biggest risks that cricket has ever seen. The rival team was cruising to victory and MS Dhoni tossed the ball towards rookie Joginder Sharma for that all important final over. The rest is history.??

Cricket has innumerable such instances when a certain decision was incomprehensible to the pundits or the fans, but eventually led to something extraordinary. It shows that the ability to take risks and explore unchartered territory is a key step to achieving greater heights and set new benchmarks. ?

Even as a buildup to this year’s edition in Australia, Rohit Sharma has been evaluating different combinations – in the playing order and the team. I see many comments on how that is a risk and may not be the right way. But as a leader, it’s great to see Rohit taking those bold decisions. After all, success doesn’t have to come in templates. ?

Every failure is a lesson: With 71 international centuries, Virat Kohli continues to inspire. He has given cricket some unforgettable performances over more than a decade. But even a couple of months ago, nothing seemed to be going his way. One failure after another – too much to take at the highest level. And finally, after 1021 days, Virat again scored a century at the Asia Cup 2022.

As I saw his contented celebration, I was seeing an example of how to take every failure in your stride. The lesson is simple -- every failure is a learning and should help us avoid making the same mistakes in the future. So many things don’t go right in our daily life, despite trying hard. But that shouldn’t stop us from giving our best every time.

It’s not over, until it’s over: In 1983, India was 78 for 7 against Zimbabwe and staring at an early pack up from the World Cup, except that the leader wasn’t done yet. That day in the sleepy village hamlet of Tubridge Wells, Kapil Dev played an innings of 175 not out that was not only the very best of limited over batting but also the turning point of Indian cricket. India won that match and went on to win the World Cup.

Leaders will always face situations when everyone around will perhaps give up. But that’s when the self-belief and confidence in the team needs to be at its peak!

Process and result go hand in hand: Results are important, but the processes deployed to achieve it is equally important. If Jhulan Goswami hadn’t chosen a bowling spike instead of a Durga Puja-dress and didn’t go through the rigors of travelling 80kms every day to practice, India wouldn’t have got its greatest ever women fast bowler. What we often miss out is the process that goes behind a great result.

Focusing equally on the process also helps in one more thing – evaluate the interventions needed during a crisis. Only those who have gone through process would know about every little aspect of anything. ?

Value both experience and youth exuberance: Remember India’s historic win against England at Lord’s in 2002 NatWest Trophy final? In reply to a big total, captain Sourav Ganguly had started with a belief up the order. But that triumph would have never happened if the younger players - Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan were not given a chance. More recently our great win in Australia – while senior Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin kept showing what grit was made of, the younger team members pulled off a historic series win for India. These are great leadership lessons for all — have faith in your team members and give the young ones a chance to prove themselves. Guide their zeal and passion, and they’ll never let you down.

Nurture your passion: Anil Kumble has been a passionate photographer; Sachin Tendulkar loves golf and Dhoni looks after his garage of superbikes himself. It is a cliché, but it is true. This shows the importance doing what you love. As a professional, we need to switch off and take a break from our work to rejuvenate ourselves. This recharge not only helps us increase our productivity but will also allow our creativity to flourish and bring in a fresh perspective to the table.

How is this for starters. I’m sure there are more lessons on the way as we watch the teams and the sport evolve.