Lessons From Benjamin: Do You Lead with Your Head, Heart, or Hand?

When I met Benjamin…

So, I met Benjamin in a hotel lobby in London - Benjamin is seven years old. I soon found out that he was a big cricket buff and had come with his mom to the hotel.

Benjamin was carrying a small cricket bat and a marker pen. He also had several sheets of paper with him. He positioned himself in the lobby very "strategically" - in a way that he had a clear view of the elevator and made sure his mom was seated right next to him - and ready with her phone out.

He wore an England cricket team "floppy hat" and an England cricket team jersey.

Something about him mesmerized me, and I sat down in the lobby just to watch him.

I sat there for about 15 minutes and then walked up to him and said Hi!

He said “Hi!” with a bit of suspicion - looking at his mom for reassurance. His mom smiled. I pointed to his jersey and bat and asked him if he was a batsman.

He said he was an all-rounder!

His mom said that he was at the Lords to watch the England vs. India ODI the previous day. I said I was also there too! That seemed to make him less uncomfortable.

Then I asked him if he was here to get autographs from the England cricketers who were staying at the hotel (I knew they were in the same hotel because I had met them the previous day). He broke into a smile. I showed him some selfies that I had clicked the previous day with his English cricketing heroes and there was an instant connect now between two fellow cricket buffs! He was excited and happy.?

He then told me that he was here to get autographs from every England cricketer. Finally, he told me his brother was in the hospital and that his brother just loved cricket. He would present this autographed bat to this brother as a "get well soon and come back home" surprise! And he would keep the pictures and the autographed sheets to himself.

He settled down in a chair overlooking the elevator and waited for the cricketers to come out and walk to the team bus. And he had kept his mom on “standby” mode. The plan was simple. As soon as he saw one of them walk by, he would simply go for it - ask for an autograph and have his mom click a picture.

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He was ready to execute - and you could see the glint in his eyes!?

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The first one to walk out of the elevator was none other than Ben Stokes.

Benjamin literally “popped” out of his chair when he saw him. He looked at his mom for encouragement, and his mom smiled and nudged him. He waited for Stokes to come close, and he just put the bat in front of him and asked him, “Ben can I please get a picture with you”.?Ben graciously signed the bat and spent time taking a few pictures with Benjamin. He also patted his head and then walked to the team bus.

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Benjamin was beaming!

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His confidence soared. And then we went on a roll – Jason Roy, Moen Ali, Sam Curran, Joe Root, Johny Bairstow, Reece Topley and Craig Overton. He got them all! A picture, their signature on his bat, and autographs on the papers he was carrying.

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Mission accomplished, he left with his mother after a while – not before I walked up to him and asked him if now, I could now get a picture with him – which he most graciously accepted – imitating some of the great names he had encountered moments ago??.

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After Benjamin left…

And as he left, I just sat there feeling a sense of overwhelming joy. The purity & the overwhelming joyousness of this seven-year-old boy just made my heart smile!

This little fellow reminded me of someone I knew very well – my seven-year-old self!

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And then life took over. I went from meeting to meeting. But Benjamin’s face kept coming back to me. And one evening, as I was winding down, something strange just dawned upon me. I realized that he had just shown me a fantastic example of incredible insight into leadership without even knowing what the word “leadership” was all about.

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I remember the moment when I was having a chat with Elcio Barcelos the HR Head of HP – Enterprise Services (HP-ES) - and he asked me a question – “Samson, Tell me about your leadership style”.?I usually find it very hard to answer such questions – and I was not really prepared for that question at that moment. I took a moment and instinctively told him “my leadership style is a combination of leading from the head, heart, and hands.” – this is a leadership style I have learnt & imbibed from the cricketing field. ?

Elcio is a dear friend and I have learnt so many simple and deep insights from him.

When it comes to leadership, I draw my inspiration from M.S. Dhoni. He is perhaps the most inspirational leader that I have ever come across – he is an institution. And he is the epitome of absolute balance between leading from the head, heart, and hands.

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Leading from the Head

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Leading from the head is the place of strategy – rationality, competitive differentiation, SWOT analysis, ?etc.

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MSD was a master of strategy.?He read the game better than most and had a very clear head. He drew up a clear strategy for Indian cricket and how it would dominate the game for a long time. The only captain in cricket history to win the World Cup, the T20 world cup, and the Champions Trophy.?

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In the business world, leading from the head, leaders draw from their strategic thinking, their knowledge of customer context, their experience and expertise, and their imagination to draw up a strong strategic playbook focusing on “big rocks” to prioritize and deliver business outcomes and sustainable value.

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Leading from the Heart

The great Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream…” not “I have a strategy…” or “I have a plan”.

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Leading from the heart is the place of vision & purpose – about inspiration – about authenticity – about empowerment - about a greater purpose. It is about dreams of a significantly better future.

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Here again MSD was a master. He had a simple yet grand vision of where he wanted to take his team. He was absolutely selfless – team before everything. He had the deepest connects with his teams and picked and nurtured some of the youngest players who went on to be super stars. He also had the utmost respect from his staunchest rivals.?

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In the business world, while leading from the heart, leaders commit to spending a lot of time and personal energy in laying out, articulating and embedding the organization’s purpose. There is upliftment and inspiration. There is a very deep sense of connectedness and strong empathy which drives a more holistic change management. There is a strong personal bond and deep trust. There is a strong sense of inclusion, empowerment and enablement of teams.

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Leading from the Hands

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Leading from the hands is the place of action & execution – this is about getting things done. This is about rallying teams together, aligning them, and ensuring that everybody is pulling in the same direction.

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This is about leading from the front – leading by example. This is about not asking anything from the team that the leader herself/himself cannot not do. This is about setting the highest standards and then working relentlessly to execute towards meeting them.??

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None greater than the MSD on this!

The greatest finishers in the game. Remember the last ball six to win the world cup in Mumbai? The last ball run-out of the opposition batsman in a quarterfinal with one glove and running from behind in near death situation at the Chinnaswamy stadium? Giving the crucial over to Joginder Sharma to beat Pakistan to win the T20 World cup? Or giving the 18th over to Ishant Sharma when all was lost to pull off a stunner to win the ICC Champions Trophy? ??

The game was never over till he was there. As a batsman. As a wicketkeeper. As a captain. He always led by example. He always led by his hands.

MSD

I grew up on the cricket field and everything that I have learnt in life and also my leadership style is molded by what I have learnt on the cricket field. I am usually not into role-models but it is very hard not have MSD as one! There is hardly any other leader who has demonstrated a greater balance of leading with the head, heard and hands.

I had the absolute privilege to have met MSD in Sydney several years ago and that moment is captured in my heart and as the wallpaper on my phone! My inspiration and my guide – MSD!

Benjamin

That seven-year-old Benjamin displayed some great leadership insights.

He had a strong sense of purpose that transcended any “transactional” motives – he wanted to surprise his cricket-buff brother, who was in the hospital with a bat signed by the English cricket team! That was all heart!

?He had a clear strategy. He found out where these cricketers were staying and had absolute clarity of what he would do. He had armed himself with the bat and some papers and ensured he had his mom as the photographer. He positioned himself strategically too. I could see nervousness and fear sometimes – not knowing what to expect – but he was clear about what he would do and determined and driven by a greater purpose.?This was all head!

And finally, when the moment arrived – he actually mustered the courage, conquered his fears and walked up to the six feet+ superstar – Ben Stokes thrust his bat in front of him and asked him, “Can I please get a picture with you." And then he did the same with all the other England cricketers. This was all hands!??

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In his very small but very significant way, the seven year old Benjamin showed reminded me that when it comes to leadership, the magic is to have a true balance between leading from the head, heart, and hands. Just like the great one!

Benjamin also reminded me of the "other little boy" that I knew from several years ago - a bundle of joy and enthusiasm and a totally care-free chap who was totally mesmerized by his cricket and his cricketers.

Thank you Benjamin!