Want to Play Kabaddi in Office?

Yesterday while watching the kabaddi match I realized that there are many similarities between the game of kabaddi and the corporate world. We can acquire a lot of skills from this game to become successful in our careers.?

?1) Team Vs Individual

For 30 seconds the game of kabaddi is an individual's playground, the “Raiders”. The individual enters the opposition court to make a touch and cross the line without getting caught within 30 seconds. As soon as 30 seconds finish he comes back and becomes a team player, helping the other members "Defenders" to make a tackle. Same way in the corporate world we need to keep changing our roles, from individual contributors to team players as the situation changes.?

?2) Faith & Trust

When a team makes a tackle, one individual takes the lead. This lead can be for his faith in his ability, his gut feels or analysis of the situation to sense the opportunity, or the trust in the timely support of the other team members. The other team members also respond the moment they see that the first touch is made. Corporate must promote this culture of fostering trust and faith in each other’s ability, judgment, initiatives, and intentions?to make winning a habit for the teams.

?3) Strategy Vs Execution

The overall strategy for the game “More raiding point / More tackle points “ is prepared by the non-playing Coach before the match, but Who will go for the next raid, who is the target in the opponent's team, who will do the “Ankle hold”? this execution strategy is conceived by the players themselves, that too on the go. The game is for 40 minutes and the team gets only one strategic time out for 90 seconds in a match. This signifies the omnipresent truth “Strategy needs to be right the first time”. After that execution must be flawless, Yes, the team or the corporate gets their chances to course correct but that is not always adequate.?The strategy must be right for the first time, execution must be flawless and we must use the time-out to make corrections if required.

?4) You are not out till you are out!

In this game, a team is not beaten if they all are out, once all six players of a team are touched / out the team is reassembled and with renewed zeal and vigor they make a fresh start. The ability to bounce back is the true winning spirit. In the corporate world, the best time to make a comeback or bring changes is after a big setback or a real upcoming risk.

?5) No role is big or small

In a tackle, there are defined roles for each member, Ankle holder, Pusher, Puller, and one person’s job is to keep a watch only on the hands of the raider. He pulls back the approaching hand and disallows across. Each role is equally important, if the last person is not feeling important and engaged and is not attentive to his task, the efforts of all others are in jeopardy. In a corporate setting, we must foster this culture of inclusion and respect for the roles. When everyone is doing his job correctly the mission is accomplished.

?6) Care and Protection

When the star raider finishes his raid and is back in the team court, the whole team tries and protects him. Sometimes this player won’t even participate in tackles. Opposition is always on the lookout for the strongest player of the team and they want to make them sit out for as much time as possible. The whole team understands and respects their strongest players and they all try and provide them as much as rest and protection. Similarly, the top performers / strong players/winner must be protected and cared for in the organization to maximize the chances of winning.?

?7) Alignment with the Bigger Cause

Many times the team may adopt a strategy to play defensively and protect every point. The start raider is required to be safe and waste time during the raid. On the other hand raiders by nature are aggressive and agile, their main job is to go deep in the court and make maximum touches. On the demand of the situation even they alter their ego/game and play defensive. Similarly in an organization, people should be able to alter their plans, egos, personal targets, and natural responses to align to the bigger goal.?

?8) Team Review

If there is a doubt on the Umpire's decision or a decision is not acceptable to the team, they can go for a third umpire review. Based on this review many times the on-ground team players were right and the decision of the umpire is reversed. Similarly in the corporates, people on the ground should have the right to review and correct if there is misalignment with the reality.

?9) Super Performance

When a raider gets more than three touches in a single raid or when three of fewer defenders complete a tackle it’s called SUPER raid or tackle. This Super or more than expected performance is rewarded with two additional points. Same way exceptional or more than desired performance must be rewarded exponentially in a corporate set up to make more and more people willing to go for that. SUPER performance requires exceptional capability, risk-taking ability, execution excellence, and more than genuine team efforts.

?10) Go for the Kill

?Most of the teams and players in this game are aggressive and risk-takers by nature. If you ask them to keep playing defensively they are not comfortable. The successful coaches have cracked this code that when a team is in a strong position in the game they allow the team to go for the kill rather than playing a waiting game. This helps the team to enjoy and also gain momentum for the next game. The corporates should also maximize every chance they get to achieve more and more rather than being complacent with their achievements.

?11) Celebrations

After a team wins a point the celebrations involve a ceremonial way of lifting one hand and thumping the thigh. This celebration has two folds implications; One it establishes the “Presence” of a strong leader and Second, it provides the “Sense of Achievement” for the team. Similarly in the corporate world, both “Sense of Achievement” and the “Presence” are an important part of winning and progress.?

?12) Ethics

Ethics as always are important in this game too, Referee oversees that the rules are being followed and discipline is maintained. More than often the touch is so faint or the view is blocked by the players for the referee to judge. But most of the time the player, who gets touched, himself agrees to the point claimed by the opposition raider. Similarly, rules and regulations are established in a corporate and control system is made to keep a watch, but everyone has the responsibility to point out on a proactive basis when there is a breach.

?13) Invest in your personal development

The player in the game are trained in two ways, one is obviously the routine training and coaching arranged and provided by the team management, and generally, this happens close to a major tournament or championship. What happens during the rest of the year? This is when individual players spend their own time, money, energy and hire coaches to learn new tricks and keep them fit. This is also the time when players are correcting flaws or adding skills. Similar to that corporate train their employees when required but to be successful one must invest in his development.?

?So next time you are watching a kabaddi game, feel the excitement, learn from the game and apply it in your professional life. It’s our national game and has a lot to offer in addition to?the immediate benefit of health and recreation.