Wondering how to manage millennials? Learn from MSD!

In cricket, each passing year is like 3 years of corporate life. A cricketer on an average would have 10-12 years of international career and that is equivalent to 35-40 years of corporate life. Needless to say, a cricketer has to change and mature far quicker than a corporate citizen.

There is this intense chat about millennials and everybody seems to be grappling with the same question – how do we manage millennials? Simon Sinek, the management thinker, has described the generation very accurately in his talk. The problem is that people interpreted the talk as “What is wrong with the generation” than what Sinek intended to do, which is “How should you manage/nurture them”.

Two nights ago, I saw a boy grow into a man and take up a position that no other Indian has. He led from the front, scored a record 17th century in a run chase (15th in a successful chase), breaking the record of the very man who he idolises and who is the reason why cricket happened to him. Virat Kohli was more than pleased to play second fiddle to the form that Kedar Jadhav was in but Jadhav was no match for Kohli’s brilliance. The captain played a responsible innings ensuring that he left the team in a situation where victory was within their grasp. And that straight bat drive off the back foot to a short pitched delivery was a shot that will remain fresh in people’s memories for years!

Cut to a few years back, and I want to stress on “a few years”. Kohli came into the side as another youngster among the many who were making it into the young Indian team. Remember the famous T20 World Cup win of 2007? Rohit Sharma at 20 years, Robin Uthappa at 21 years and Piyush Chawla at 18 years were all a part of the team. All young guns, being looked at as the future of Indian cricket. Cut to 2016 and none of them are permanent members of the Indian team across all formats! Kohli was older than Chawla and younger than Sharma then. He played his first T20 international, almost 3 years after the T20 World Cup. This is just to put in perspective that Kohli did not get an early start like many of his counterparts.

When he came into the team, he had to play alongside the legends of Indian cricket, Sachin, Laxman, Dravid, among others. His position in the batting order was uncertain. In tests, Sachin was a permanent no. 4 and Dravid no. 3. That meant that Kohli got a no. 5 position at best, a fact that he knew well. Even in the one dayers, he had the likes of Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina in the middle order to make his batting position uncertain. He had to fight to earn his place. Quick trivia – Did you know that Kohli played his first test match for India after the 2011 World Cup? It seems as if he was a part of all format teams since the time he started playing.

Kohli’s aggression was for all to see. One still remembers his outburst at spectators at an IPL game and it has been captured on video for eternity. Someone playing at that level is expected to maintain calm and composure. His aggression in the early part of his career can actually be termed as misplaced. There was always the right place he could use his aggression at. Spats with players on field and off field were everyday activities for young Kohli. He still was a super player and would consistently deliver for India but his aggression made him the bad boy of Indian cricket.

The party side of Kohli was also very well known. He would be seen dancing to music in pubs and discos. He would be seen driving his expensive R8 during late nights in Delhi. He would also keep company with other boys of the team who were accused of a similar lifestyle. All characteristics of the millennial generation. There was one difference, though. Kohli always had a focus on practice and perfection. He never compromised on that.

The best thing to happen to Kohli was playing under Dhoni’s captaincy. Dhoni let him be. He let Kohli free from the bondage of a “good boy” and gave him the room to be the person he wanted to. Never on camera do we have Dhoni chiding Kohli for something he did that Dhoni never would do. Kohli and Dhoni complemented each other. One had the passive aggression that was covered by a calm demeanour. The other had an overt aggression towards life in general. This worked for Indian cricket. Slowly but surely, Dhoni was grooming the next superstar of the country.

Till the stalwarts of Indian cricket, Sachin, Dravid and Laxman (I haven’t mentioned Ganguly since he retired before Kohli made a permanent spot in the ODI and Test teams) were playing, Kohli was this brash player who was ready to take his chances and live the moment. His records in the early part of his career are testimony to his slow start. As soon as the legends retired, a new Kohli emerged. He became the backbone of the team, much like his idol, Sachin. Remember his interview after the 2011 World Cup win where he spoke about Sachin?

In the years that followed, you saw a calmer, more focussed Kohli. The Pune ODI against England brought about a face of Kohli that I never expected to see. He got his 100 and there was no jumping in the air or pumping his fists. There was a subtle raising of the bat. He took upon the responsibility of captaincy a 100%! He was there to win the match.

Draw a parallel. Millennials will be brash, iconoclastic, ‘frivolous’ for many of us. The reason is that we are treating them in a similar manner; they are just reflecting our expectations. A classic case for “The Golem effect”. However, if you tell them their place in the organisation (position in the batting order), they will start giving you results. If you give them more responsibility by yourself withdrawing from a few of them and letting them independently drive them (Sachin, Dravid, Laxman retiring), they will deliver results. If you channelise their aggression correctly (aggression in batting and not in chatting), they will never let you down. Dhoni, to me, is the perfect manager for the millennials. Kohli is a splendid example of what happens when you deal with a millennial in a manner that you are supposed to.

You cannot control or manage millennials; you can enable them and empower them. And when you do, you produce match winners!

PS: I have said this on many occasions that even if Kohli scores more runs and makes more records than Sachin, he will never be as great as Sachin. That’s because of how Sachin was vis-à-vis how Kohli is. Seeing Kohli in the Pune one dayer against England, I may have to chew my words and I would love to chew them!