7 leadership lesson of from m.s.dhoni's captancy

Dhoni's style
Of
management.
01/12/13 06:31 AM by Dr.Rajesh Patel,Director,NRV 1
MBA,email:1966patel@gmail.com

What
Mahendra Singh Dhoni as
CEO of the Indian cricket
team did to ensure the
country won the World
Cup will be etched as
learnings for leaders
across all walks of life.
Captains of India Inc,
leading business schools
and HR leaders have
taken note of Dhoni's
style of management.

by Dr.Rajesh Patel,Director,NRV
01/12/13 06:31 AM 2

Experimentative,
innovative and risk-taking
are some of the
characteristics being
attributed to him. So what
really is Dhoni's
management style? "He
sets stretch goals and
works determinedly to
achieve them by getting
the best out of his team,"
says Adi Godrej,
chairman, Godrej Group,
who has also taken on a
new role as chairman of
The Indian School of
Business.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 3

Dhoni is being described as 'a true
leader' who did not hesitate to push
himself up the batting order in the
final, when the team needed him the
most. "He led the attack from the front
and was not afraid to make this
change. He knew well that had he
failed, he would have been severely
criticized but yet he fearlessly took up
the challenge at a critical time in the
Indian innings," says Harsh Goenka,
chairman, RPG Group.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 4

And what does one learn from Dhoni's leadership skills? "Take
measured risks and back your team to deliver," said Gunit
Chadha, CEO, Deutsche Bank India. "A leader should maintain his
calm. He should know his business well and take appropriate
decisions in changing contexts," said Misra.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 5

One could see how these characteristics came to the fore when, in a crisis situation during
the World Cup (India had lost two crucial wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the early overs),
Dhoni kept his cool and led India to victory. "Dhoni has been consistent match after match. He has stuck his neck
out and accepted his mistakes," said Deepti Bhatnagar, faculty, Organisational Behaviour, IIM-Ahmedabad.
What's more, the captain succeeded in building a team where young people can come up with their opinions. "In
a situation where a much younger player like Virat Kohli can give his opinion towards a senior player like Sachin
without inhibitions itself speaks volumes about the team culture," said Bhatnagar.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 6

Nehra's comeback against Pakistan is another good example of
how Dhoni's faith in him paid off. As co-authors Bill Conaty and
Ram Charan have said in their book, 'The Talent Masters - Why
smart leaders put people before numbers': "You can liberate your
capacity and courage as a leader if you continually plumb the
depth of your inner core. Only by doing this can you understand
the role it plays in the changing complexities of your job." Dhoni
has proved to be a smart leader.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 7

7
LEADERSHIP LESSONS
FROM M.S.DHONI’S
CAPTANCY

01/12/13 06:31 AM 8

Magnetic Personality binds the
team

Acceptance as a natural leader is
perhaps the biggest strength that
any leader can posses. With his
down to earth approach, complete
trust in his team members, personal
standards of excellence and natural
motivational ability MSD has
enabled his personality to gain
acceptance, get exceptional
performance and reinforced self
belief in the team.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 9

Strategizes intelligently to gain the edge

Choosing the team is always a
challenge for there are many if’s
and but’s that constantly keep
lurking till the last moment. Yet,
MSD with his astute thinking
strategises the team composition
as well as game plan in
consultation with the coach and
senior team members. It is also
evident that at times he has gone
by his gut instinct to vividly visualise
the end result and achieve it even if
it meant taking some chances.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 10

Dares to take risks that make the difference

Since strategies cannot be fool proof and
a true leader has to be willing to take
calculated risks. MSD has shown ample
evidence of it when he has dared to play
Nehra in the semi-finals ( much against
popular sentiments and naïve logic) and
took a chance with the temperamental
Sreeshanth in the finals. In fact he was
candid enough to admit that in the semi-
finals he read the wicket wrong hinting
that he did gamble in the team selection.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 11

mility is at the heart of his leadership style

You will rarely find MSD hogging centre
stage; in fact like the perfect leader he
lets his team members believe that they
achieved it themselves. He has
grounded him self with humility knowing
very well that when the going is good he
will get credit but when the tables are
turned he would have to put up with the
brickbats that often accompany the
leaders job. In most pictures that the
press published, of the winning team
taken which was taken soon after the
match ended, MSD is conspicuously
missing or relegated to the background
just reinforcing his humility in
acknowledging collective team effort.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 12

Operates unflappably to ensure that all are grounded

MSD is never animated nor excited
no matter what the situation. This
makes him an exceptional leader,
for controlling ones emotion under
stress is perhaps a rare blessing in
many leaders. The calm manner in
which he readily agreed to taking
the toss a second time when there
was a mix up in the toss, giving
Sreeshanth 8 overs despite having
alternatives, promoting himself in
the batting order despite having a
poor run with the bat are testimony
to his maturity and temperament.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 13

Never shirks from taking responsibility and giving credit

By promoting himself in the batting order he was
taking a risk since he had a poor run of form but it
was his belief that he had to take charge out there
in the centre and lead by example. In saying that
the coach endorsed his decision to bat higher up in
the order, he was merely stating a fact that he
respected the contribution of the coach Gary
Kirsten and valued his sage counsel. Soon after
winning one of his earliest statements about the
victory pertained him being relieved from having to
answer questions about team selection in case the
team had lost thereby implying that he had a major
role to play in the team selection for which he took
responsibility.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 14

Inspirational, instinctive, impulsive, intriguing style gives the winning edge.

In acknowledging Gambirs crucial innings in the
finals, he was candid enough to articulate that
he would have loved Gambhir to have got a
century but that Gambhir had only himself to
blame for getting out. Giving Sachin Tendulkar
2 overs to bowl in the finals in front of his home
crowd was both a tactical move ( Tendulkar has
often broken partnerships) and an impulsive
move ( to let Tendulkar hold centre stage).In
choosing to promote himself in the batting order
was both an inspirational and intriguing move
for it could have a backfired badly if he had got
out cheaply.

01/12/13 06:31 AM 15

01/12/13 06:31 AM 16

7 leadership lesson of from m.s.dhoni's captancy

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