8 management lessons from Dhoni for UPA

(05 Apr 11)

Management lessons from Dhoni have universal appeal and can be used by corporates and
even the UPA, to reflect on existing structures and strategies. Indian cricket captain Mahendra
ingh Dhoni!s boys have done the country proud. As Dhoni lifted the I"" "ricket #orld "up,
I thought of another Indian captain $and Prime Minister% Manmohan ingh and the
unenviable position he finds himself in today. &he globally respected economist is surrounded
by scams, tainted "'" issue, billions of rupees stashed a(ay in foreign banks, allegations of
buying votes, etc. &he United Progressive Alliance)II could author, How to kill your
country's national airline. Management lessons from Dhoni have universal appeal and can
be used by corporates to reflect on existing structures and strategies. In order that readers
relate to them easily the article dra(s a parallel bet(een the #orld "up, on the one hand, and
Manmohan ingh*onia +andhi on the other.
1. Every team can have only one captain
&eam India is led by Mahendra ingh Dhoni. It is clear that the entire team has thro(n its
(eight behind him. &eam UPA has t(o captains. ,ne holds the constitutional post of prime
minister and other is the "ongress party President. &he structure is like that of the "hurch and
tate (hich existed in -urope. Any management practitioner (ill tell you that a team (ith
t(o captains cannot realise its true potential. A leading M." appointed t(o managing
directors for its businesses, but soon realised the need to have only one MD. ,ver the last
seven years, (e have seen UPA captains play the game differently. Manmohan ingh (ants to
buy peace (ith Pakistan by making unilateral concessions, (hile onia +andhi realises the
anti)Pakistani sentiment amongst the electorate. o an announcement from the Prime
Minister!s ,ffice usually gets countered by the party. &(o, the PM, and the .ational
Advisory "ouncil have different vie(s on economic matters.
2. Team's performance
Mahendra ingh Dhoni never sought to deflect criticism for India!s poor sho(ing by blaming
individual players/ the buck stopped (ith him. In spite of being under tremendous pressure,
he came across as a man in control. 0e (as forever seen to be thinking and acting for !&eam
India!. "onversely, Manmohan ingh chooses to keep maunvrat $silence% till the problem
escalates. After that, he deflects the issue by taking the allegation personally/ !I am clean!.
.ext, !#hat can I do since I relied on a colleague or facts (ere (ithheld1! &here is a sense of
helplessness in Manmohan ingh!s voice. As UPA!s captain t(o, onia +andhi has not
accepted responsibility for the (orst scams in India!s history.
3. If yo have the conviction! stic" yor nec" ot
Indian pace bo(ler Ashish .ehra had not done (ell in earlier games but had performed (ell
against Pakistan in the #orld "up semi)finals. "ritics (anted Ash(in to play but Dhoni
insisted on .ehra (ho reposed the captain!s faith by bo(ling superbly. Dhoni does not allo(
old (ays of thinking to prevent him from taking unconventional decisions, kno(ing very
(ell that only some might (ork. &he one time that Manmohan ingh sho(ed admirable
conviction (as in getting the Indo)U .uclear deal passed by Parliament. &he same attitude
(as lacking in the run)up to the "ommon(ealth +ames. onia +andhi rarely speaks out on
matters concerning India except during elections. he prefers status 2uo to change3 Dhoni, on
the other hand, accepts mistakes and shares vulnerability publicly. &his makes him human
and has endeared him to the common man.
#. Accept the pair of opposites
Any public figure (ill vouch that the public can garland you on one day and thro( stones the
very next. Dhoni has learnt this bitter truth early in life. A &' reporter asked him of the scene
outside his 4anchi house if India (on the #orld "up. 0e said there (ould be big
celebrations5 yet in the same tone told vie(ers $(ithout any anguish% of the protests outside
his house (hen India played badly a fe( years ago. People take a lifetime to understand and
accept that life is full of opposites $6oy and sorro(, (inning and losing, pleasure and pain%,
but Dhoni has understood this at age 78. &eam UPA might find this philosophy of
the9hagvad +ita too difficult to digest.
$. %inning is a&ot team'or" an( motivating yor colleages
In the post)match conference after India had (on the #orld "up on April 7, former India
captain)turned)&')commentator 4avi hastri asked Dhoni (hy he chose to bat ahead of the
man in form, all)rounder :uvra6 ingh. Dhoni said that after he (as convinced of the idea, he
spoke to coach +ary ;irsten and the seniors before going ahead. 0e understands the
importance of dra(ing from seniors! experience and (isdom. &his (ay they feel valued, he
invites their blessings and thus builds team(ork. A person (ho has innate confidence in
himself tends to have a collaborative approach. #hen .ehra dropped a catch in the semi)
finals Dhoni did not admonish him but asked to let go. &his motivated .ehra (hose
performance (as outstanding. Unlike in the past, Dhoni did not allo( regional 2uota system
to influence team selection. ,nly performance mattered3
). *eep cool! an( &e focse( an( (etermine(
&hroughout the last three #orld "up matches $including the final%, one sa( a cool and
composed Dhoni even though he expressed anger for Piyush "ha(la in an earlier match.
Playing in front of home cro(ds and being (atched by millions can make the best (ilt under
pressure. #hen Australia and Pakistan (ere batting in a flurry, Dhoni (as calm and focussed
on the game at hand. &here (ere no impulsive bo(ling or fielding changes. I am sure you
noticed the determination in his eyes (hen Dhoni hit the #orld "up (inning six/ it (as as if
he (ere stating, !I (ill not rest till (e have (on the "up!. &aking your (ork to a logical
conclusion is another 2uality. Dhoni al(ays spoke (ith respect about others teams and
criticised his co)players in a very nice (ay. ,pening batsman +autam +ambhir!s missing out
on scoring a memorable century in a #orld "up final game (as entirely his fault, said Dhoni.
Dhoni heard criticism, probably reflected on it, but converted it into positive energy and let
performance speak. 0e is a 2uiet (orker. -very Indian needs to imbibe these 2ualities from
the nation!s cricket team captain.
+. ,mility an( lac" of flam&oyance
&he post)final period sa( a display of emotions by many players. Dhoni hugged and
congratulated many but underplayed his presence, (as inconspicuous after a (hile. &here
(as no display of sho(manship or blo(ing his o(n trumpet. 0e displayed exemplary
maturity. Perhaps, the humility comes from his simple background. Dhoni!s father (orked as
a lo(er division clerk (ith Mecon, 4anchi. M Dhoni has risen on the basis of sheer hard
(ork and performance. In spite of being the captain of the high profile Indian team, Dhoni
speaks (ith no airs, and sho(s no arrogance or attitude. #hen Manmohan ingh (on the
7<<= trust vote the' for 'ictory sign (as flaunted and smacked of arrogance. -very Indian
must emulate Dhoni!s handling of success.
8. In(ia's ne-t P. shol( &e from the hinterlan(
I am reasonably sure $no offence meant% that an Indian captain brought up in a metro city
might not have conducted himself so exemplarily. eeing a boy from 4anchi, (ho hails from
;umaon, Uttaranchal, lead &eam India successfully I (onder (hether leaders from India!s
hinterland can relate to India better1 After all, the chief ministers of "hhattisgarh $4aman
ingh%, +u6arat $.arendra Modi% and 9ihar $.itish ;umar% are from similar backgrounds and
doing outstanding (ork in their states. #hile the rest of India criticises the Public
Distribution ystem, the less hyped about 4aman ingh government in "hhattisgarh has
revolutionised the system to reduce leakages, and had made it (ork. "an the cash)rich 9oard
of "ontrol for "ricket in India $9""I% and Dhoni help the Indian hockey team (in the next
#orld "up1 0ockey is after all our national sport.
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