We can draw many leadership lessons from the low scoring cricket match thriller, where India won over Bangladesh by just 1-run On March 23, 2016 at Bengaluru.
1. Keeping cool in tense situations and focus on alternate options at hand to solve the problem has become much needed expectation today for performing leaders.
2. You are there on the game to perform your role. Don’t get sold to the context you are in. There is no point in getting associated with contextual tensions. Not withered by the tense situation where Bangladesh team needed 2 runs from the last 3 balls in the final over, Mahendra Singh Dhoni could able to demonstrate his perfected art and performed his role efficiently
3. Buy available time, at the moment of “crisis”: Indian captain knew that he would not be fined if he takes additional time during final over as per game rules. He leveraged this option and took reasonable time in engaging stakeholders on the field.
4. Active Listening to the Stakeholders during critical moments–“Everybody will come and they will have their own opinion. Often the opinion of a batsman is very different to the opinion of a bowler. But what you have to do is you have to see what the strength of the batsman is who is batting at that point of time, how the wicket is behaving, whether there is some kind of reverse swing or no reverse swing on offer. All these things you need to calculate and I feel what really helps is you listen to all of them” – Dhoni said in the post-match meetup.
5.You have to assess everything in a very short span of time. The Indian skipper continued saying "I feel what really helps is listening to all of them, but at the end of the day you push the bowler to bowl what you feel is good at that point of time. If I am convinced that this is something that I want to do, then I go ahead and do it. But definitely, having an open mind at that time really helps because in situations like these, under pressure, you may have a tunnel vision and that's where the point of views of others come in handy. You have to assess everything in a very short span of time."
When it comes taking decisions, it helps some times introspecting "what not to do" and doing simple things in better way. Dhoni advised Pandya not to bowl yorker because a yorker could become a full toss if not timed well. Also, he seemed to have learnt the lessons from Chetan Sharma's last ball six hit by Javed Miandad at Sharjah
6. In pressure situations, when your team does not perform to the expected norm, make positive wipes on your team so that they work on their positive strengths.
When it comes taking decisions, it helps some times introspecting "what not to do" and doing simple things in better way. Dhoni advised Pandya not to bowl yorker because a yorker could become a full toss if not timed well. Also, he seemed to have learnt the lessons from Chetan Sharma's last ball six hit by Javed Miandad at Sharjah
This is what exactly Dhoni did towards the first timer Jasprit Bumrah. Dhoni Pointed out “This was the first game in which he was really under pressure. The very first ball if you misfield, as a youngster you are under pressure. I feel that reflected in his bowling. He also dropped a catch. It's important at that time to tell him that it doesn't really matter because what has happened has happened, you cannot do anything about it. What was important was get away from it and at the same time, execute your plans to your strengths. I felt when he went for runs in the second over, he wasn't completely out of it. After that we had one more conversation, and then it worked."
7. Situational reaction is all about awareness and attention to detail than it is about experience. For all their experience, Bangadesh Batsman (Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah) on creeze sought the glory shots instead of simply nudging the ball around for single while the Indian captain had the presence of mind to even avoid throwing the ball at the stumps to effect the run-out, lest it missed or ricocheted off the stumps to concede that extra run.
8. Leading Leaders garland their team motivation and strengths towards winning. Bad leaders break the outcome... Leadership does matter to your outcome
9. During decisive moments, winner shows minute difference over loser. Seriously, it is very minor difference (look at the picture above) that marks winner over loser. To win, you got to be extra careful about every possible detail and leverage every possible option and time efficiently with absolute Cool.
India have won by 1 run. Dhoni had taken off his right glove before the delivery was bowled. In hindsight it was great foresight.
The games are eventually decided on such minor decisions and in Dhoni, India have a master at the decision-making craft.
You can watch Indian team in action @ The Final Over
The games are eventually decided on such minor decisions and in Dhoni, India have a master at the decision-making craft.
You can watch Indian team in action @ The Final Over