01/7‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni shares his leadership lessons
Former captain of Indian cricket team and ace cricketer, MS Dhoni is known for is great leadership skills. Dhoni was the captain when the Indian cricket team won the World Cup, and it was under his leadership that the IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) also won the title five times! No wonder then that ‘Captain Cool’ is an inspiration to many. In a recent video shared by Dubai Eye 103.8 on YouTube, Dhoni shares his top five leadership lessons which differentiate between a good manager and a great leader. Here we list down his tips.
Photo: BCCI
by TOI Lifestyle Deskreadmore
02/7 Have the right principles
MS Dhoni shared that one needs to have the right principles while making decisions, be it in their personal or professional life. This would help them do the right thing and succeed in life. “You can’t always move back and forth when making decisions. What is important is to determine what you think is right, keep moving forward, and often that helps you decide the future course of action,” said Dhoni.
Photo: PTI
03/7Change with time
Life will always be full of challenges and the only way to deal with them is to adapt with time and face the problems head on, believes Dhoni. And this adaptability in life is what differenciates one from being a good manager and a great leader. “We all have our business plans, considering what is happening around us at the moment. But in the next six months, there may be new technology that requires quick adaptation. So, we all make plans, but once the first ball is bowled, everything depends on how it’s going. Adaptability becomes key (to be a great leader),” Dhoni said.
Photo: Canva
04/7Earn respect in life
Respect is something which one needs to earn and not command for. Dhoni even said that in order to be a great leader, one needs to earn trust and respect from those they are leading. This will help them be successful in life. Elaborating this, Dhoni said in the video, “One important thing about leaders is that you have to earn the respect of the people you are leading. You can’t command or demand respect; you need to earn it. I may hold a position in an institution, and yes, that position needs to be respected, but as an individual in that position, I need to earn that respect. I can’t say, ‘Okay, I’m in this chair, you need to respect me.’ When you have the respect of the people around you, they give maybe 10 or 15 percent more, and that’s what is needed in an environment.”
Photo: AFP
05/7Have an emotional connect with those you are leading
Dhoni further said that in India it is important to develop an emotional connect with others in order to be a great leader. Stressing about it, he explained, “In India, people talk about being professional. Yes, we Indians are professionals, but our emotional connect is much stronger. As an Indian, my strength is the emotional connect. My connection with CSK is an emotional one. It’s not just about being a player who comes, plays for a couple of months, and goes back home.”
Photo: PTI
06/7Do what you preach and lead others by example
When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and Dhoni seems to believe in this mantra. The ace cricketer also shared that great leaders lead by example, especially when things get tough. This in turn helps them gain the trust and respect of the people they are leading which would help them succeed together as a team. Elaborating on this point, Dhoni said, “You lead by example through the ups and downs. When you are successful, it’s easy to say, ‘This is what we do.’ But when times are tough, that’s the real test. You have to walk the talk. When you say, ‘Don’t take the pressure; we are not about the result, but about the process,’ you must believe it even if you have lost four or five games. That’s when you earn respect. What we say is what we mean, and that’s what we do.”
Photo: Canva
07/7Be detached from the outcome and learn from your mistakes
Dhoni also shared that great leaders should remain calm even in stressful situations and not be too attached from the outcome. Instead, they should accept the outcome and learn from their mistakes. This will help them grow as a person and a leader, and do better in future. “Yes, we feel hurt when we lose or don’t achieve the target, but what is important is to learn from it. In modern times, we are so focused on the result that we keep thinking about it. When you start moving on, you do the right thing, which is to take the learnings out of it, not just the result. Identify areas for improvement so that we achieve the target in the next game or the next quarter,” Dhoni shared in the video.
Photo: AFP
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