25-03-2010 Aakash Chopra: The art of leadership | S…

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Aakash Chopra looks at various aspects of cricket from a player's perspective

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Overlords, seducers, associates The art of leadership
The importance of captaincy in Twenty20 cannot be overstated. A look at the most common methods Aakash Chopra: The importance of
captaincy in Twenty20 cannot be overstated.
Aakash Chopra
March 25, 2010
A look at the most common methods

Comments: 16 | New! Login via | Text size: A | A

Was it really the captaincy of Shane Warne that drove
the Rajasthan Royals to the title in the first edition of
the IPL? If yes, going by that logic, Royal Challengers
Bangalore's change in fortunes and run-up to the top
spot last year probably had much to do with Kevin
Pietersen making way for Anil Kumble. Chennai Super
Kings' defeat against an out-of-sorts King's XI Punjab
a few days ago made people blame MS Dhoni's
absence for the beating. And ever since Kumar
Sangakkara took charge, Punjab themselves don't
have much to write back home about either.
People watch the IPL from different vantage points;
among other things I look at the nuances in the
leadership styles of the different captains.
Some think captaincy is the most overrated aspect in
this format, while others believe it is what makes the
difference in the end. For me, the captain is as good
as his team, but I don't rule out the impact he can
have on the final upshot. A captain may not be able to
win with a very poor side, but he can always make a
team punch above its weight.
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ranks in his country's pantheon. By David Leggat
Swann's way
Peter Roebuck: England's spin sensation plays like a man
eager for a scrap and bowls like one expecting to take
wickets. Long may his tribe last
From zero to 5000 runs in 1703 days
The List: During his 45 in the Mirpur Test, Kevin Pietersen
became the first batsman to reach 5000 Test runs in less than
five years
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Kumble has been a marked improvement on Pietersen as
Bangalore captain in the IPL © Indian Premier League
Related Links
Players/Officials: Rahul Dravid | Jacques Kallis | Zaheer Khan
| Anil Kumble | Kumar Sangakkara | Sachin Tendulkar | Shane
Warne
Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League
Teams: Kings XI Punjab | Kolkata Knight Riders | Mumbai
Indians | Rajasthan Royals | Royal Challengers Bangalore

Leadership by example
Some mistake this sort of captaincy with just performance on the field, but there's more to it. The captain's
conduct is the easiest way to send a message across. If a captain is disciplined, like Rahul Dravid or Ricky
Ponting, whose work ethics are immaculate, the team follows suit automatically. You'll see both Dravid and
Ponting do fielding drills even after a long training session, when they can easily be avoided, and that's signal
enough for others to go the extra yard. Perhaps the one-handed catch Dravid took against the Mumbai Indians
last week wouldn't have been possible without those extra drills.

On the contrary, since Warne thinks that warming up before a match is not a very useful exercise, his team
stayed away from it in the second edition of the IPL. While it worked for Warne, others found it difficult to do
without, and perhaps the results reflected that.

One can also not discount the importance of an in-form captain. Once his game is taken care of, a captain can
allow his focus to shift to other issues. Sangakkara must be feeling the heat at the moment.
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Leadership by direction
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Turning points of the day

Sachin Tendulkar is playing the mentor role to perfection with the Mumbai Indians. Saurabh Tiwary's hitting
brought to you by Ford Figo
prowess was well known but Tendulkar has made him realise the importance of rotating strike; Tiwary is

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25-03-2010 Aakash Chopra: The art of leadership | S…
doing just that now and the results are for everyone to see. A few big shots may look impressive, but mixing
caution with aggression and batting longer is what helps the team.

Leadership by seduction
This form of leadership works with players who've started to find their feet but still haven't made it. You
dangle a carrot to get the best out of them. You set targets for them, and if they achieve them you reward
them in return. For example, asking the Virat Kohlis and Robin Uthappas to be more consistent while batting
at six or seven and rewarding them by promoting them up the batting order after a while. You do such things
with people who you genuinely believe have talent and need some encouragement to fulfill their potential. It
seems to be this method that Kumble is employing in the Royal Challengers side.

Leadership by association
Once a player is comfortable with his game and knows most of what needs to be done, the captain makes
him a part of the decision-making process. They discuss strategies and make plans together. The captain
asks the player for his opinion, and instead of giving orders makes suggestions. This is the sort of method
Tendulkar is probably employing with Zaheer Khan at the moment: he has faith in Zaheer's ability and knows
he doesn't need every last thing spelled out for him. So they form a partnership of sorts, where both give
inputs and the captain gets things done.

Leadership by delegation
There comes a time when a player is so experienced,
he doesn't need to be told, at all, what to do. He knows As a player, if I know that my captain is
what works best for him and no amount of persuasion going to stand by me, I'll happily stretch
will make him think otherwise. To get the best from that extra bit. But if I'm not sure, like I
such a cricketer, the captain must respect his personally wasn't with Brendon M cCullum
experience and allow him to do whatever he's for Kolkata last year, I'd hold back. Why
comfortable with. If he's at his best batting a certain would a player do anything for a captain
way or bowling to a certain field, the captain should who doesn't even remember his name?
allow that to happen as far as possible, as long as it's
not ruining the team's chances of winning. In turn, the
player acknowledges that freedom and rarely lets the captain or team down. The art here is to get someone
to do something you want done because he wants to do it. This is probably the sort of leadership Kumble
must be employing with Jacques Kallis at the moment. This season Kallis has been given the freedom to bat
at his own pace (though obviously not too slow), while others around him complement his efforts by going
after the bowling.

A captain must understand that good communication is the key. It is imperative for him to be available to
every single player and be able to talk to them in language they understand. It becomes even more important
while leading an IPL team because the players are from different parts of the world, with different
temperaments and backgrounds. A captain needs to go the extra yard to understand what makes them tick
and how to handle each of them.

As a player, if I know that my captain is going to stand by me, I'll happily stretch that extra bit. But if I'm not
sure, like I personally wasn't with Brendon McCullum for Kolkata in the second season of the IPL, I'd hold
myself back. Why would a player do anything for a captain who doesn't even remember his name? Pietersen
apparently forgot the names of his Royal Challengers team-mates. No wonder things changed when Kumble
took over.

You have to be one of the players yet maintain an aura that commands respect. A captain must create an
environment in which a player feels secure of his place in the side, and let him express himself both on the
ground and off it. A player should also know that his captain will support him to the hilt.

Sounds a lot of work, right? And we haven't even touched upon the skills required to make bowling changes,
make and execute plans, and all the rest of it. A captain certainly has a lot on his plate.

I'm reminded of a beautiful quote by John Quincy Adams: "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn
more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

The next time you watch a captain walk away with the honours, spend a moment thinking of the ordeal he
has gone through to get there.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra is the author of Beyond the Blues, an account of the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season. His
website is here
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Posted by ssrini29 on (March 25 2010, 06:55 AM GMT)

This article has taught me more about leadership than any other management article i've been made to read during my MBA.

Posted by IndiaGoats on (March 25 2010, 06:34 AM GMT)

Beautiful article. I almost think you are a better writer than a cricketer (no disrespect intended). Leadership transcends job
functions. The same principles (when to delegate, when to use seduction, how to communicate, ...) apply in any other field -

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software, banking, or whatever. Whoever understands these principles will invariably be a successful leader in any field. All that
said, I am keen to know what turned Dale Steyn around this IPL. Did Kumble have anything to do with it? Regardless, Steyn coming
in to bowl is one of the few pieces of action I just can't miss.

Posted by Jinuthefool on (March 25 2010, 06:24 AM GMT)

As a player, if I know that my captain is going to stand by me, I'll happily stretch that extra bit. But if I'm not sure, like I personally
wasn't with Brendon McCullum for Kolkata last year, I'd hold back. Why would a player do anything for a captain who doesn't even
remember his name? ------------------------------------------------------ Player should give 100%.. he needs to play for himslef , for
frachise.. for owner who is giving money.. and for selectors so they select team for the next match.. I don't agree with aakah
chopra.. i think he is mad.. he will going to tuin his career if caption is not good.. he is not give 100% if caption is not good.. for
him.. so for personel angerness he will ruin his team , his owner and his future.. so he is not in the KKR...

Posted by CricketCaptain123 on (March 25 2010, 05:42 AM GMT)

Aakash, May I say this is one of the best articles you have ever written. I believe, you learned a lot more about captaincy after
leading Delhi's Ranji team. This article talked about how a captain should motivate players. Can you throw some light on bowling
changes and field placements as well?

Posted by BillyCC on (March 25 2010, 05:39 AM GMT)

Thanks Aakash for your thoughts. I liked the comprehensive list of captaincy methods and agree that it's horses for courses but
you have to know when to be able to switch methods to suit the various teams. Obviously, the ability to switch methods is very
hard for a captain. And even then, switching may not be the best tactic, because it denies the captain the chance to mould the
team into exactly what he wants. It's a very fine line; there is no right answer for this one.

Posted by TheOnlyEmperor on (March 25 2010, 05:38 AM GMT)

Contd... Coming to the IPL and it's Captains... Warne has been the best and exceptional in leadership. Gilchrist set down his terms
with the owners and delivered. Kumble created the space for himself to operate when Mallya was busy backseat driving. Sehwag,
sets his own terms anyway, captain or not. That's Delhi's weak link in a team performance driven tournament. Dhoni is fettered by
the Owner and Srikkanth. Pity. Sangakkara doesn't have team support, thanks to Yuvraj's indifference amply demonstrated
through his body language for all to see. The Ganguly camp, was the ruin of KKR, right from the start. They plotted and schemed,
made a demon of Greg Chappell earlier and even try to villainise poor Dravid who took over from Ganguly in Tests/ODI cricket.
Greatness is never achieved through scheming and whining. Instead it comes from contributing and this is seen by the way SRT
has submitted himself to the cause of the Indian team under every captain, putting country before self.

Posted by TheOnlyEmperor on (March 25 2010, 05:26 AM GMT)

A captain is a leader who commands through example and respect, on and off the people, working on building up individuals and
knitting them together as a team. A captain can indeed work magic with his resources in a given situation, but this will carry him
only thus far, because all said and done, a captain is only as the talent being made available to him. A captain should be allowed to
function as an unfettered leader instead of a front man to drive somebody else's back seat driving agenda on how the team should
be run. This renders the captain impotent and ineffective, actually helpless many a time, and this happens a lot more in the Sub
Continental nations than elsewhere. Invariably when things go wrong, he is the fall guy. If the Captain's predicament is sorry,
given this, the Coach's position is worse! He is the guide and mentor to the Captain, helping him navigate through blindspots as
well as working on aspects of players which the captain can't!

Posted by gr8_sachin_fan on (March 25 2010, 04:59 AM GMT)

An excellent article.. This explains to me why Ricky Ponting is regarded as a greater player than Sachin Tendulkar, it is because
Ponting is a Great Captian as well as a great batsman.. For Tendulkar's captaincy, the less said the better..

Posted by simplesumo on (March 25 2010, 04:37 AM GMT)

Aakash - what you say clearly is rich because of your personal experience and observations. In Management, this is called
situational leadership. Also, there are 2 factors - confidence and competence which dictate which style to use with which person. A
person high on competence but low on confidence needs trust while a person high in confidence but low on competence needs to
go back to the nets! thanks

Posted by getgopi on (March 25 2010, 04:11 AM GMT)

I would never have imagined Aakash, halfway around the world and in a cricketing context, to quote John Quincy Adams, whose
family estate lies only a few miles from where I live in Boston. Eerie stuff ;) One of the reasons why I find the IPL fascinating is
because of the high number of games involved and the captaincy skills that need to transform/evolve over a period of several
weeks. This is probably the most comprehensive discussion of captaincy in the shortest format of the game...I think.

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