Team Leadership and Cricket

Ok I  admit it. I love cricket. I am a bit biased but I came across this article in cricinfo how an underdog team, the Rajasthan Royals,  with mostly B-grade players won the IPL (Kind of like the Super Bowl of Cricket). It is commonly known that that cricket teams from the sub-continent are fraught with in-fighting and unchecked individual egos. Playing as a team is a novelty. That a sub-continent team came together and played great team cricket is nothing short of a miracle. Here are some great lessons in people management and leadership. 

Here is the summary of how they managed to create a winning team:

1. The team had a clear vision of the type of team it was going to be and had the role of each player clearly defined. This was then committed to paper. It was later shared with each player and their input eagerly sought. With the help of player input the vision paper and the individual roles were further refined.  By the end each player knew clearly knew what to before a single game was played.
   
2. Egos were checked at the door and team play was emphasized. Of course it helped that one of greatest cricketer of all times was the captain of the team.
3. Go on-one with each team member and understand what makes them tick. Listen and don't just giver orders.
4. Make everyone feel they can contribute to the team.
5. You can't quantify how important  passion and drive are to the cause. It is all about trust, honesty and respect. Treat people fairly and evenly and they will respond. This goes against the traditional sub-continent management style, which is that as soon as you get power treat your subordinates like dung.
6. Look for something good. It is easy to criticize but harder to find something good to say. Build the players self-esteem.
7. Put forth a united front to the team . Discuss your differences behind the curtain but once a decision is made it must be  supported by all the leaders. The players must see a united front from the leaders.

Great stuff from the real world. Thanks Shane Warne and Darren Berry for saving me $29 bucks that I would have spent at Amazon.com on some fancy business management book.