MS Dhoni on leadership: 'Important for leaders to earn respect with deeds, than words'
MS Dhoni on leadership: 'Important for leaders to earn respect with deeds, than words'
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MS Dhoni’s captaincy and man-management skills are central to what makes him one of the best captains that India has ever had. The former India skipper said earning respect and loyalty of players with actions forms the primary layer of the leadership.
India won two Cricket World Cups under Dhoni’s leadership – the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup. He also led the Men in Blue to the 2013 Champions Trophy title besides clinching top spot in the ICC Test Rankings for the first time.
“Loyalty has a lot to do with the respect factor. When you talk about the dressing room, unless the support staff or players respect you, it is difficult to get that loyalty,” said Dhoni during an event in Mumbai.
“It is actually about what you are doing and not about what you are speaking. You may not actually speak anything but your conduct can earn that respect,” he added.
Dhoni said the respect comes from their deeds rather than words. “I always felt that earning respect (as a leader) is important as it does not come with the chair or rank. It comes with your conduct. People are insecure at times. Sometimes, even if the team believes in you, you are actually the first person who will not believe in you.
“To sum it up, don’t try to command respect but earn it, as it is very organic. Once you have that loyalty then the performance too will follow,” he said.
“Some people love pressure and some people don’t like pressure. What is important is to understand the strength of the individual and the weakness of the individual.
“Once you have done that, you will start working on the weakness of a player without actually telling him that this is a weakness.
“So, it keeps a player confident and keeps the player from doubting himself. They like to see how it works and that is the job of a captain or coach to figure out what works for who,” he added.
The Ranchi-based cricketer said as a leader one has to keep things simple to get the best results out of a team. “In that process, the simpler you keep things, the easier it will become for you. I always felt that the team (that he captained) had character because all of us were different.”
