Mahendra Singh Dhoni ‘s story is nothing short of a fairy-tale – how an ordinary man went on to do extra-ordinary things. He believes in strategic choice i.e. one which makes a difference. He has always maintained a balance between his visionary and managerial side. His rare quality of extracting benefits from criticisms has made India win matches and hearts of millions of people. Young management students can learn so much from him and apply it in their real life situations.
Let’s learn leadership and management lessons from Mahendra Singh Dhoni:
- Dhoni hailed from a humble background but he was never shy of expressing himself in any given situation.
- Dhoni considered himself part and parcel of the team and not above the team.
- Instead of pressuring the teammates to win the game, Dhoni tells them to enjoy the game.
- Dhoni brings out the best performance in every player, be it a senior or junior player.
- Dhoni established his credibility over time and never rushed through with change in personal and team culture.
- Dhoni handled fame and money at an early age with a great degree of level headedness and humility.
- Dhoni managed to keep calm in extreme situations enabling the team members to focus on their work.
- Dhoni had immense ability to cutoff himself from the surrounding controversies and continue to focus on the job.
- Dhoni has always believed in following his instinct while taking decisions.
- Dhoni had encountered embarrassing losses after World Cup 2011 but he bounced back and answered all his critics with his successful performances.
- Dhoni invokes great respect and fear in the opposition camp by his mere presence, calmness and body language.
- Dhoni is versatile and can adapt to any situation as he plays all 3 formats of the game, can bat in any position, keep wickets and can roll his arm over if required.
- Dhoni believes to live in the present and not to worry about future or past.
- Dhoni’s leadership represents teamwork, empowerment and confidence.
- When Ganguly was playing his last match, Dhoni asked Ganguly to take charge of the team and showered praises on the players.
- Dhoni provides an opportunity for every team member to prove themselves and contribute to the best of their abilities.
- Dhoni shows that he has confidence in all his players and gives them challenging tasks.
Dhoni’s Inspiring Quotes –
1) I think what’s very important for me is man management. Everyone is very different, with different temperaments. Sachin is as important to me as everyone else in the team. Everyone has a role to play. Man management is the most important factor, and along with this, the team spirit. However, what matters in the end, is the unity in diversity of thinking, which is needed for the entire team to succeed on the field as one.
2) “I never predict what will happen in cricket. We believe in each other and we believe in the process. We will take each game in the right frame of mind.”
3) “We are not thinking about what may happen if we achieve or what may happen if we don’t succeed because those two things are beyond our control. So rather than thinking about something that’s too much ahead of us it is very important to take every game in the right frame of mind and that is what will be our process throughout the tournament.”
4) “We didn’t rely on one specific individual, everybody contributed. Each and every batsman scored at some point in the series and the same applies to the bowlers also.”
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