Learn leadership skills from Dhoni, a masterclass! - By Akshat NITIE Mumbai

“Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lifts the World Cup after 28 years. The party's started in the dressing room. And it’s an Indian captain, who’s been absolutely magnificent, in the night of the final”, said Ravi Shastri after the hiatus of 28 years was completed and India rejoiced in unison. This was made possible due to the World Cup win orchestrated by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the Indian Team.

Aggression with etiquette, modesty along with stardom, and an apparent Midas touch, Dhoni is the perfect role-model one can ask for and an ideal icon for modern India. He has been an inspiration for all, motivating people to chase their dream even if the path is full of hindrances.

It is exiguous to describe the stature of the sparkler of the Indian cricket, Dhoni. The journey from being an ordinary ticket collector to one of the most successful Indian captains has been nothing short of extraordinary for him.

MS Dhoni’s rise in the Cricket arena can be attributed to perseverance, rebellion and most importantly belief in one's self.

A Micro-bio

MS Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Jharkhand (then Bihar) to Pan Singh Dhoni and Devaki Devi on 7th July 1981. Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamli, Ranchi where he initially excelled in badminton and football. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was selected in the Cricket team primarily because of his keeping skills.

Fighting the failed system, rejections in the U-19 team, desperation creeping in, joining Railways Ranji Team and working as a ticket collector at Kharagpur Railway Station to make the ends meet, MS Dhoni had already seen a lot in his young age which eventually helped him to have a calm head on the shoulders during his Captaincy stint.

A 22-year-old Dhoni with long locks made his debut for India after all the drama that unfolded in his life. The start was inauspicious at best as he got run out for a duck on his debut. But that’s where the quality of perseverance came in and today as we know he is one of the most coveted captains, wicketkeeper and batsman not only in Indian circuit but at an international level. Mahi as he is commonly called is the only Captain to win all 3 major ICC trophies and winning ICC Test Mace for the pinnacle position in the format along with 3 IPL trophies.

Leadership lessons to learn from Dhoni

Apart from his exploits and achievements on the Cricket field, it is the management side of MSD that makes him my role model and makes me respect him more. Dhoni has an armory of leadership skills that can apply to the business sector as well.

Decisiveness: Effective leaders are those who can make decisions quickly with the information they have. MS Dhoni was always in charge of the situation, never waffled and took brisk decisions based on the situation and information. We saw this skill in the way he takes DRS decisions in a limited time of 15 seconds and helped Captain Kohli and the team. Always shrewd in his approach, other players always looked up to MSD as a leader.

Emotional quotient and intelligence: Everyone is adept at game reading when they play at the highest level. But, keeping emotions in check and taking decisions according to the situation is what differentiates the leader from others. That is exactly what MSD brought to the table. As the commentators around the globe will always tell, you can never judge the situation of the match from the face of MS Dhoni.

Positive manipulation: MS Dhoni as a leader always supported his team-mates in front of media with a certain degree of manipulation. He will come in Press-Conferences and will say XYZ is a great player and he will deliver. This puts positive pressure on a player and an extra motivation to put hard yards.

Out of the box thinking: MS Dhoni is always considered a street smart and an astute Captain. His out of the box thinking makes him one of the most innovative leaders. You can take any of the examples, whether it is giving Joginder Sharma the final over of 2007 T20 WC or promoting himself at no.5 in 2011 WC or giving Ishant Sharma the decisive over in CT 2013 or setting bouncer fields for Ishant Sharma in Lords Test 2014 all of this events were unpredictable and out of the box ideas. This thinking makes him one of the most successful skippers around the globe.

Recognizing the capable and backing them: A great leader always knows his subordinate’s talent and how to extract the best out of them. MS Dhoni always knew the talent of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin to name a few and backed them at different stages of their careers when they were criticized by the media and public. Today, all of them attribute their success to MSD’s support at hard times.

Ability to mentor: One of the skills that differentiate leadership from several other competencies is the ability to mentor. Even after leaving captaincy, MSD was a valuable asset to the team mainly because of his experience and inestimable tips to the bowlers like Bumrah, Kuldeep, Chahal, and Hardik who were at nascent stages of their careers. When MSD was at the fag end of his captaincy stint, he always took Virat with him so that Virat can be ready by the time MS quits.

Handling failures: After the invigorating success of the World Cup 2011, it was just downhill for Dhoni and his team. After a streak of embarrassing losses, it required proper temperament and frame of mind to bounce back. He bounced back and started the transformation stage of the team and made it unbeatable, which currently Virat is enjoying.

Respect among opponents: In sport or any other field, you know you have achieved a milestone when your opponents take you seriously and allow themselves to show a degree of respect to you. Dhoni has created that by his consistent and calm behavior. He was also a recipient of the ICC Spirit of the Game Award in 2011 when he recalled Ian Bell who was run out according to rule books but against the Spirit of Game.

Managing professional and personal life: MS Dhoni has always been regarded as a family man and enjoys time with his daughter Ziva and wife Sakshi along with his professional duties. The corporate world can learn from Dhoni as today many professionals are struggling in this aspect. MS has also put World Cup 2015 ahead of his daughter’s birth and this shows that he whenever necessary will put work ahead of family.

These are some of the qualities that made MS Dhoni a great leader and an inspiration for many along with management students and personnel alike. Following MSD since his debut, it feels a little depressing that he is not playing nowadays and has maybe only a handful of playing days left. Nonetheless, we have to accept the fact that something that starts always comes to an end, so will the era of this legend.

In a nutshell, the legend of Mahendra Singh Dhoni is shaped largely by the virtue that when everybody was busy focusing on taking singles, he hits the ball out of the park for a maximum!


This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author 2.0 with Dare2Compete.