Sourav Ganguly :A Case Study in Leadership

Twelve Most important Achievements Of Sourav

Ganguly As a Captain Of The Indian Cricket

Team

1. When he took over the captaincy after the match-fixing expose in 2000, he

quickly proved to be a tough, intuitive and uncompromising leader. It was a very

tough time both for the Indian cricket and Sourav taking over as captain.. Sourav

was appointed as captain when Sachin Tendulkar, shocked everyone by stepping

down from his captaincy after India’s disastrous tour Down Under in 1999. As

vice captain to Tendulkar, Sourav was the most obvious choice. But he went on to

win the series against South Africa 3-2. Not just that, the BCCI imposed a ban on

the former captain Mohammed Azharuddin and all-rounder Ajay Jadeja, Then the

stalwarts in the team.

2. “The Lagaan Comes Back Home” was the headlines of a national daily when

Sourav led the team to victory in the Nat west trophy in 2002.Chasing a target of

326 seemed impossible but was achieved by ‘Team India’ in an unprecedented

fashion ,and who can forget the shirt waving exercise in the balcony of Lords:

The Mecca Of Cricket. This Win Further resolved his ability as a leader.

3. Beating Pakistan in tests in Pakistan in 2004.This was undisputedly one of the

most glorifying moments in his captaincy.

4. Again, beating Pakistan in Pakistan in ODI’S in 2004. This is a feat which was

not achieved by any of his predecessors before him.

5. Leading the team to victory at the historic test match at the Eden Gardens against

the mighty Australians to halt Steve Waugh’s “Final Frontier” after being made

to follow on .The world saw the emergence of VERY VERY SPECIAL

LAXMAN to complete the tally of the ‘Famous Five’. Not just that , In that

match itself, for the first time in the history of Indian Cricket ,an Indian Bowler in

the form of Harbhajan Shingh took a hattrick in a test match.

6. The Historic series against Australia ended in Chennai with another win against

Australia . The series ended in India’s Favour with a scoreline of 2-1.This marked

the emergence of DADAGIRI.

7. Promotion of young guns in the team was another aspect of Dada’s captaincy. The

current Indian team has many players who were brought into the team by

‘DADA’. Players like Yuvraj, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Irfan, Sehwag and Zaheer were

some his key instruments in team building ‘TEAM INDIA’.

8. He, till date is the most successful Indian Captain with 21 test wins as a captain

and with a success rate of 42%. A feat unparalleled by any other Indian Captain.

9. He led Team India to the Final of the world Cup in 2003 after a gap of 20 years.

Although, the team lost, people could see an emergence of a force which can

stand up to the mighty Australians. But, If the team had won the match on the 23rd

of March 2003, Sourav would have remained the undisputed Champion of Indian

Cricket.

10. During the 2003 World Cup, The Indian Team had an enviable track record of 8

successive wins which is quite extraordinary.

11. His natural ability as a leader comes to light, when we notice that his ability to

handle seniors and greats like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, and Kumble without any

problems. Leadership comes naturally to him. Under Sourav's leadership, India

got back to the winning habit which the team had forgotten in the past.

12. But unlike his predecessors his most important trait as a leader was that he was

Impartial, Non-parochial and always pushed his players to perform better.

TEN MOST COMMON TRAITS OF A

SUCCESSFUL MANAGER

1) An Eye For Talent- It should be one of the most valuable aspects of a manager.

To recruit the best person for the job. This is also vital for every organization in

the business sense as well. Having the right person at the right time at the right

place can make all the difference. In Sourav’s case it was all the same because he

always promoted the best guy for the position in the team and not someone based

on his religion, caste or state he belongs to….

2) Competency – People would always follow someone who is as competent as

them or if not, more than them. But it does not mean that one has to be an expert

in every field of his/her organization ,but needs to demonstrate ample competence

levels .Also in the Indian Team , ‘Dada’ was always referred to as a bowler with

a ‘golden arm’. If he could not do anything with the bat he always came up with

a vital breakthrough for the team with the ball. This showcases his competence as

an all-rounder.

3) Honesty –In today’s modern competitive world, this has become a major trait of a

successful manager in view of scandals. Also, managers need to display their

honesty to their counterparts/peers in order to win their appreciation. When

Sourav was the captain he was always honest in his appraisals for his players. He

preferred Harbhajan over Kumble as he was a better performer in ODI’s.

However, against Pakistan he preferred Kumble due to his better track record

against them .We come to know this from the fact that, the only match in the 2003

World Cup played by Kumble was against Pakistan in the super sixes.

4) Nurturing Talent – This trait is vital for every manager and organization.

Managers need to groom their people and help them develop skills vital for the

success of their organization. When Sourav was the captain, his persistence on

Dravid to hone up his skills as a wicketkeeper helped him not just to play an

extra batsman/bowler but also won many a matches for India, until the advent of

‘MSD’.

5) Meritocracy- This is perhaps the most important trait of a successful manager.

Managers need to promote people based on merit and only on merit. Sourav too

always did the same .

6) Forward Looking – A manager with this trait in his/her attitude can always lead

his/her organization or people from a difficult situation to a comfortable position.

Sourav in 2003, having lost the world Cup to Australia, came back strongly to

defeat Pakistan in Pakistan in both ODI’s and Tests in 2004.

7) Awe Inspiring – People always love to be inspired and follow an inspirational

leader who can take them to greater heights. Sourav too was inspirational either

with his performance or with his words on and off the field.

8) Insistence for Continued Performance – This is one quality which sets apart

managers from others .The objective here is to perform day in and day out. For

example in Laxman’s case, he came into the one day squad after his historic

performance at the Eden Gardens in 2001 but could not cement his place in the

team because of his performance.

9) Emotional Intelligence – In Today’s modern competitive world, this trait has

become the deciding factor between a good manager and an excellent manager.

An excellent manager will always respond to people in a way they want him/her

to. Sourav always did the same and the prime example of this is his waving of the

shirt violently from the balcony of Lords in 2002 to Andrew Flintoff.

10) Challenge Organizational protocol – Every leader must have the zeal to

challenge existing organizational protocol for the good .This not only strengthens

his capabilities as a leader but also as a commoner. Furthermore, Sourav to a very

large extent handpicked his team defying SET selection procedures often leading

to discontent in the board.

SIX IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP TRAITS OF

SOURAV GANAULY

1) Indifference To Criticism – Gangly always took decisions which he felt right

without caring for the critics’ sake. It is perhaps this indifference to criticism that

led to his omission from the team.

2) No personal Insecurity – Sourav felt that every young player should play two

years of domestic cricket before being selected for international assignments. He

also said that every newcomer should be given at least five games to prove

himself. Perhaps, he being at a receiving end of a raw deal that threatened to ruin

his international cricket career enabled Sourav to understand the insecurities of

other newcomers in the team better than his predecessors. Sourav backed the

youngsters in the team tremendously and thus, gained the love of his teammates.

3) Visionary- His vision was to win the world cup for India and indeed came very

very close to win one after a gap on 20 years.

4) Preference for Match Winners - He relinquished himself, to make the space for

the opening slot to accommodate Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.

Ganguly will most be remembered though for having forged a winning unit from

a bunch of talented boys.

5) Emotional Intelligence – He as a captain always believed in replying on the face

and responding in an appropriate fashion. Again, the prime example of this is his

waving of the shirt violently from the balcony of Lords in 2002 to Andrew

Flintoff.

6) Nurturing Talent- He always wanted his players to develop skills for their and

the teams’ betterment. For example, He along with Sachin helped Harbhajan and

Zaheer hone up their batting skills which in the future has helped India save many

matches from the Jaws of Defeat. Similarly, When Sourav was the captain, his

persistence on Dravid hone up his skills as a wicketkeeper helped him not just to

play an extra batsman/bowler but also won many a matches for India, until the

advent of ‘MSD’.

Can Sourav Ganguly teach Managers about

leading from the Front? What can the

leaders in businesses learn from his successes

and failures?

There are primarily 3 basic aspects which we learn from Sourav from his

Illustrious Carrier which are stated briefly in the following :-

1) He was prone to experimentation. He promoted himself to the opening slot

and along with Sachin form the best ODI’s opening partnership in the history

of the game . This showcases his ability to shoulder responsibility. An

opener’s job is a specialist’s job and he took over the responsibility to display

his Flamboyant Panache as a southpaw.

2) He always provided vital breakthroughs with his golden arm. He became the

first player in the history of the game to receive 5 consecutive Man of the

Match awards in one-dayers ,in a series, in the Sahara 1997 Cup, which s a

world record till date . He also won the Man of the Series.

3) Again, due to the lack of form he dropped himself from the opening slot to

accommodate Sehwag who was a more attacking player than him, showcases

that he was an honest leader and is ready to make corrections for betterment of

the team.

Future Leaders and entrepreneurs can learn a lot from Sourav .His unprecedented Knack

for experimentation, Indifference to criticism, an eye for talent, his Vision and not to

mention his extraordinary EQ can make every leader stand up and notice. If someone can

accommodate few of the above mentioned qualities as we see in Sourav, they can make a

whole world of difference to their respective organizations.

“Every leader succeeds and fails depending on the

situation he or she is working under !!”

We do agree with the statement because of the fact that success can always be measured

in any field by performance. Also, since success is dependent on the performance it also

incorporates the performance of the other individuals in the group/team, simply because

Business is also about teamwork. Therefore , the acceptance of the leader by his/her

team, the internal and external forces which directly/indirectly affect the business/task,

the performance of his colleagues and peers are responsible for the success of the leader.

Do all leaders have a “Shelf Life ”?

Every leader brings with him/her certain ideas, concepts and theories which are pertinent

to the current working scenario. However , the only constant is change. Therefore, what

is contemporary now might be obsolete in future .Therefore every leader must change

his/her outlook based on the business requirements.

However, those leaders who don’t incorporate these changes fade away only to be

replaced by a more contemporary one .

All these facts remind us of the fact that all leaders do have a shelf life.

Three (3) important quotes of Sourav Ganguly

relevant to Today’s Management Profession

I. “ Now or Never ”- On having reached the finals of the 2003 World Cup reflects

his Visionary attitude.

II. “ I have to make this boy play for India ” – On seeing Dhoni for the first time

in a domestic match. This reflects his Eye for talent.

III. “ I never try to make right Decision, but I make a decision and make work

right.”- On winning a test match. This reflects his attitude of Indifference to

criticism.