shoulders of giants - part 2

This is an old one. I was at an event in January where Anil Kumble spoke on captainship. He was India’s Captain for a short period and almost took his Bangalore team to victory in the Finals of the IPL. Here are some of the notes I took from that talk he gave. His clarity and experience are worth adapting for any leadership role I guess. What an awesome guy. What an awesome leader.

The first thing that Anil Kumble did on assuming captaincy was to create a document that gave the players a common team ethic and a common goal. Putting it on paper allowed the seriousness of the process to sink.
Some of the points addressed in that document were as below:

Training
Convert training into a team activity to ensure team bonding
Clearly state what the team and the captain expected of them in their training
Create training leaders who would lead the training on a day with clear training roles assigned

Selection
The playing 11 would always be decided one day prior to the match to enable them to be prepared
Give players a long rope and back them especially when they are down
Share the confidence with the players
Personally call the players who were not picked in the fifteen and give possible reasons for their exclusion

Strategy
Create a winning culture by taking calculated risks
Create a core group of senior players while including younger players to ensure that the next generation of leaders would be ready to take on the mantle

Roles
Communicate precise role expected of the player
Back the player in the media if the role was done effectively
Confidence coming in from the captain is important for the player

Attitude
Have intent to win, not just draw the test
No matter how the situation is, no matter how adverse or what the attitude of the opposition is, demonstrate an attitude that you are HERE TO WIN AT ALL COSTS

Goals
Clear stated goal that in 18 months we want to see ourselves as the number one test ranking team in the world

Recognition
Understand that everyone wants recognition; the top player as well as the newcomer
Each one is different and you have to manage each individual differently

Conformity
Communicate very quickly that a player needs to conform to team goals and strategies
Players pulled up in a team environment if they let the team down

Conflicts
Accept that there will be conflicts with diverse individuals in a team
In conflicts, manage the issues rather than looking at who the individuals are

Media Relations
Clear cut policy on talking to media
Strategize on what to speak to the media and accordingly follow it

Parting Thoughts
“At the end of it we are all humans and we all have our emotions. How you connect to those emotions as a leader (and) as group will be the key, and that’s where in these tough times all of us have to address and connect to that human”