Mahendra Singh Dhoni- An Inspiration On and Off the Field...!!!

10 Lessons from Dhoni’s Leadership

Dhoni gives the following Leadership tips for every aspiring Leader –

1. One should be a performer and demonstrate the same to our team. Performance is itself the most effective communication.
2. Leader has to be humble in a way and consider himself part and parcel of the team and not above the team.
3. Give genuine respect and trust to the team members.
4. Allow them to experiment and take risk.
5. In case of failure, encourage him / her to introspect and do it next time with more vigor and better planning.
6. Make everyone in the team feel that, even though we are leaders, we are just one among them.
7. We should also believe in the ones who failed in the Team. At crucial times a team member who was not able to deliver might do miracles.
8. As a leader, be calm in extreme situations and lead the team from front.
9. Share the credit of success with your team members and praise them in public.
10. Above all believe in every member in the team.

Listed below are a few more instances of his leadership style – 

When Ganguly was playing his last match, as a gesture of respect, Dhoni asked Ganguly to take charge of the team when the ninth Aussie wicket fell. Whenever he has an opportunity, he showers his players with praises.

If you notice, instead of pressing teammates to win, Dhoni tells them to just enjoy the game. Also, he has mentioned at several forums that he believes to live in the present and not worry about future or past. Dhoni’s leadership style represents teamwork, empowerment and confidence.

Dhoni utilizes every team member at his disposal and brings out the best performance whether he is a senior or junior player. He provides opportunity for every team member to prove themselves and contribute to the best of their abilities.

Remember, he gave the last over to Joginder Sharma who doesn’t have much of a track record., By putting such a person in front of a challenging task, it tells the person that the leader has confidence in his abilities and will be fired up to put in 120 per cent. This happened with Joginder Sharma in two critical matches, where he was hit all around the ground and still given the last over. He delivered on both instances!

Another learning from Dhoni is about, Optimal utilization of resources, which is vital for any business. Instead of giving excuses for lack of best resources, it is better to perform in whatever resources a leader has to his disposal.

When team members see their leader calm in extreme situations, they will not be rattled. It will enable them to focus on their work and do what is expected of them. Dhoni is always calm – whether the bowler started off the last over in the finals with a wide ball or the batsman played a series of dot balls in a slog over.

Dhoni’s Inspiring Quotes –

• 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.


• “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.”


• “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.”


• “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.”

In a nutshell Dhoni’s story is all about an ordinary man doing extraordinary things and a role model for every aspiring leader. Each one of us could use this model, pattern and design to create our leadership journey.