leadership lessons

16 Leadership lessons from MS Dhoni for startups, entrepreneurs and managers

Dhoni’s leadership style offers invaluable lessons to managers/entrepreneurs at all levels. Here’s why.

MS Dhoni, India’s most successful cricket captain, is well on his way to be regarded as one of the greatest leaders the game has seen. In the past, people have attributed his success to luck, timing, good fortune and the like. But on closer analysis of his success, we see a clear pattern emerging.

Dhoni’s leadership style offers invaluable lessons to managers/entrepreneurs at all levels. Here’s why:

1. Gets Shit Done

Dhoni is great at delegating but when faced with pressure situations, he led by example. For example, take the case of promoting himself in the batting order in the World Cup final versus Sri Lanka.

2. Strategic Thinker

Dhoni makes plans before they are required. He always has a plan and knows the strengths and weaknesses of his troop as well as his opponents more than the opponent knows themselves. Remember the time he told Robin Uthappa to bowl during the bowl-out in T20 final against Pakistan? He had seen Uthappa repeatedly hit the stumps in the nets.

3. Right Ambition

He has no personal ambitions. He does not care about being the best batsman or the best wicketkeeper. He enables his team to become those, caring only for the success of the team. I remember a time when he got nicked off at 99 and the bowler asked him if there was a nick and he said, “Yes” He plays for something bigger than himself.

4. Courage & Instinct

Dhoni has the courage that is needed to take risks with partial information. He calculates and plans, but sticks to his guns if he believes it’s the right thing to do for India. For instance, take Rohit Sharma’s case – he was out of form but Dhoni believed in his calibre when the country was making fun of his decisions.

5. Manages His Psychology Well

How easy would it be for Dhoni to lose his cool? Billions watching his every move and a billion hearts expecting India to win. His most redeeming quality is his calm, when faced with a mountain of pressure. If you’re an entrepreneur, managing your own head is the toughest thing to do, and Dhoni does it really well.

6. Uninhibited style

Hailing from a humble background, Dhoni never let this aspect hinder his style or behaviour. In fact, he managed to channelise this raw rustic energy to his on-field performances.

He was never shy of expressing himself in any given situation. In a competitive world, you are often judged by your past or stereotyped and it is important to maintain a positive ego at all times.

7. Managing egos

In a hierarchyled environment, Dhoni was catapulted to captaincy ahead of several established players in a team laden with stars and former captains.

He took his time and didn’t interfere in their proven methods and managed to extract the best out of these stars at most times without ruffling feathers. Many young managers who inherit legacy organisations face this challenge at the workplace.

8. Change management

Dhoni did not rush through with change in personnel and team culture. He first established his credibility and over time dealt with these issues and managed the transition through the process of natural attrition and performance management.

Most CEOs confronted with change management issues at the workplace will do well to take a leaf out of MSD’s book and not take the “bull in a china shop” approach while dealing with change.

9. Managing success

Dhoni dealt with his early success with a lot of maturity with his feet firmly on the ground, which eventually led to his elevation. It requires a great degree of level headedness and humility to handle fame and money at an early age.

In a corporate context, early success need not lead to brash behaviour towards colleagues and customers. We have seen that, at times, young managers who see success early lose their balance and face early career burnouts.

10. Managing pressure

Ability to stay calm and keep his cool with a seemingly uncluttered mind is Dhoni’s greatest gift as a leader. This soothes the nerves of the rest of the team and ensures that they stay focused and continue to believe in themselves.

Dhoni is a lesson for all leaders in terms of their ability to manage extremely stressful work environments. Managing periods of high stress without losing your composure is the key to long-term success and good health.

11. Focus

Dhoni has immense ability to insulate himself from the surrounding environment and continue to focus on the job. The current Champions Trophy campaign is a case in point in the wake of the IPL controversy.

In a corporate context, it is vital for managers to stay positive and focus on the task at hand and avoid distractions and negative energies in play at the workplace.

12. Instinct

There are occasions when managers forget the ‘gut factor’ in decision making when confronted with data. Dhoni has often followed his instinct and on most occasions has been proved right.

At the recently concluded Champions Trophy final against England, while data would have dictated that he choose Umesh Yadav to bowl one more over, he chose Ishant Sharma for the crucial over which turned the match for India.

13. Managing failure

After the heady success of the World Cup 2011, it was just downhill for Dhoni and his team. After a string of embarrassing losses, it required great character and attitude to bounce back.

He did this in style and answered all his critics with the sheer weight of his performance once again. At the workplace, failure has to be dealt with the same fashion as success and one has to continue to be focused on the job at hand.

14. Invokes respect in the rivals

By his mere presence, calmness and body language Dhoni invokes great respect and fear in the opposition camp.

In a work environment, it takes a great deal to be respected by competition who would be itching to have you on the other side of the fence. This comes through sheer performance and acknowledgement from your internal and external stakeholders.

15. Backs his people

He places immense trust on his people and backs them to deliver. This allows them to express themselves freely without the fear of failure.

At the workplace, team members reciprocate and feel a sense of responsibility based on the trust shown by their leaders on them.

16. Versatile

Dhoni is hands on, is versatile and can adapt to any situation. He plays all the three formats of the game, can bat in any position, keep wickets and can roll his arm over if required. Versatility and adaptability is the key for long-term success for executives.

As a leader Dhoni is aware that the spotlight is on him but he never hogs the limelight. He keeps a check on his emotions all the time both in victory and defeat. He still has lot of cricket left in him and perhaps, for us, there are more lessons to learn from him.

7 Leadership lessons which entrepreneurs can learn from Rahul Dravid

A leader, a teammate and a wonderful human being, these words personify ‘The Wall’, Rahul Dravid in all their glory.

A leader, a teammate and a wonderful human being, these words personify ‘The Wall’, Rahul Dravid in all their glory. Rahul Dravid’s teammates didn’t nickname him Mr. Dependable for anything. This speaks volumes of his efficiency as a leader.

Former India captain and India U19 coach Rahul Dravid finally has a World Cup winners medal, let us take a look at a few leadership lessons entrepreneurs can learn from the world’s ace batsman of all time –Rahul Dravid.

‘Never say die’ attitude of Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid was one person who would never give up in the face of adversity. A good example to illustrate this would be back in 2001 during the three-match series against Australia at the Eden Gardens. India, who was already at the bottom of the league was lagging behind in the second match when Rahul

Dravid appeared at No. 6 partnering with Laxman. The only aim in Dravid’s mind at that point was to put up a fight. Lo and behold! India won the match by 171 runs! We learn an important lesson here- When everything seems to turn against you, never ever give up hope. Strive and work hard towards giving it your best and that is all that matters.

Being ‘The Wall’

Dravid always protected his team. The nickname ‘The Wall’ from Reebok advertisements rightly fits him.

In the corporate sector, the number 3 position is held by CROs and they have to play the cards well when the top management is deteriorating. They provide a defense mechanism and become a shield for the organization. Hence they become the wall. In a similar manner, Rahul Dravid who held the number 3 position in the batting order was ‘The Wall’ of the Indian cricket team with his consistency, grace, and patience.

“Dravid’s remarkable career is proof that nice guys don’t finish last” -Steve Waugh

You have to become a team player before becoming a leader

In life, one has to learn to co-operate, sacrifice and engage with the rest of the crowd, if results have to be seen. This is true w.r.t cricket as well. Rahul Dravid has the natural ability to do what is required for his team.

The Indian team once decided to take an extra batsman and that meant one player had to step down and play the role of wicketkeeper. Rahul Dravid played the role of a finisher and dropped down to number 5. This also brought down his opportunity to score hundreds. However, he did this gracefully for the sake of his team.

Strength of mind

Rahul Dravid has always had high concentration levels. He was never provoked by the media and never got into any controversies with his opponents. His game spoke volumes rather than any comments or criticism. He was always mentally strong. It was this quality in him that made him perform so well.

Belief in himself

To become a good leader one has to have a firm belief in oneself.

In the early years, Rahul Dravid was seen mainly as a test player and not as one who could qualify for international series. However, he always believed in himself and worked hard. His incredible performance in the 1999 World Cup made the world notice his attacking proficiency. In all the times when people gave their negative opinions, he remained undeterred and worked on himself.

Consistency is key

Rahul Dravid did not attain success overnight. It was through hard work and perseverance that he slowly and steadily achieved each milestone. It took him around 10 matches to score his first half-century and around 33 matches for his first century. This proves that to master anything one has to be consistent.

Patience at all times

Rahul Dravid was always known for his qualities of a gentleman. In fact, the Australian cricket team honored him for his dignity and patience. Not once has he been seen losing his temper on the field or getting into petty fights with others. During all the critical times, he maintained his composure and has always been patient.

Rahul Dravid’s career both as a batman and coach go a long way in teaching us how to persist as a player serving the nation and as a down-to-earth person. Here’s to wishing this epitome of class, long life, and health.

How to get better at leadership?

Leaders are not born, instead, they possess a set of qualities which sets them apart from the general crowd and makes them worthy of leading a team.

There is no institution or university in the world which imparts knowledge about leadership skills; management does comprise of some aspects of leadership but nothing can make you a good leader.

Every entrepreneur needs to be a great leader in order to motivate their team and get work done in an error-free way. Leaders are not born, instead, they possess a set of qualities which sets them apart from the general crowd and makes them worthy of leading a team.

Here are five ways to become a better leader:

1. Build a dedicated team

A leader is aware of the fact that he cannot function alone and accomplish all tasks. so, to be more successful in the future, it is essential to build a strong and dedicated team of individuals who are experts in their own fields. These individuals should be willing to grow and learn together and make a venture bigger than what it is.

2. Motivate your team

A leader should be motivational and inspire his team to be better than the previous day. A leader should have a vision which he believes in and must trust his team enough to share it with them as well.

If the entrepreneur is able to show his team how the daily tasks are going to enable them to achieve a bigger motive, the team will be more motivated to work. Also, when things are going well, the entrepreneur should inspire people to never stop working and put in their cent percent always.

3. It is necessary to support and trust the team

A good leader needs to be encouraging and supportive at all times. Because he believes in them, it is necessary that he stands by them during any kind of mishap. Also, if you believe an idea by your employee is good, take it ahead and give credit to the employee.

A true leader also trusts his team with his vision of the company and he believes they’ll make it bigger by contributing to his initial vision. The trust and support motivate you team to do better.

4. Ask for feedback

It is very necessary to keep learning and growing as a leader. If you don’t know what you are doing is wrong, you will never be able to be right. Hence, by just asking you team for a feedback, you can learn a lot about the things or methods that require alteration. Sometimes, people fear the leader and do not give correct feedback. Try and avoid that bias. Also, try and improve on the points that you think are valid because if you start pleasing everybody as a leader, you’ll have a tough time actually leading a company.

Also, try and do self assessments like a 360 assessment to understand your potential and flaws better. This will help you gain more success as a leader.

5. Don’t shy away from getting help

Leadership coaching has been gaining popularity worldwide because of amazing results being derived out of it. It helps in increasing productivity and ensures better outcome over a period of time.

The best part about leadership coaching is that people who are a lot more experienced than you impart knowledge about stuff you’re not very well-versed with. A lot of great leaders are going in for leadership coaching to become better leaders.

How Starbucks CEO transformed a small coffee bean store into a massively successful worldwide brand

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is a true radical and visionary for leadership and business acumen. Here are five lessons we can take away from this leader.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was 7 years old and living in the Brooklyn projects with his two siblings when his father, a truck driver, broke his ankle. Without health insurance or worker’s compensation, his family was left without an income or the ability to pay for medical bills.

The family somehow got by but that experience was a defining moment for Schultz. Later, as the CEO of Starbucks, he instituted an unheard of health insurance program that offers health insurance to both full and part-time employees.

A talented athlete, Schultz got into Northern Michigan University on a football scholarship but ultimately decided not to play and got through school with loans and odd jobs. After college, he went into sales, and it was at his second company, Hammarplast, which sold European coffee makers, that lead Schultz to Starbucks.

A compelling communicator, he’d risen within the company quickly. Starbucks, a tiny coffee bean selling operation back – then owned by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker – blipped onto his radar when Schultz, the director of sales, noticed an uptick of coffee maker sales to the company out in Seattle. Piqued, he flew out to the city to suss out the situation.

“When I walked in this store for the first time – I know this sounds really hokey – I knew I was home,” Schultz later remembered.

A year later, he joined the company as Starbucks’ director of sales, and during a trip to Italy, he had an epiphany. Up until then, Starbucks had just sold coffee beans. However, struck by Italy’s coffee bar culture, he became convinced that Starbucks should serve coffee drinks and foster community.

In 1984, the original owners of Starbucks gave him the greenlight to open up one coffee bar in Seattle, which became a huge success. However, it soon became evident that Schultz had a very different idea of where to take the company, so he left to open a coffee bar chain of his own: Il Giornale.

Il Giornale also was successful, and Schultz was able to buy Starbucks and merge it with Il Giornale in 1987. Today, no coffee chain sells more coffee drinks to more people in more places.

The 62-year-old CEO – who was first to graduate from college in his family – is currently worth approximately $3 billion and heads the Schultz Family Foundation, which focuses on economic mobility for veterans and youth.

Schultz is a true radical and visionary for leadership and business acumen. Here are five lessons we can take away from this leader.

1. Not every decision is an economic one.

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Schultz is a CEO who cares deeply about social change and has been extremely public about his mission to use the massive reach of Starbucks for social good.

In January 2012, he made his support for gay marriage clear when he publicly joined other big brands, such as Nike and Microsoft, in a backing Washington state bill to legalize same sex marriage.

Several months later, The National Organization for Marriage launched a boycott of the coffee chain leading to a decline in sales in the following quarter. During a March 2013 shareholder meeting, Schultz famously addressed a stockholder’s complaint that the company lost customers due to its support of gay marriage.

Here is an excerpt of what he said in response:

“Not every decision is an economic decision. We did provide a 38 percent shareholder return over the last year [Oct. 2011 – Sept. 2012]. I don’t know how many things you invest in, but I would suspect not many things have returned 38 percent over the last 12 months. Having said that, it is not an economic decision to me. The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity. Of all kinds.”

In the same speech, he invited that shareholder in question to sell his shares and invest in another company. It is clear that Schultz believes that Starbuck’s accountability goes beyond merely financial.

2. Hire people you know who will challenge you.

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Schultz has a tendency to micromanage — from weighing in on what sort of beans to add to blends to waking up at 4 a.m. everyday to study the sales reports from the day before, Business Insider reports. And more recently when he attended a staff meeting where black postcards were presented to announce Starbucks’ partnership with Spotify, Schultz instantly demanded change to the cards.

“Black looks so dull,” he yelled. “We’re talking about music. This should be lively. Can we go with green instead?”

His strength is that he is aware of his control-freak tendencies, so he has countered this by shoring up his management team with leaders who can push back, including Kevin Johnson, his chief operating officer who came from Microsoft and Matt Ryan, a chief strategist with a history at Disney.

“Howard can always be convinced,” Luigi Bonini, Starbucks head of product development, told Forbes.

A story that illustrates Bonini’s point is when, in 2008, Schultz demanded that stores stop selling melted cheese breakfast sandwiches, saying that the strong cheddar scent was overpowering the scent of coffee.

However, management pushed back — breakfast cheese sandwiches were popular — and a compromise was reached. The cheese sandwiches were reinstated, and the newer version heated at a lower temperature with smaller slices of medium cheddar instead of big slices of sharp cheddar — much to everyone’s satisfaction.

3. Change the world – one crusade at a time.

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Schultz is well known for his desire to do good, even if some results are bungled.

For instance, his feel-good initiative where baristas in Washington, D.C. wrote “Come Together” on coffee cups to inspire the federal government to work together during the budgetary impasse — or “fiscal cliff” — of 2012 fell horribly flat.

But this campaign wasn’t as big a stinker as Schultz’s well-meaninged attempt for Starbucks to engage in the race conversation following racial tensions in Ferguson, Mo. by having baristas write the words “Race Together” on coffee cups in 2014. What ensued was confusion — from the patrons — and reluctance and embarrassment — on the part of the employees. The campaign was pulled a week later.

While his execution of good intention may not always be fruitful, his concern about the country and politics have given rise to some successful and forward-thinking initiatives, some within his own company.

Starbucks rolled out a program to pay for college tuition for its U.S. employees and funds 70 percent of health care costs for both full and part-time employees.

4. Stay connected to your roots.

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Schultz stays connected to his past, not forgetting his humble beginnings in the Brooklyn projects.

“I didn’t go to an Ivy League school. I didn’t go to business school,” he says, when relating to the sorts of youth he employs. “I was one of those kids. I could have today been one of those kids.”

The CEO also keeps on him a touchstone to keep him grounded. He carries with him the key to the original flagship Starbucks store that opened in 1971 in Seattle’s Pike’s Place, where he first saw the brand’s possibilities.

“I go there at 4:15 a.m. sometimes, just by myself,” he says. “It’s the right place whenever I need centering.”

5. Earn the right to preach.

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At age 62, Schultz sometimes gets asked by younger business leaders, including John Zimmer, the president of Lyft, and Marvin Ellison, the CEO of J.C. Penney, how to advocate for social causes without risking job security.

His response? “You have to earn the right.”

What he means is that you have to demonstrate that you can deliver the results as a trusted business leader first, with financial growth and profits, before pushing your social goals. Which he has. Although Schultz left as CEO in 2000, he returned to the company in 2008 and has been delivering golden results.

In 2015, stocks surged 48 percent, and according to the latest financial report for the second quarter of 2016, worldwide Starbucks revenue has increased 9 percent — equal to $5 billion — and the company has opened 350 additional stores, bringing total store count to 23,921.

This article was originally published in Entrepreneur.com

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5 Lessons entrepreneurs can learn from football coaches

If you want to make yourself a better entrepreneur, look how some of football’s greatest coaches have led their teams to victory, and apply those lessons to your own startup.

One of the most important roles of an entrepreneur tends to get buried among all the others – the role of coach. Yes, entrepreneurs are leaders, decision makers and idea generators. All those roles are important, but without a well-assembled, motivated team to carry out your orders, all those awesome ideas falter.

Just like a football coach’s own direction and motivation can win or lose a game, an entrepreneur can make a startup succeed or fail. If you want to make yourself a better entrepreneur, look how some of football’s greatest coaches have led their teams to victory, and apply those lessons to your own startup:

1. You have to understand the competition.

Football and entrepreneurship are both competitive ventures. Successful coaches know that beating the competition is about more than just being as good as you can. You have to understand the psychology and makeup of the competition. If they have a weak defense, you need to take advantage of it. If they rely on one key player to win, you have to stop that player.

Key opportunities like these are critical in deciding the outcome of games, and the burden of effort lies with coaches to hunt them down. In the entrepreneurship world, competition is equally intimidating. It’s not enough to lead your company by “being really good.” You have to understand what drives your competitors, why people continue to buy from them and learn key weaknesses that your brand can use as differentiating factors. Without that understanding, you might end up with a good product but the “other team” will always have an edge.

2. Good players don’t automatically make a team.

The power of teamwork can’t be understated. Good coaches know that building a good team takes more than just finding good players. It’s better to have 11 decent players that work well together than 11 outstanding players who have no synergy.

Successful coaches like Joe Paterno worked to build this team bond by making the team do everything together, from practicing to cleaning the stadium. As an entrepreneur, you’ll need to keep this in mind as well. Don’t hire talented team members only because they’re talented, or you’ll wind up with a group of indifferent and selfish, yet skilled, workers who can never quite get on the same page. Create a culture before making hires. Always work to integrate new members into the welcoming whole of the team. Better teamwork means better communication, more positive environments and more efficient work.

3. Emotion and motivation go hand in hand.

In football and in a business, if you want a team to work hard and strive for success, you need to inspire them. You need to build confidence, invest in a team mentality, and help them find passion in their work. Emotion is at the root of motivation, and as an entrepreneur, you’ll be faced with a similar role. Get your team members to truly believe in your brand, enjoy their work, and take pride in your group accomplishments, and nothing will be able to slow them down.

4. Incremental and long-term goals are necessary for success.

A coach can make a long-term goal to improve offensive performance in the second half, and build up to that with short-term goals like doing extra drills every day to build up endurance. Every coach, even those completely new to the game, succeeds or fails because of their short-term and long-term goals.

As an entrepreneur, you’ll have to make long-term and short-term goals for your business. Where do you want to be in five years? How are you going to get there? What goals can you accomplish right now to get you moving in that direction? If you can establish these goals, and get your entire team is on board with them, you’ll have no issue making steady progress to your eventual destination.

5. Setbacks are inevitable but usually temporary.

When a football team loses a game, they don’t immediately give up, never to play football again. Good coaches will use the loss as motivation to try even harder next time. They know setbacks are unavoidable, but almost every setback is temporary. There will always be another game, and another opportunity to succeed.

Successful entrepreneurs are equally patient. When a competitor outbids them, they don’t sweat it. They just move on to the next opportunity. When they miss a deadline, they focus on what they can do now instead of dwelling on the past. Patience is key to overcoming those hurdles.

A coach’s responsibility don’t end with creating the plays, setting the goals or making all the decisions. He’s also responsible for bringing the team together and giving them all the resources they need to get the job done. Sometimes that comes as direction, sometimes it’s motivation. Sometimes, it’s just as a collaborator.

To succeed as an entrepreneur, adopt the coaching mindset. Your team can help you take your idea to the next level or drive yourself to financial ruin. It’s up to you which direction you take them.

This article was originally published in Entrepreneur.com

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