5 leadership qualities that Virat Kohli teaches us
Virat Kohli is a legend. His success as a sports-person is phenomenal. Virat Kohli continues to reach even greater heights after becoming the captain of the Indian cricket team. Which are the qualities that set him apart? What can we learn from him as a country? What can our so-called leaders, political and corporate, learn from him? Here are the 5 leadership qualities that we can pick from Virat Kohli, the Captain, the Leader.
One LEADERSHIP
Virat Kohli does not allow any alternate power-centres in his set-up. Anil Kumble was as disciplined and dedicated to the cause of Indian cricket as anybody else, including Virat Kohli. However, Virat Kohli knew what was right for him and his team. He followed his instincts, took up the responsibility single-handedly and is delivering.
We have had coalition governments running our country for the last 2 decades (barring the last 4 years). Everybody is a leader in the coalition government resulting in chaos and indecisiveness, leading to nowhere.
Indian corporates, be it family-owned or professionally-managed, have by default multiple power-centres. Employees get confused by the multiple priorities set and spend time figuring out whose orders carry more weight at what point of time.
Virat Kohli shows what can be achieved if we have a unified leader at the helm of affairs.
Drag the team along
Cricket is a team sport. It is said that a captain is as good as the team. In the case of Virat Kohli, he ensures that the team becomes as good as the captain. He has not just carried the team on his shoulders, he even drags his team, if need be.
Indian politicians and corporate leaders believe in the least common denominator, which they become themselves and drag their teams along, not to the top but to the bottom. Our leaders are dead weights and rather leading the way forward, become stagnant and worse, take us back.
Lead by example
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. If there is one person following it, knowingly or unknowingly, it is Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli acts on what he believes is right in the interest of the team and there is nowhere else to look/go for his men, but follow their captain.
Indian politicians and corporate leaders mouth all kind of verbose virtues. Just that they would not follow it themselves. Their deeds are light years apart from what they preach. Our leaders say “You be the change I want to see in the world and I will not change myself”.
Changes the rules of the game
Cricket is a game of skill with bat and ball, it of course is. Virat Kohli added a new dimension of fitness to the game, the way Indians played. He made the Yo-yo test mandatory so that all the players are fit to the requirements of the game. The results are self-evident.
When did we last see any of our politicians and corporate leaders doing something to change the way we see, perceive and act? We continue to be muddled; following what is being done since ages and of course, our results are also the same, achieving what we have been getting since ages.
WIN WIN WIN
If there is only one thing that we, as a country, can learn from Virat Kohli, it is this – a desire to WIN WIN and WIN. This guy wants to win for his country and his team, and he does not think anything beyond winning. Remember Arjuna and the bird’s eye story, I suppose Virat Kohli follows the same.
I sickly remember what our athletes coming back empty-handed from Olympics used to say earlier – we participated and got the exposure. Our leaders teach us the importance of participation, but not winning. We are a country of also-rans, with winners like Virat Kohli few and far in between.
These are the 5 leadership qualities that I would want to learn from Virat Kohli myself, and also for our political leaders and the corporate leaders.