The leadership of MS Dhoni, known for his captaincy and adept man-management skills, has become a legendary tale in cricket. The former India skipper emphasised on February 9, Friday, that earning respect and loyalty from players through actions constituted the fundamental aspect of leadership.
During Dhoni's tenure, India secured victory in two World Cups and a Champions Trophy, along with achieving the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for the first time.
Your conduct can earn that respect: MS Dhoni
“Loyalty has a lot to do with the respect factor. When you talk about the dressing room, unless the support staff or players respect you, it is difficult to get that loyalty. It is actually about what you are doing and not about what you are speaking. You may not actually speak anything, but your conduct can earn that respect,” said Dhoni in a function organised by Single.ID.
Dhoni believes that a leader's respect stems from their actions rather than their words.
“I always felt that earning respect (as a leader) is important as it does not come with the chair or rank. It comes with your conduct. People are insecure at times. Sometimes, even if the team believes in you, you are actually the first person who will not believe in you.
“To sum it up, don’t try to command respect but earn it, as it is very organic. Once you have that loyalty then the performance too will follow,” CSK captain Dhoni said.
According to Dhoni, the initial step towards achieving that is to comprehend the strengths and weaknesses of each player in the dressing room.
'Some people love pressure, some don't'
“Some people love pressure, and some people don’t like pressure. What is important is to understand the strengths of the individual and the weaknesses of the individual.
“Once you have done that, you will start working on the weakness of a player without actually telling him that this is a weakness.
“So, it keeps a player confident and keeps the player from doubting himself. They like to see how it works and that is the job of a captain or coach to figure out what works for who,” he added.
The Jharkhand-born cricketing legend also said that as a leader, it's essential to simplify things in order to maximise the team's performance.
“In that process, the simpler you keep things, the easier it will become for you. I always felt that the team (that he captained) had character because all of us were different,” Dhoni concluded.
Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) skipper Dhoni is gearing up for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he will have his eyes set on record sixth title. Notably CSK defeated Gujarat Titans in the final to lift the IPL 2023 title.
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