Team vs individual

We all know how Jaipur's Rajasthan Royals are performing in ongoing season of IPL. As of now they top the chart among eight good teams. There are some of the very big names in other teams as well which are not doing so well in the tournament. e.g. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers. It has Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma, and Laxman. They all have capabilities to win the match on their own. But the result is they are one of the bottom three teams in the tournament so far.

So, what is the conclusion. It's yet to come, but before then that you must be thinking why I am talking about cricket in this blog and gave the label "Management"? It's because I feel there are couple of management lessons which we can inherit from cricket.

1. You should be flexible to work in different areas. In our corporate life we all are a part of teams. We do not have existence beyond the team. So, team is always first not the individual. Never ever put aside team's interest for your personal interests. Take a example of Rahul Dravid. He played at all the positions (from 1st to 6th) for the benefit of the team. He had put keeper gloves for more than 1 year just to make the team balance right. Similarly, we all have strengths in some particular area and if we are assigned a work in some other area we generally don't accept it easily. But if the teams needs you to excel or work on some other area you should be more than eager to do that.

2. Better team is worth more than best individuals. Take an example of Rajasthan Royals. They don't have big names, which is indirectly helping them. They are performing good because they are playing as a team. On the other hand Deccan Chargers are struggling to win even their 2nd match inspite of having so many big names. In our corporates we should try to make a team with those people who must have team spirit not the very intelligent individuals without team spirit.

3. Leaders are very important in every field of the life. They have to lead the team by performing, not just by guiding them. Shane Warne is a leader at par right now. He is not only leading his team from front by taking some crucial wickets at crucial moments but also inculcating the team spirit in his team members. With some unknown names he created a team which is at top in the the chart. While, before the tournament started no one was betting on them to win even a single match in the tournament.

4. Make strategy before every task. Shane Warne is doing exactly the same. He is having strategy for each team and for each batsman. He is using his resources excellently. Whether it is selecting playing XI, or a decision on batting line-up or the bowling changes through the match. All the leaders must prepare the strategy for each task and moreover they have to be ready to change the same if needed.