Indian IT takes note of Dhoni's captaincy

Still, the team led by a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni meandered into Wanderers to take on archrival Pakistan in the finals. On their way to Durban, they drubbed biggies like England, South Africa and Australia, and even defeated Pakistan in the first round in a bowl-out.

During the bowl-out, skipper Dhoni tossed the ball to Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and surprise, Robin Uthappa, ignoring the other regular bowlers in the team.

Against Australia and later against Pakistan in the finals, he trusted the inexperienced Joginder Singh to bowl the last over. This too was ignoring the tested bowlers he has in the team.

  He had only one message to Joginder, a young rookie from Rohtak: you are a pro and give the best and enjoy the game. The outcome of the match bothered him little, Dhoni was reported to have told Joginder.

And Joginder delivered. Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan scooped his delivery and S Sreeshanth sealed the fate of Pakistan in a humdinger of a match.

Reams and reams of newsprint were spent to announce the arrival of Captain Cool. “Few Indian captains before Mahendra Singh Dhoni have led their team with this kind of self-assurance and aplomb in their first major assignment,” said the Hindu newspaper in its editorial.

The IT industry also took notice of Dhoni’s leadership. A few years ago, the Indian IT industry had no experience against the might of global biggies like IBM, CSC, Accenture, etc., just the same way as the Indian cricket team had no precedent to back them against in-form teams like South Africa, England and Australia in the Twenty20 cricket.

But fearlessness and confidence have helped both – IT industry and Dhoni’s devils -- prove that they are globally the best. This is a small analogy in the words of Nityesh Bhatt, an expert in Organisational Behaviour and Leadership, and assistant professor, Information Technology, at the Nirma Institute of Management.

CyberMedia News took a walk around the industry and to know what Dhoni's leadership kit mean for the Indian IT game.

For Shirish Deodhar, senior vice president for Symphony Services, managing under change is a vital attribute to be learnt from the championship under Dhoni.

"A good leader doesn't mind going out and exploring. Change in IT is very rapid. Platforms, markets, products keep changing, and when change happens, a new and fresh leadership perspective comes handy, just the way it did for a new cricket format like Twenty20, which is a completely new and disruptive change. The game here suddenly became very short and called for new emphasis skill areas, such as fielding, which were not that critical in an ODI. Young leadership is not about age but about thinking. Dhoni's risk taking ability, inclusiveness and time-pressure qualities are good examples for leaders on the business side."

Bhatt adds: "Instead of pressing teammates to win, Dhoni told 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. That's another management tip. Too much strategizing for the future is not recommendable in a dynamic business environment. Dhoni's style quintessentially represents teamwork, empowerment and confidence. He gave the last over to Joginder Sharma who doesn't have much a track record for the trust reposed on him. But it worked."

Naveen Rajkumar, general manager, Aditi technologies couldn't agree more with Bhatt’s view on Dhoni backing people who were low on confidence. He says: "This is super critical in grooming people. Most leaders tend to move people who are low on confidence to less complex tasks and away from the limelight. That dents their confidence even further and gives them the impression that the leader has lost confidence in them. On the contrary, by putting such a person in front of a challenging task, it tells the person that the leader has confidence in his/her abilities and will be fired up to put in 120 per cent. This happened with Joginder Sharma in two critical matches, where he was clobbered all around the park and still given the last over. He delivered on both instances!”

However, not everyone is calling Dhoni's style as just young and aggressive. "It is more rational," avers L C Singh, president and CEO, Nihilent. "Yuvraj, on the other hand, was appearing more excited while Dhoni showed a calm and cool front."

He adds that the sheer absence of seniors have interestingly worked in favour of India. "At times, when the CEO is overwhelming, the second rank becomes hesitant."

The conspicuous absence of seniors is something what Ankur Lal, CEO, Infozech Software, takes note of as well.

"With a "B" team (without the stalwarts and the baggage they bring), it is easy to focus on getting the best out of the team - it gives opportunity and environment for the untested to show themselves and become stars," he says.

In the IT industry, putting the team before yourself, and putting the organization before the team, is the single biggest challenge in execution, Lal adds. "At the end of the day it is about joining the dots (aligning the strengths and weaknesses of individuals) to work for the team rather than against."

For Singh, Vineet Nayar, who took over at a young age from Shiv Nadar at HCL, is a reminiscent of Dhoni in the IT ground.

"Leaders need to be assertive yet humble and must rarely allow their personal egos to be an obstacle for the success of their organization. And M.S. Dhoni displayed all these qualities during his current leadership stint," says Sunil Massey, chief HR and quality officer, Bharti Telesoft.

Optimal utilisation of resources, no matter how acute they are, is vital for an industry like IT where crunch is a harsh fact.

Bhatt cites another learning. "Instead of giving excuses for lack of best resources, specially with the current scenario of flagrant poaching and intractable attrition, it is better to perform in whatever resources a leader has to his disposal. Dhoni never complained about absence of a Sachin or Sourav or Zaheer Khan."

What more Dhoni has exemplified that a leader has to be a consistent performer himself and that is demonstrated in the way he has been entrusted with the crown of captainship at such a young age.

Another leaf out of Dhoni's kitty is his talent management skills, believes Bhatt. "He has managed everything with great panache and poise - high energy and excitement level players, seniors like Yuvraj, and players like Irfan Pathan, Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh who have been out of the scene lately. These very people proved to be his strengths."

For Rama Kanth P, managing director and CEO, eSoft Consulting Limited, the lessons come from Pakistan's defeat too.

"Overconfidence even at almost the end of the task, costs you dearly. Success is a whisker away from defeat. Whatever be your competence, you must have a slice of luck," he says.

The Indian victory, on the other hand, has left ample lessons. "Overcome self imposed limitations, ignore irritants and focus on the task. Enjoy the game (task), however hopeless it is.

When one of the members is down, others should stand by them."

In the words of Rajkumar, Dhoni had some unique qualities, which if every leader imbibes, will reap instant benefits. "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 was 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."

As Bhatt sums it up well, "Fire in the belly, sweetness in words and a cool head, Dhoni has arrived with a new syntax of leadership."

Takers anyone?