leaders are not born but made…all around us we see people working around in teams…but what makes the difference are the leaders, managers, coaches and captains which make them work…
LA Lakers lost…thats made me philosophical, they didnt loose because of they played badly but they were outplayed by a better team…Detroit Pistons…Pistons dont have stars but they have hard working individuals…who work together really well…if Billups was unable to take shots then Hamilton was there, and if they both were lying low then Rasheed came up to take charge…and Ben the effervacent Wallace…he was every where…its a triumph of team, hardwork and leadership over stars and luck…
question may arise wats it got to do with leadership…but thats the point. Sport teams always represent real life scenario in a ways and forms one cannot any where and are able to show us how to break free of them. In case of Detroit, they were the underdogs, but coach Larry Brown was able to instill a level of confidence in them, make them believe that they can do it. Offcourse make them feel secure where they were and make them realise why they were there.
Irfan Pathan made a statement about Ganguly today, “he made me feel so secure”. This security so very important that make people go lot of distance once they get it. Our india cricket team performance is attribute a lot to Ganguly cause of the confidence he could instill in all the young guys. But is security and confidence the only reasons for success?
Not necessary, but yes they are definitely one of the key ingredients….but how does that relate to my day to day work. Thats where the team comes in, every one in a team has aspirations, goals and insecurities. A managers job would be understand them and try to strike a balance between what the individuals are and wat the team requires, but as a leader you have to go one step ahead and provide the vision and goal to the team. The goal shouldnt be handed but understood and appreciated by one and all. If the leader is able to rise above being a manager and accept his responsibilities then he would be able to lead the team to great hieghts like never before. Each individual would able to meet his aspirations along with meeting the teams goals.
Striking that balance is hard, but achieving it will bring utmost success.
To the brave new world out there... 
Dear Cool_Neo,Nice blog entry. I agree with you completly that ‘striking the balance is hard’.One question though: Do you think, the goals of the team and the individual can always remain aligned? Can a team be that static?regards,- Bhushan.
Dear Bhushan, If an individual achieves something then he wants to move ahead to the next level. Similarly if the team achieves something then it has to move forward to newer areas. I believe a lot of times most of us have a vague idea of what we want and are seeking in our current job. Leader has to form a vision based on his own convictions and the organizational needs, but that vision has to be translated into goals. In order to do that if he has background information about individuals in his team, he could come up with a set of goals that are able to encapsulate most of them. I believe there various ways of doing one thing, one can always be guided to do it in a particular way so that the his objective is met and team also gets the required contribution for meet teams goal. Since we as individuals are not static, the team gets its vibrancy from us.regardsAnkur
I completely agree with Cool Neo that Ganguly is a leader who has shaped the destiny of the Indian Cricket team.Though he is going through a bad phase now, it is only a matter of time before he hits back provided our short sighted selectors give him a chance.The reason why I love Ganguly’s leadership is1. He backs his people through good and bad times.2. He is aggressive and makes no bones about it.3. He believes in the fundamental principle of leadership ie., choose the best team that is available to win. He takes on the selectors to choose the people who have the right attitude (Yuvraj, Kaif, Pathan, Zaheer) and gives them a long rope.4. He along with John Wright have formed a formidable combination. They have bought passion and commitment in the team which was lacking previously.5. The team is now not a set of Prima donnas who play for themselves but a team which plays for the country.