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True leaders only create limelight - and need not necessarily bathe in it.
I read a tweet on Sunday that the Hindustan Times lead picture did not have M S Dhoni in the frame. I then noticed that it was difficult to spot him even in the picture of The Times of India. On news channels, too, the pictures of the players with the cup did not have Dhoni in them.
Where was Dhoni? I was aghast! This set me thinking.
You can turn around and say that Dhoni was lucky to have been the captain at the right time. He had great senior players and talented youngsters in the team. However, the fact is that he has had very different teams in all the championships that he has won, whether in Twenty20, test matches, IPL/CL or ODIs (one-day internationals). He has been the glue to put the teams together, not the other way round.
The fact is that leaders are often considered to be lucky when the times are going good, but does someone really take note of the invisible efforts being put in by the individual? Keeping the team together and excited is one of the most important, albeit undermined, jobs done by a successful leader - didn't Dhoni just demonstrate that?
Look at Dhoni's statements over a period of time, which are honest, to say the very least: "We are not a good fielding side", "I took some wrong decisions", "reading the pitch wrong and playing three seamers". He has taken on his teammates publicly. He has also backed team members and taken tough decisions at the same time.
Backing Piyush Chawla to the hilt, or dropping Yuvraj or Raina are tough decisions taken by him. I am yet to notice bias in his decision-making. He has dropped Ashwin from ODIs, despite him being a worthy team mate in CSK. More often than not, leaders with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) style of working are the most criticised lot, even if it helps to keep the team aware of their strengths and weaknesses promptly.
When this leader takes the blame, he is criticised for not carrying out things properly. However, when the same leader blames it on his team, it is seen as a 'Blame Game'. Aren't we a bit too critical of leaders - including Dhoni?
Since becoming the captain in ODIs, he transformed himself from a dasher to an accumulator. With enough dashers around, he changed his role in the team for the sake of the team. As a captain, his average is 52.7 runs as against 44.2 runs as a non-captain, though his strike rate has dropped from 96.3 to 82.4. The number of sixes hit by him per innings has gone down to 0.56, from 0.95. A number of times, a leader puts his individual performance at the back seat and adapts himself according to the team's requirement.
I can go on about Dhoni's professional achievements as a captain and his humility as an individual (pictures of him sharing a birthday cake with my colleague, or pictures with my sons are some examples). Any comparisons with Ganguly and Afridi are misplaced. He definitely doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve. He is the real man - taking 'criticism' and 'failures' squarely in the face and letting the entire credit of the 'achievements' go to his individual team members. To me, all this and more make Dhoni a true leader!
Then, suddenly, the realisation dawns on me! This is about where the limelight lies - or where it does not! So, "Do leaders shy away when it comes to being in the limelight?"
We should not pity him for missing being in the frame of the Hindustan Times lead picture on the day the nation went crazy. We should give him due credit. It is about stepping back and letting your colleagues savour the moment! It is about having confidence and absence of insecurity - a situation in which you let your team steal the limelight, while you smile at the back - content with yourself as much as your team's performance.
It is this confidence that makes him appreciate the past. Examples are of co-sharing the trophy with Kumble, or letting Ganguly lead the last few overs of his test career. It is this confidence that still makes him thank all his seniors for the victory of his team!
I can say that true leaders only create limelight and not necessarily be in it - the M S Dhoni way!
(The author is joint chief executive officer, Future Value Retail Ltd.)