IPL captains can get more out of their teams by choosing the most appropriate leadership style

The Indian Premier League (IPL) bears the typical watermarks of a grand sporting event. It has the right dose of entertainment, drama, suspense and even disappointment. In fact, the IPL has been widely accepted as an apt response for cricket adapting to a changing environment.

But looking a little more deeply, there are some team dynamics that are interesting. Have you pondered why a team of international and Indian superstars does not win every match? Why are some players happier to play for a certain team, while their peers may not have such luck?

‘Leadership’ is the answer according to research by the Hay Group. A captain’s ‘leadership style’ directly affects the way people feel about working for him, by creating a ‘climate’. This climate affects the amount of effort that people in his team will contribute – which leads to the team’s performance and match results – be it a win or a loss.

The truth is a great leader, in sports or business, is measured by just one criterion – team performance. A look at thousands of leaders across the world shows that a leader’s ability to switch between the right mixes of leadership styles depends on his/her emotional intelligence. These are the attitudes and behaviours that great leaders use to drive personal and team performance – going beyond academic qualifications, technical skills and experience.

Hay Group has analysed the leadership styles of the team captains at the IPL (basis the information available in the public domains, such as match statistics, media interviews, etc.) to understand the climate that they are creating for their respective teams. About 30 per cent of team performance is a direct impact of the captain’s leadership style, hence differentiating the top from the underperformers.

How does MS Dhoni’s leadership style differ from that of the MI captain, Rohit Sharma?

MS Dhoni’s dominant leadership styles are visionary and participative. Here are a few characteristics:

The leaders of CSK and RR are demonstrating styles that are good for the long-term. As a result of their leadership, and the climate it has created, these two teams are more likely to make a successful comeback when they are down in the dumps

In MI, the team members may have a tendency to play as a collective of their individual skills – they seem to lack that extra energy that a leader invokes in his/her team