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This paper compares the leadership styles of two cricketing giants, Steve Waugh from Australia and Sourav Ganguly from India. This paper throws light on their leadership effectiveness, how they increased motivation among their team members and, what would they be remembered for in the business history. The paper also talks about how they used their communication skills to get buy-in for their strategies towards the game and, how they compared in their decision-making skills. Throughout the paper parallels have been drawn between the two leaders across various leadership traits.
Leader Effectiveness of Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly
Yukl (2011) presented the idea that effectiveness of a leadership is measured by the extent he /she has been able to enhance the performance and job satisfaction of the team. This factor was clearly seen in two of the world’s best cricketing captains. Steve Waugh was one the most important successful captain of Australian cricket team. Steve Waugh led the Australian cricket team from 1999 to 2004 (Banerjee, and Shankar, 2017). His leadership skill was phenomenal. Under his leadership Australian cricket team won sixteen consecutive test matches and became the worlds number cricketing nation in both text match format and one-day format (Kerr, 2002). Sourav Ganguly took over the leadership of the Indian cricket team as a captain at a very difficult point of time in Indian cricket. Lot of big players had been terminated from cricket due to match fixing issues. Mohammad Azharuddin the former Indian team cricket captain had himself confessed of accepting money from bookkeepers to intentionally lose matches (Ashok, 2008; Bose, 2000). Sourav Ganguly became the captain in 2000 and was very successful to getting the team back on track by instilling harmony among the team members. Under his leadership the Indian cricket team won ten consecutive matches in away games and reached the world cup final in 2003 against Australia.
Steve Waugh
Yukl (2011) presented the idea that the effectiveness of a leader is measured by perception of the leader and follower attitude. The effectiveness of a leader can be measured by the quality his/her team possesses and how does his/her followers perceive the leader. Steve Waugh had all such qualities. He was an effective leader during his captaincy of Australian cricket team because of his risk-taking abilities. Not only was a great batsman but also a very tactical risk taker. One example is when he launched his rampant attack on England’s faster bowler Darren Cough leaving the opponent clueless. Self-confidence was another important quality of his effective leadership. One example for this is when Darren Lehman from Australia told in a press conference that how Steve Waugh instilled confidence among new and younger players in the dressing room. Another important trait that Steve Waugh exhibited was leading by example. Steve Waugh made sure that he was only an excellent leader but also a very good player himself. It in 1999 semifinals of cricket world cup when Steve Waugh single handedly helped his team win the match.
Sourav Ganguly
Kernis (2003) presented the idea that an effective leader is the one that invests in relational transparency since transparency helps to build trust and hence eliminate unhealthy emotions. Sourav Ganguly was an effective leader during his tenure as Indian cricket team captain because he was supportive. Sourav Ganguly always backed new and young players and stood by them when their cricket form was not at its best. One example is when he backed Yuvraj Singh as a young player and later Yuvraj Singh went on to become one of the best batsmen in Indian team of all times. Another aspect of his leadership skill was his Authoritarian nature. Before his captaincy the Indian cricket team used to be very timid, but he made sure to bring in players with strong character. Team-builder was also one of this very strong quality as a leader. When he joined the team there was miscommunication and mistrust among the team members. He made to sure to bring everyone together and build a string world-class team.
Increasing Motivation
Lussier (2010) presented the idea that an effective leader engages in transformational leadership , trying to find problems in the current system and having a vision of how the new organization would look like. Hence to motivate one’s team a leader requires skills like technical skills, interpersonal and , decision-making skills. Steve Waugh was the kind of leadership who motivated his team by pushing their limits and putting new challenges and targets in front of them. Since he had an unchanged team from the previous Australian captain, he developed new qualities in his existing players. On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly motivated his team by his emotional intelligence. He supported his team during their bad times, and this motivated his team to go above and beyond to deliver for the nation. Sourav Ganguly was an emotional captain and he did not shy away from exhibiting his emotions on the field. This quality of his motivated his team because they could see that cricket is not just a game for that captain but much mire than that.
Steve Waugh
Kontodimopoulos, Paleologou and, Niakas (2009) presented the idea that motivation is the driving force in pursuing and satisfying one’s needs. Steve Waugh was a testament to this fact. Steve Waugh was limit pusher in true sense when it came to motivate his team. He never let his team be satisfied with their current performance and always motivated them to aim for something bigger. His ideology was to win at all the matches at any cost and go down in flames trying one’s best. Giving up was not a word in leadership dictionary. Other then pushing limits he motivated his team by helping them realize their true potential. He was the kind of leader who helped the team members look for qualities which would have gone unnoticed otherwise. For instance, he helped a lot of players like Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting improve their performance. He helped players excel in their game. His motivational skills are testament to the fact that when Steve Waugh retired as Australian team captain , Ricky pointing took over the leadership and was a very successful captain as well.
Sourav Ganguly
Olusola (2011) presented the idea that the work behavior of employees is fundamentally driven by motivation. Sourav Ganguly did the same for his team. His motivated his team by sticking by their side when their form wasn’t good, and they were not able to perform well as the filed. He did not give up on players when their performing bad in games and ultimately helped them turn their game around. He further motivated his team by treating them in harmony. His motivation tactics were seen in his strong team building capabilities where in built team like a family. Changes were seen during his captaincy. The team would form huddles at regular intervals of the game to talk to each other and pumping fists to motivate one another. There was cheering seen for each other on the field and off the field. Ganguly was an emotional captain wherein he had removed his shirt on winning the final game at Lords against England. This showed his team members what the game meant to him and motivated them to perform beyond expectations.
How Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly Will be Remembered in Business History
Ganta and, Manukonda (2014) presented the idea that leadership is a unique quality wherein one person can “change the values, beliefs, behavior and attitudes of another person”. It is because of this change management ability that leaders are remembered for their successes in the years to come. Steve Waugh will be remembered in the years to come for his result oriented and strong-willed leadership quality. On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly will be remembered for tactical and strategy driven approach to the game of cricket.
Steve Waugh
Northhouse (2009) presented the idea that a strong leader is a person who can direct his/her team in the right direction to achieve the goals set by the management. Steve Waugh was no stranger to this research finding. Waugh via with his result oriented and gutsy leadership was able to direct to his team in the wining direction on multiple occasions. Waugh will be remembered in history for his result focused leadership quality. He did not bother if the opposition was weak or strong, he always prepared his team for the toughest match possible. His worst win to loss ratio against England and West Indies was 11 to 3. This showed he won 11 matches for every 3 losses which proves that he has driven by results. Other than that, Waugh will be remembered in history for his gutsy decision-making skills. This gutsy behavior was seen during the test match against England. He had muscle tear in his left leg but still walked out to bat hitting 21 boundaries and helping Australia to in the test match.
Sourav Ganguly
Jackson and, Parry (2008) presented the idea that via strong leadership a manager can help the team to work in a direction which is in alignment with company’s long-term goals. This is what Sourav Ganguly showcased during his captaincy. He will be remembered in history for his tactical decision-making quality. He changed the batting order very tactically at every occasion depending on the opposition and pitch conditions. The opposition had no idea to predict on the batting order. He will be remembered for his surprise element. Other than that, Ganguly will also be remembered for amazing strategy that be built for the game. He would like eye-to-eye to his rival captains specially Steve Waugh. Ganguly was very smart at playing mind games with this opponent captains and bring them under pressure. Ganguly will be remembered for his mind game quality as well.
Communicating to Support Ideas
Hao and, Yazdanifard (2015) presented the idea that change management can help gain competitive edge and, every employee should be allowed to accept change management at their pace and style. For change management communication is the key factor. Steve Waugh was well equipped with this trait. Waugh used his rational reasoning and to the point communication skill to get support for his ideas. Sourav Ganguly on the other hand used his performance appreciation skill to get support for his ideas. As everywhere appreciating someone for their work one can draw his/her attention to get support for their ideas.
Steve Waugh
Towler (2003) presented the idea that communication is the key to effective leadership. Steve Waugh was very rational when it came to communicate his ideas to his team. He was very straightforward when it came to communicate his ideas on how the team should progress in the years this come. He was a leader with no attitude fuss, he had just one goal in his mind that was to have his team on a continuous winning streak. His team related to his idea of this and their superior performance showed in the game. Another way via which Waugh got support for his ideas was his self-confidence and unfazed attitude under any situation. Steve Waugh was a leader who had immense self-confidence. Seeing this his team had strong belief in his plan towards the game and hence for him communicating his ideas was not a difficult task.
Sourav Ganguly
Atkinson (2015) pointed out that communication is an integral part of an effective leader and without effective leadership change cannot happen. Sourav Ganguly was more on the authoritarian and aggressive side when it came to communicate his ideas and getting buy-in for this strategy towards the game. This approach was important when he took over as the captain of Indian cricket team. This was because when he joined the team as the captain there were issues of match fixing and mistrust within the team . It was important for some one to take up the role of a disciplinarian in the team and that’s exactly what Ganguly did. Though Ganguly was a strict captain but at the same time he also appreciated his team members whenever they performed well to keep the communication channel running from both the sides. Whenever the team members had their back against the wall and their performance and motivation was low, he supported them . So, via the right balance of discipline, support and, appreciation Ganguly was very successful to clearly communicate his strategy towards the game.
Techniques for Problem-Solving, Generating Solutions, and Decision Making
Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly had some common ways to problem solving and decision making. This includes traits like practical attitude, strategic brilliance and continuously raising the bar when it came to performance.
Steve Waugh
Du Plessis (2007) presented the idea that an effective leader always makes efficient use of competitive advantage and implements and adapts to the changing market conditions. Steve Waugh approached the problem by analyzing the strength and weaknesses of the opponents. He approached the problem of slow batting with a winning formula of fast scoring. He always had 2 to 3 pinch hitters on the team who would score at average of minimum 80 to 90. Steve Waugh took the advantage of first mover when it came to efficient decision making. HE was always driven by results and his style of leadership can be compared with path goal theory of leadership.
Sourav Ganguly
Azzam (2014) presented the idea that an effective leader motivates his employee when making tough decisions via rewards or position. Sourav Ganguly approached problem by with lot of aggression. Unlike his predecessors he was driven by strong will and never back down nature when it came to decision making. Ganguly knew how to sledge his opponents off the filed and get them under pressure on the match day.
Summary and Conclusions
Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly have been very successful cricketing captains for their respective nations. They both have helped their teams touch new heights in the game of cricket. They laid a strong foundation of many more cricketing years texas come for their countries. Steve Waugh had an exceptional winning rate of 72% while Sourav Ganguly also had a good winning rate of 42%. In summary it can be conclude that bot the players were exceptional leaders. They both had their unique management styles and were instrumental in making cricket a popular sport around the world.
References
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- Ashok, R. (2008, July 7). Leadership lessons from cricket. The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved from http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/manager/2008/07/07/stories/2008070750691100.htm
- Azzam, A. M. (2014) Motivation to learn: A Conversation with Daniel Pink. Motivation Matters, 72(1), 12-17
- Banerjee, P., & Shankar, S. (2017). A content analysis of the leadership styles of Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly: Leadership lesson from the game of cricket. The Qualitative Report, 22(5), 1284-1296. Retrieved from Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol22/iss5/8
- Bose, M. (2000). Azharuddin confesses all. The Telegraph, November 02, 12:00 am GMT, available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/4774886/Azharuddinconfesses-all.html
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