Dev Mehta's Key Ideas from Winning Like Virat
by Abhirup Bhattacharya

1). Charismatic leadership

for a leader to succeed in today's corporate era, you need to win the confidence of your followers. It is of utmost importance har your team members feel comfortable in your presence. Virat's innings of 235 as captain against England in the fourth Test in December 2016 implied that he truly believes in leading the team by example.

2). Situational leadership

In this case, the leader changes his style depending on the situation and adjusts it depending on the limitations presented to him. Virat, though aggressive, understands that in any match even a good delivery can be hit for a six. In such circumstances, he needs to restore confidence in his bowlers and speak to them in an assuring manner. Virat as a captain has so far led the side with a passion to win every game and believes in picking the wickets regularly even at the expense of a few runs.

3). Transformational leadership

In this case, the leader works towards motivating the team and transforming them into a single cohesive unit which believes in winning in every given situation. These leaders focus on empowering their team members through their own beliefs and strengths. Yet again Virat shows his skills to be a transformational leader if we look at the performance of R. Ashwin, K.L. Rahul or Karun Nair. These players' performances definitely peaked under Virat's captaincy. Ashwin finished both 2015 (62 wickets in 9 matches) and 2016 (72 wickets in 12 matches) as the leading wicket taker in the Test matches, including five 10-wicket hauls. His record under Virat's captaincy reads as follows:

4). Participative leadership

In this type of leadership, the leader consults his team members before making a decision. The consultative approach taken by the leader helps in building a more cohesive unit for the future. Virat is known to be a participative leader and maintain a calm influence in the dressing room. He consults his team members and also enjoys the confidence of other players. Former captain MS Dhoni too used to follow this principle and would consult Kohli during matches:

I have already started using him [Kohli] more. If you witness a match you will see I have more interactions with him on the field because two individuals of course will conduct in different ways.While working on projects, have often been consulted by my seniors and asked for my opinion. Is it because they lacked the experience? Definitely no. Instead they valued the fact that my opinion might bring another dimension to the entire scheme of things. It is extremely important to understand the others point of view. Every person you meet knows something vo don't. This makes members of the team feel valued and wanted in their own roles.