Management lessons from Gary Kirsten

Cricket is a much-revered sport in India and the cricketers are no less than gods for
many. Even a child in a village would know who Mahi or Yuvi is. But there will be
many even in cities who will blabber when asked the name of the coach. ho wants
to listen to the coach! "eaders and senior managers of India Inc battled the ruthless
Mumbai rains on #aturday$ sitting patiently to hear %&uru &ary% churn out his hit
management mantras. 'here was not an iota of intolerance visible even as the
session was the last of the day and was to be followed by cocktails.
(ow do you handle conflicts! hat should one focus more on -- short-term or long-
term success! (ow do you handle a team that has people with individual ambitions!
Cliche )uestions for any management guru. But rarely has a cricket coach handled
such )ueries on the front foot.
*ns+ e created a sense of a team$ not individuals. e designed team measurable
and not individual measurable. *t the end of the day$ we created a happy
environment$ said &ary ,irsten$ coach of the orld Cup-winning Indian cricket team.
Casually dressed in a blue and khaki combination$ &ary had only a few power point
slides with fewer bullet points -- a lesson in itself for the B-school graduates who
pride in their knowledge of E-cel and .ower .oint.
e spent a lot of time on processes and not results$ he said when asked how he
managed the players after a defeat. /e knew that we were not going to win every
game. I knew if I was too demanding then performance would drop$ said the former
#outh *frican player at the seminar organi0ed by Ernst 1 Young.
&ary%s approach has helped many players reach their full potential$ a fact
acknowledged by his former teammate 2onty 3hodes in &a00a -- &ary%s
autobiography. Interestingly$ on his study wall at home$ &ary has pictures of him
and his teammates scoring hundreds and shaking hands with 4elson Mandela and
the 5ueen of England. (e has no pictures of the times when he was dismissed for a
duck or when he was disappointed or angry.
Conflict management was one area that the managers of India Inc wanted to hear
&ary speak on. hen the team is a mi-ture of a legend$ )uite a few young hot-
headed players wearing their attitude on their forehead and a cool-as-a-cucumber
leader$ there is bound to be conflicts.
e had to deal with conflicts too but there were not top of the end conflict situations$
he said. e handled it behind closed doors and there were plenty of such occasions.
e mediated in resolving conflicts between two players and$ most importantly$ it was
done in the presence of both the players$ said the coach whose respect could be
gauged from the fact that he was carried around the ground by Indian players after
winning the orld Cup final.
'he former cricketer who once batted for over 67 hours in a 'est match said it was
very important for managers to take up any new assignment with a blank sheet with
no pre-conceived notions.
I 8ust wanted to prepare every guy . . . I came with a blank sheet. My responsibility
was only to remove the self-doubts of the players$ he said.
(is commitment to the 8ob was revealed when he was asked whom he would support
when #outh *frica -- the team he is currently coaching -- and India face each other.
*s coach of India$ when #outh *frica got knocked out 9of the orld Cup:$ I was
happy. 'he same will apply now and I will be happy if India loses$ he )uipped.