Leadership is a life lesson: Sangakkara

By Rashika Fazali

There is one man who has been praised over and over for his leadership skills on the field, who has brought the country many victories and recorded many personal achievements, thus being titled as a ‘cricketing legend’.

Former Sri Lankan National Cricket Team Captain and immensely popular Kumar Sangakkara gave an insight into a “hands-on approach to leadership” at the first Inner Circle Forum organised by SLIM Bucks MBA Alumni held at the Hilton Residence recently.

Commenting on becoming a leader, he stated that it was something that happened over time. “There are combinations of factors. It could be a catalyst that you encountered that made you a leader,” stated Sangakkara. He pointed out that it was an absolute necessity to understand yourself first before anything.

Asked if he first had to become a captain to be a leader, Sangakkara replied: “Definitely not,” stating that everyone in the cricket team was a leader in their own way. He explained that each player played an important role and certain decisions could only be taken by the individual.

“Leadership controls keep you growing and let you identify yourself,” asserted Sangakkara, adding, “A leader is not nominated, in my view.”

On handling politics as a leader, he mentioned that politics was a part of life and there was no escaping it. He added: “It is something alien to you. The quicker you understand it, it helps you. But you do not play politics as a team.”

His advice on dealing with politics was to “not sacrifice your views and beliefs for the sake of politics” and to accept it for what it is.

Commenting further on the role of leadership, he said: “Leadership is about life. It’s a life lesson.”

He also believes that each person cannot be led in the same manner. There are different leadership styles for different people. He explained that with certain members of the team, he has a leave-him-alone approach while with others it was more of a one-to-one talk approach. “I change with every play, but I do not compromise on the team rules,” said Sangakkara. “You have to create an environment that everyone will buy into with understanding.”

However, everything has risks and how does Sangakkara manage them? “In cricket, every single action carries a risk. If we are well prepared, the level of risk is minimised, but the risk is still there.”

Likewise, he also tells his team that failure is guaranteed and you have to accept it and move on. Just don’t get caught in it.

He also provided insights into his decision to resign from the captaincy, stating that the decision was taken three months before the 2011 World Cup. He added: “I got to a point where I was getting so frustrated and angry that it was affecting my team.” He further said that his resignation was something that was inevitable: “It would have happened anyway. It would have happened in six months’ time after the World Cup.”

Commenting on sledging in cricket, he said that if you cannot study and play, then you might as well be quiet. “The most important thing is not talking about something, but doing it,” said Sangakkara. However, as much as it can be good and fun, he mentioned it is not something that lasts long and can put a tremendous amount of pressure and rule enmity among fellow mates.

In conclusion, Sangakkara asserted: “Cricket in Sri Lanka is slightly more than a sport. If there is one place in which there is no race or religion, it is in cricket.”

Pix by Lasantha Kumara