Had Sachin opted to retain captaincy despite his dismal records as a Captain, he wouldn’t have been in the team – pressed a colleague during our coffee break. India would have been the No.1, argued the other who was obviously a die-hard fan of the maestro. A deliberate decision or not, the move seemed to have done a lot of good for Sachin as he amassed centuries in all forms of the game. Not many would go back in time to discuss his failure - as the records he managed to pile up would overshadow anything unfavourable. Is leadership all about giving away power? If so, how many would be prepared to do so? One of the most significant acts of leadership in the history of US was the resignation of George Washington as commander-in-chief in 1783. In the words of historian Gordon S. Wood, "This self-conscious and unconditional withdrawal from power and politics was a great moral action, full of significance for an enlightened and republicanized world, and the results were monumental."
Not many leaders in the corporate world seem to realize the power of giving away leadership. Corporate corridors are abuzz with stories about micro managers and the way they stifle growth of others. And, this is only bound to increase. With more well-qualified people competing for each step on the organizational ladder all the time, rivalry is intense and only getting more so. Why would anybody allow the other a walkover? It is important for leaders to understand that in order to grow, they will need to ensure growth of others. Smart organizations have clear performance metrics in place for leaders – reflecting how they have empowered their team to ensure growth. Organizations like IBM, Unilever have gone on record about how they are lowering the organizations center of gravity in markets where they have presence. The regional team is empowered to take decisions to ensure agility and flexibility – vital for garnering market share and more importantly, identifying opportunity share. So, it works today when leaders release decision-making power and put it into the hands of people actually doing the work.
