Leadership lessons from the world of cricket captains (or, my part in Kevin Pietersen’s rise and fall)

To this day, I am still not sure whether I am proud of or disturbed by my behaviour. You see, I was at the Wanderers cricket stadium when Kevin Pietersen played his first One Day International against South Africa. And, together with a sizeable proportion of the full house crowd, I jeered and booed everything he did during his 33 ball undefeated innings.

Pietersen had recently made his England debut (against Zimbabwe), amidst a storm of controversy in South Africa. KP claimed that he was a “victim” of the quota system (a requirement that the South African Proteas cricket team contain a minimum number of non-white players). He was outspoken in his criticism of South African cricket. But more significant was the manner in which he spoke out. With an all too familiar air of barely concealed anger and veiled bewilderment, he had alienated almost every cricket lover in South Africa before he even set foot in his home country. We were never going to love someone who had abandoned his home country to play international sport with a badge of convenience on his chest. But KP’s attitude and style ensured that we loathed him.

That’s why I did what I have never done before, nor, I hope, will ever do again. I booed someone from the opposing team.

Pietersen’s recent rise and fall as England captain has reminded me of this moment. The fact that the England captain crisis has arisen at the precisely the time when two other cricket captains, on the opposite side of the world, were also being tested, has caused a moment of reflection on the nature of leadership – especially during adversity.

1. CHARACTER IS FOREVER – TALENT DOES NOT MEAN LEADERSHIP

It was 30 January 2005. South Africa’s cricketers had not done well, setting a low target in a game always destined to be weather affected. The bowlers were doing well, though, in their reply. Until Vaughan – playing a masterly innings – was joined by Pietersen. It wasn’t the type of innings we’ve become used to from KP. He took 12 runs to get off the mark – which he did with a four. He hit four more fours in his 22*. And he looked good for every one. Rain stopped play, and with Mssrs Duckworth and Lewis in attendance, England were declared winners. Grudgingly, the Wanderers crowd had to admit that KP was a fine player. He went on to have a blinder of a series against South Africa, scoring three ODI centuries and dominating. A new cricketing force had arrived.

I somehow fear that the Wanderers crowd’s jeers only served to steel his resolve and put fire in his soul. That seems to be the way he’s wired. He is without doubt one of the finest batsman in the game at the moment. He has a handy bowling arm, too, and catches well. He instils fear in the opposition.

But, he is a rotten leader. And, I fear it comes down to character.

You see, KP had not in fact been rejected by the South African cricket fraternity, or been a victim of the quota system. He was a late bloomer, and for some unknown reason has flourished in England. The harsh truth of historical fact is that he just was not good enough to be selected for South African representation as he came up through the ranks. More than that, he had a growing reputation for being a rabble rouser.

He had fallen out with Natal before departing South Africa and alienating the South African Cricket Board and fans. He fell out with Warwickshire within a fortnight of arriving. He then moved to Nottingham, and within three years was saying, “It’s the captain or me”. They chose the captain, and threw him out.

Being talented is not a guarantee that you will be a good leader. In fact, prodigious talent may in fact stand in the way of good leadership. These next points can be debated in pubs, but I believe that he is tactically naive, hotheaded and lacking in the type of character that creates followers (surely a key requirement for leadership?). He is now hopefully going to be left where he is best suited – as a talented player.

Companies make this mistake all the time, promoting high flying performers to leadership positions. The best sales person becomes sales manager. The best branch manager gets promoted to CEO of retail operations, and so on. The very things that make one good at level of operations (especially if it is a functional level) may in fact be the very things that mitigate against being a good leader at the next level up in management structures. Leaders must be chosen for the leadership ability, not their functional talent.

2. LUCKY LEADERS – THE TIDE HAS GONE OUT

Talking of talented cricketers who find themselves being promoted to captaincy, Ricky Ponting has recently discovered that Australian cricket fans are a fickle bunch. For nearly two decades they have appeared rabidly passionate in their support of their team. But as South Africa inflicted their first home Test series defeat in 16 years, deepening the wounds caused by an Indian defeat of Australia just weeks earlier, the Aussie crowds dwindled, and the sports reported turned on their once-immutable heroes.

Warren Buffett famously said of business leaders, “When the tide of growth goes out, you get to see who’s been swimming naked”. Australia’s cricketing emperor has no clothes.

Ponting is likely to be remembered as a lucky leader. A captain lucky enough to have around him one of the greatest teams to ever play the glorious game. Their success was almost guaranteed. But, it was not Ponting who had moulded this team from scratch, working through adversity to reach the top of the pile. It was the luck of history that he was there at the right time and the right place, and inherited a legend. Now that the Australian cricket tide is going out, he appears becalmed, indecisive. Clueless, to be frank.

Many business leaders, so eager even a mere year ago, to explain and justify their enormous salaries with reference to their skill and genius as leader, are going to find in 2009 that they were merely lucky. It has, to be honest, been very difficult to make a loss in the last decade. It was no real proof of leadership skill to generate good profits in the last 5 years. But now, real leadership is needed. And not everyone will pass the test.

3. A LEADER EMERGED – SHAPED AND MOULDED IN THE CRUCIBLE OF ADVERSITY

Four years, Graeme Smith led a young South African team to Australia. Full of bluster, he had a strategy to take on the legendary Aussie media, making a lot of noise himself, and allowing his team to get on with the job of beating Australia. It backfired badly, and South Africa came away from the tour beaten and bloodied. Smith has learnt a lot since then. But, more than just growing up (he was exceedingly young when he took over suddenly from Hansie Cronje), Smith and his team have been forced to work through difficult issues. South Africa’s emergence from political oppression requires every part of society to take active steps to redress past injustices. Sport is a key factor, as the 1995 Rugby World Cup proved.

Any national sport captain and the team he or she leads is therefore subjected to tremendous scrutiny. Only those with strong character survive. And so, possibly unwittingly, South Africa has recently produced some impressive teams, led by humble but resolute captains, who get on and do the job (Football is the obvious exception, with too many backroom and boardroom primadonnas).

When Graeme Smith, already victorious in the Test series, donned a borrowed kit and walked down the steps at the SCG to attempt to face 10 overs of Australian bowling venom with a broken hand and mangled elbow, he showed what a true leader does. He plays to the end, understanding that honour and pride are as important as results – especially for the good of the team. He understands that the long-term is as important as the short-term. That third test match hardly mattered. But the momentum of South Africa’s cricket team did. It was a brave, courageous and inspiring thing to do. And Graeme Smith’s legend was established. The Aussie media pronounced that it was “the day the losing captain was victorious”. High praise, indeed.

CRICKET AND LEADERSHIP

Cricket isn’t for everyone. It has it’s eccentricities. I mean, think about it – it was England, among all nations, who came up with a sport that is called off at the slightest sign of inclement weather or bad light, but is played outdoors for five days. That is the ultimate example of the triumph of hope over reality! But, that’s cricket. Reflecting on the recent fortunes of three cricket captains can provide some valuable insights for corporate leaders in 2009. Build on character, focus on the team not your personal talent profile, and use the time of adversity to build a foundation for future success. These are valuable lessons indeed. Especially in times like these.

Dr Graeme Codrington is a business strategist, keynote presenter and thought leader on the new world of work. His inspiring keynote presentations and workshops get teams inspired to immediate action and long-term business success. Contact him at graeme@tomorrowtoday.uk.com.

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