It's only about winning

Everything should be won. Winning is everything. It is always the end that matters. In fact, the end alone matters. To be honest, I am not an ardent fan of Indian cricket team. For that matter, of late, even the sport itself. I owe my dislike to our traditional Indian attitude. All are equal. But some are less equal.

We create heroes and worship individuals in a team sport. A cliche, perhaps. When heros fail in their quests, we blame their families and girlfriends. Not so long ago, we did end up blaming a player's girlfriend for his failure to perform. If we are that candid, how come we worship certain individuals who hardly helped the team win matches in the last ten years. Mind you, the team lost to an arguably inferior team during one such hero's World record of hundred centuries. Attitude does have relevance in a sport. Unfortunately many players go irrelevant due to lack of it.

Does means matter at all? Perhaps, not. Modern minds are invariably trained to look at where we want to be over how we reach there.

In corporate world too - where analogies can easily be derived from any team sport - worshipped heros are abundant irrespective of whether they deserve or not. Always not how but what has been accomplished. In the East, this is one of the reasons why people use the word 'team' a lot in their workplaces. Upon careful observation - although not generalising - I found something interesting. The word 'team' almost always is used under such circumstance by individuals who force fit him or herself into a successful team and become an integral part of success by projecting themselves as the kingmakers. This is purely human and I have nothing against it. I am free from those desires. However, this observation triggers a thought - When the team comes first and I am leading it, where would that leave me? Ahead of the team? Hard for me to imagine, let alone comprehend.

Hero worships in a team is a typical western 'transactional' approach. Carrots and sticks. Remotely transformational. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels so. Do you also feel this way?

Anything that is abused and taken for granted loses its value. Like 'nature' so 'team'.

Note: I plan to write a series of posts on leadership. I would be glad to hear your thoughts on this subject.