‘People believe that leadership is all about taking on challenges headlong. Leaders believe the role is to create and give directions, seldom pausing to ask if the conditions that they are creating are conducive for excellence and creativity to thrive’.
Over the years, limited over cricket, and within that T20 cricket, has unapologetically become a batsman’s game. Everyone loves it when boundaries and sixes are hit without realising that cricket is essentially a contest between bat and ball.
In this scenario, whenever there is a low scoring match, all fingers are pointed at the pitch curator, the person who is responsible for preparing the pitch. In this year’s edition of the IPL, the first match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings was a damp squib. RCB’s terrible batting notwithstanding, both captains had reservations against the nature of the pitch which made batting difficult and the pitch curator came in for a lot of criticism for the nature of the pitch.
Pitch curators are seldom in the spotlight. They come to the forefront when teams, coaches and captains complain against the nature of the pitch. In effect, they have a lot of power. If they prepare a flat pitch, they are ensuring that it will be a high-scoring game. If they prepare a turning pitch, the spinners will benefit, and if they prepare a bouncy pitch, the pace bowlers can send the batsmen scurrying for cover.
When you think of it, the pitch curator, not the captains or the coaches, set the tone for the match.
Strategy, ability, the best laid plans, all come to naught when the pitch isn’t read correctly or is underprepared. If the pitch makes it too dangerous for play because of uneven bounce, it’s a tad foolhardy to blame the players. If a pitch is too slow and makes scoring runs extremely hard, everyone loses interest.
Come to think of it — the players, the captains, the coaches, all of them depend on a decent and reliable pitch to build their strategy upon.
Now draw a parallel to our lives. We all need spaces, cultures and atmospheres where we can thrive. In that sense, the most important role of a leader is to create that space. If you have tried to work in an atmosphere fraught with distrust, politicking and groupism where respect and decency are in short supply, no amount of strategy or planning will change anything. On the other hand, when you work in an atmosphere of co-operation and encouragement and inclusion, creativity and productivity soars.
It’s tough to perform, lead and set goals when the conditions work against you.
People believe that leadership is all about taking on challenges headlong. Leaders believe the role is to create and give directions, seldom pausing to ask if the conditions that they are creating are conducive for excellence and creativity to thrive.
Many a time, we also wonder why our efforts and hard work aren’t adding up.
In these cases, it pays to go back to seeing if it is the conditions that have been created are holding people back.
First lay the ground for people to feel safe, secure, experiment and thrive. Then equip them with the skills and strategies they need to succeed.
In other words, even before you think like a captain or coach, think like a pitch curator.
