Was watching The Cricket Overlap recently and something (Sir) Alastair Cook said about what makes a great captain really struck me. He said: "As a captain, you’re the best version of yourself the day before you retire". It’s a fascinating insight - because by then, you’ve built the experience, the calm, the perspective. You finally understand how to balance personalities, when to push and when to stay silent. But by then, you’re done. The game has moved on. It made me think about leadership in a broader sense. In business, in politics, even in life – we seem to operate on the opposite principle. We rotate leaders on 4- or 5-year terms. We “refresh” management every few years. But if it really does take a decade to master leadership, maybe we’re cutting people off just as they’re getting good. Imagine if instead of terms, we thought in generational stewardship. If our leaders – whether of companies or countries – were judged not on quarterly metrics or political cycles, but on whether they left behind something enduring. The reality is that real leadership isn’t a 5-year sprint, more like a 20-year relay. Maybe Sir Alastair was onto something.
Mohsin Patel Leadership is all about leaving behind an enduring impact, rather than just leading and managing people and work.
Strategy | PMO
1wIt's a fantastic insight and puts to question what stewardship should mean in this day and age. The old tale of delivering stakeholder value measured by dividends or share price is too narrow for the world's needs. Though sadly from the perspective of sport - you're only as good as your last game. How much can we attribute today's mens England cricket team success or failure to Alistairs magnitude impact during his tenure. Its a tough one.