The Way You Do Something Is The Way You Do Everything!

Not so long ago after my first term of Class XI in boarding school, my mom made the 6 hour drive from Bangalore to the Nilgiris to bring me home for a week. Anxious to know how I had been faring after she had pushed me from the nest and encouraged me to test my wings, she asked the principal of the school, Mr. WR Gardner; "So how is my son doing?". His answer was very simple. "I have observed him on the games field, and I am sure he is wired just fine".

What he was saying really, was that he had observed me in a very specific context, and basis that was willing to make a intuitive assessment on my overall progress!

As the years were layered on to my narrow shoulders, I came to understand exactly what he really meant. What he saw on the field in the middle of a hockey match, or in the boxing ring was me. And that 'me' was the same me in the class room or any facet of my life for that matter. There was just one 'me'. And in the heat of the moment on a games field, there was no time to decide which mask I was going to put on. I was relying on instinct. On me!

Three weeks ago, we were playing a cricket match. There is this bloak - Chang, who gets us all together, fights with the wives, rounds up the motley set of us and gets us to play for the coompany every Saturday / Sunday. In the last match we played, we found ourselves in situation where we had wickets in hand and about 10 overs to play. Chang was at the crease and beginning to tire. After all a game of cricket at 12:00 noon in the Chennai summer heat is not for the faint hearted! He could have asked for a runner, he could have attempted a few wild swipes at the ball, he could have walked the next few runs rather than sprint them... But what he did do, was be honest! First with himself, and then with the team. He retired with a personal milestone in sight, so that the team could make those last few overs count... and that's top class leadership in my book.