Dhoni The leader .

An exuberant smile with shades of grey hair peeking out , this guy never seems to fail to impress anyone ; the first success as an individual is that he'll never be called the next Sachin when it comes to fame ,nor will he be compared against the great  Nawab of Pataudi /The Kolkata prince , or the banana swinger Kapil ..

Yes,

 I'm talking about the mighty Mahendra of the Indian cricket .

As a human being , I've always had fascinations about conquering the world , but as a common man it gets limited owing to the practical nature of the life .

The old saying , that opportunity knocks the door only once,is widely misinterpreted as  the door always remains ajar , and it is our duty to knock it and not be baffled when  the work welcomes us in,though only the efforts of our own will take us through .

MSD - the mighty motivator  found the basic self discovery from being the Ticket collector in railways

to lift the World cup trophy . The transformation after the self discovery is an art to be learnt.

What defines a Leader ?

When a group enters a forest , Few might be fascinated by the trees and few by the grass ,

and quite a few by the wildlife and I can go on ;

Is it enough to conquer the forest ??

NO .

A leader is one  who has the holistic view of the entire forest .

it is with his guidance any team goes through their objectives.

When the chips are down , the easiest job for anyone is to step aside &run away from the responsibilities , but a leader is one who never runs away from the challenges - but be up for it , facing it , even if the team is losing - fight and then lose -but never give up :) ,and looking at Dhoni's career ,it'd show us an axiom ,that how many times he has stepped up for the daunting challenges , fighting cramps and back spasms , taken the blame on his shoulders when the execution of the plans go haywire .Handling a team is always a challenge , be it any sport or even in an organization. It is not always easy to ensure that everyone feels a part of the team , accepting the responsibilities and being up for it with interest and involvement .Ever since Dhoni had taken up the captaincy in 2007 , there was no looking back and the energy in the smile never seemed to cease as he handles his emotions in a professional way .

What I look upon is his ability to stick to his intuitions  which he usually says , is based on the past

experiences and results , few call him lucky but I'd call the team lucky that he's around . Now , how important is sticking to your own inner voice and believing in it ?? 

A shocker of news when we read that the fab four will not be a part of the inaugural World T20 2007 squad as soon as Dhoni was made the captain ! We all threw tantrums in air . 

But look at it from being in his shoes , the challenges , the criticisms  that he'd have faced. Now he has been used to it , but back then  ? When he was just a baby to the post ,but still trusting in his inner voice and ensuring that he saw us through the journey . A huge lesson to be learnt .

The biggest challenge is handling fame , When even super heroes need masks this living hero basks in the glory of his simplicity.Leading a diversified Team is a bigger challenge than handling a normal team . Inspiring a team is difficult than motivating a team . The fact that he has been more successful for the CSK proves his ability to inspire other  players who are the captains of their respective national teams .

The greatness in a leader will only be proven once his intelligence and dynamism is tested . Though the burden of being the captain of the Indian Team is huge , at the end of the day he's handling only 15 odd people .To them more than being a leader , MSD must be easily approachable as a friend. When you're successful everyone wants to associate with yourself  , but a true friend is the one who backs us up during a bad patch and this trait in him makes him a better leader and elevates him by a rung . Leadership is no longer about competition , it is about collaboration .

The biggest attribute which is only with Dhoni and not with any of his counterparts , is his willingness to not  hog the limelight when there is a success , and how he doesn't let others face a  failure . Is there anyone who has seen him near the trophy after a victory  , while there are people waiting to pose with the trophies , When it comes to MSD ,the trophies would long for a pose with him if only it could breathe . 

A mix of all these and a lot more defines a leader . And this is Dhoni as a leader for my eyes with what I have learnt . Neither Does it  stop the definition of a leader or the traits of Dhoni.Though a leader must be born , I strongly believe  it can also be practiced. 

Inspire yourself, or motivate yourself to look for an inspiration to bring the leader from within you .