Mahela Jayawardene on a winning mindset
We were thrilled and humbled to have Mahela Jayawardena, former Sri Lanka Cricket team captain and coach of the Mumbai Indians live for a chat about building a resilient and winning mindset. This article is a summary of the Facebook live chat available here with over 1100+ live views and engagements.
“Be patient. Not just during the prevailing global pandemic, but in day to day life in general, being patient is the only way to overcome uncertainty,” — Mahela Jayawardena.
Dealing with pressure
As someone who’s known for performing best under pressure, Mahela says that a lot of pressure is usually self-inflicted. We don’t have control over the sources of external pressure such as fans, teammates, employees and so on. Only how we handle it. So first, identify where we get pressures and control our reactions to it.
Focus and finesse
A defining role of a leader is that you have vision and experience. You’re the leader because you have these various qualities in you, but you can’t always work with the “leader” or “captain” hat on because there is a tendency to forget your other roles in the team. When you’re executing any decision as a leader, you must remember that you’re part of the team.
Ego
There is a popular misconception that the ego can mess things up. However, I’ve had contradicting experiences. I believe that the people who have an “ego” have it because they’re confident about their skill and expertise. So as a leader, your job is to push the people who have an ego to show their colour and use their skills to your advantage.
Is it lonely at the top?
I think its dangerous to take decisions alone. Even if you’re the leader, you’re still surrounded by your team. So when you’re making decisions, make sure that your team knows why you make these exact decision. There is no need for you to take on the burden alone. You can make decisions with your team.
On mistakes
As a leader, it’s sometimes easy to feel that the decisions you make are always right. But in reality, there are many instances when that’s not the case. You must own your mistakes. Usually, in our culture, when you make the right decision, you own it with both hands up. But when someone makes a bad decision, no one owns up to it. However, owing to mistakes is the first step to learning from them and not making them again.
Not everyone thinks the same way. Each person has different experiences and thoughts and ideas. There is something to learn from everyone. Everybody has something to teach you. Having an open mind to absorb those teachings is key.
There is great strength in partnerships. What is the foundation of a great partnership?
Understanding each other is the first step. If its a friend or a partner, they should not be someone who says “yes” to everything. Constructive criticism is very important. Mine and Sanga’s partnership is one that questions the actions of each other at every turn. There are arguments and disagreements as well.
The ideal scenario is where everyone collaborates and lifts each other up, not just as an organisation or a country, but as the world. No one should be left behind.
We have to lift the fallen among us and continue playing. Alone, we may be able to win one or two games, but we cannot win the series by ourselves!
