All-rounders at work

The victorious Indian team after the Gabba Test. Pic/BCCI

When we look back at the epic Test series in Australia that India won recently, we will think of Shubman Gill's blitzkrieg at the top. We'll think of Cheteshwar Pujara displaying the mental fortitude of a man who gets slapped on the face and turns the other cheek. There's of course Rishabh Pant's match-winning heroism as well. But tellingly, there's also the fact that we saved a crucial Test because all-rounders like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja contributed with both the ball and bat, and we eventually won the series because Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur did the same in the final match. Had they not chipped in with both skills, ‘Slaughter at the Gabbatoir' - mid-day's headline after the victory - might have been turned on its head.

But the benefits of these attributes are not just limited to the cricketing field. They apply to an individual's workspace as well, especially in a post-pandemic world, where there's an intense amount of chopping and changing in the corporate sphere. Leading success coach Anand Chulani, who's been a mental-conditioning coach for international cricketers like Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler too, tells us that a person can achieve additional skill-sets only if they have a growth mindset. He says, "[American psychologist] Dr Carol Dweck has explained how there are essentially two mindsets - the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. People with the first sort feel that they can do only one thing, and they won't adapt to change. That's why you have to have a growth mindset, where you question how you can add more value to yourself and to your organisation."

Anand Chulani with Jos Buttler

He adds that people who feel entitled will most likely be out of a job at some point, saying, "If you can come from a place of growth and contribution more than comfort and entitlement, you will succeed. So, you have make that mental shift before acquiring any new skill set." The other important part is to constantly ask yourself, what direction is your industry heading in. Anticipation is key. "I keep telling people that they must have the ability in today's world to see around the corner instead of just looking at what's at the end of the road," Chulani says, adding that CEOs and HR employees must also take the initiative and be partners with the employees. "It's important that they don't withhold information so that the infantry - so to speak - have the depth and understanding to build the required skill sets."

But at the same time, it's important to not fall into the Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none trap. Chulani says, "When I am working with Jos for example, he has to master the batting side of the game since he is a batting keeper. But at the same time, he still has to stay true to his core competency [of keeping] so that he doesn't become a Jack of all trades."

Washington Sundar at The Gabba. Pic/BCCI

The reason all this is important, he continues, is that the world goes through cycles, which he refers to as seasons - winter, spring, summer and autumn. Chulani tells us, "We are living in winter now, in terms of the global health and economy. But if you have the mindset that it is still spring, you will be in trouble. It's like, if you are walking in shorts in winter, you will freeze. But some of my clients made more money during the global recession of 2008 than they have ever done, because they optimised their fear and cashed in. The skills required to go from winter to spring are different than those needed to go from spring to summer. That's why I keep telling my clients that they need to hire winter warriors, employees who are resilient emotionally and have the skill-sets to adapt to change."