A good leader is known by the number of heroes in his team. Tuck School of Business professor Sidney Fickelstein calls them superheroes. Leadership is bringing out the best in everybody. Good leaders realise this early, Sourav Ganguly, the present BCCI chief for instance became a successful captain by just doing that.

Sourav and Sachin became a formidable opening pair in world cricket but when Sourav dropped himself down the order to pave the way for Virender Sehwag to open the innings. He created a space for a superhero.

All players are not the same, channelizing energy and directing it is a mark of a good leader. Yuvraj Singh, was just 19 and had a great zest for life. Partying came naturally to him. Sourav, once searched all the night clubs in Nairobi and brought Yuvraj back to the hotel as he needed enough sleep for the match next day. In doing this, he did not inform the manager and make it official. It was the personal touch that mattered. Yuvraj was not doing anything wrong but if one were to win matches for India, sleep, rest, good food and training are essential. The captain went out of his way to nurture a young man and turned a boy into a man. In the following match, Yuvraj scored runs, was instrumental in run outs and helped India win.

Backing players and allowing them to blossom separates a good leader from a great leader. At a time when the selectors wanted to drop Harbhajan Singh, Sourav backed him and in that series, the turbunator as he is called picked up more than 30 wickets.

Each team member is unique. A Rahul Dravid cannot be a Yuvraj and vice versa.

Creating a winning culture is again a trait of a leader. Indian cricketers would never sledge and give it back to Australian and English cricketers. And Indians were never known to win abroad. Self-belief does wonders and Sourav instilled it in his team. Identifying talent and nurturing it for a winning combination is the hallmark of a leader.

If there is a problem, find a solution. Indians would always depend on spinners and winning in foreign pitches is difficult with slow bowlers. Sourav told the board to find bowlers who could bowl fast even if they have not played many local matches. He found a solution to the problem. The emergence of Zaheer Khan is a testimony.

A mistake leaders commit is to control everything. Sourav identified solders and placed them in specified roles and did not interfere. Leaders at times become control freaks and that can do more harm. When roles are defined and team mates are given freedom, work-flow happens naturally.