‘This Is A Time For Leaders To Be Inclusive And Put People First'

Simon Taufel, former international umpire-turned-leadership coach, on how business professionals should steer their companies through the Covid-19 crisis

- KATHAKALI CHANDA

In his heyday, Simon Taufel was one of the best umpires international cricket had seen. Between 2004 and 2008, he won the ICC (International Cricket Council) David Shepherd Umpire of the Year award five consecutive times. Following his retirement in 2012, the Australian served as ICC’s training and performance manager till 2016. In his book, Finding The Gaps: Transferable Skills To Be The Best That You Can Be, which he wrote last year, Taufel chronicles lessons he distilled from his 13-year career spanning 74 Tests, 174 one-day internationals and 34 T20Is. Many of these can transcend the cricket field and steer organisations on the path of growth and high performance. In a conversation with Forbes India, Taufel shares his insights on how leaderships need to stay focussed yet humane in order to survive the onslaught of Covid-19. Edited excerpts:

Q No training or experience can prepare CEOs for a crisis like this. How does one steer an organisation in these extraordinary times?

What would help leaders through this crisis is a culture based on trust and team success. In this environment, it is crucial that leaders are inclusive. One person doesn’t know it all and we are experiencing events that we haven’t been through before. But the fundamentals of leadership are applicable even now and I would encourage every leader to look at the performance lessons from sport and apply them because now is the time to be resilient.