Book Review: The Winning Sixer: Leadership Lessons to Master by W.V.Raman

Book Title: The Winning Sixer: Leadership Lessons to Master

Author: W.V. Raman

Genre: Non-fiction

Publisher: Rupa

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: All the attributes that are required for a leader, exist in each one of us. The winners and successful leaders make better use of these attributes, constantly refining, updating and revising them on a regular basis. They also look inwards and are ruthlessly honest with themselves. W.V. Raman, the current head coach of the Indian women’s team, in his debut book, The winning sixer, shows the way to unleash the potential that one has as a leader. Taking examples from his own Cricketing journey and his interactions with other sports personalities over the years, the author brings about an out-of-the-box thinking on leaders and leadership.

Review: The Winning Sixer is a neat little book that provides an interesting take on leadership lessons drawing on inferences from the field of sports- cricket.

Sports require a lot of leadership but more so a sport like cricket- where the captain is required to take many crucial decisions during the course of the game which can sometimes decide the entire outcome of the game.

“The five C’s are credibility, clarity, connect, control and conviction.”

The book discusses the age-old concepts of leadership and the novelty factor is the linkage with the cricketing world that makes this book a delightful read.

Written in an easy, conversational tone, this book relies on anecdotes and examples making it familiar and relatable. A few case studies would have added to the appeal of this otherwise insightful book.

The best chapter deals with “At The Top: What Do We Do Now?” that deals with how to guide others and this is important as it is easy to reach the pinnacle of success but difficult to remain at the top.

The book provides insights into the leadership and abilities of many well-known players such as Dravid- often considered to be the epitome of cricketing talent in India.

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