Can I go to war with you on my side?

In this article, former Indian cricket coach Gary Kirsten says of the Indian World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni:

“I have read that great leaders in the world give credit to others when things are going well and take responsibility when things are going badly. MS Dhoni is that to the ‘T’.”

Indeed that is the hallmark of a great leader, and in fact should be true of every leader if (s)he wants to win the trust, admiration and respect of the tribe. Not just as lip-service, but that is how a leader should feel from the inside. Because very few victories are achieved just due to the leader. It is always a team game. And by giving credit to people the leader empowers each member of the tribe - allows a sense of joy and belonging to  permeate through.

By taking responsibility when things go badly, the leader takes away the downside - the fear of failure. This allows each individual to be creative without fear of retribution.

“I want to go to war with this guy,”  Kirsten said talking of the skipper.

Are you someone who I would trust enough to go to war with?