Criticality of No.2`s in a team

Rahul Dravid, who is presently the coach of the India “A” cricket team (shadow team to the national team) has said that the aim of the ‘A” team is not necessarily to win matches but to ensure a steady supply of players to the Indian national cricket team. In other words, he is focussing on the success of the national team in the larger interests of the Indian cricket and also is more interested in the national glory rather than personal glory. What a noble thought! In his playing days Dravid was an effective vice-captain to Sourav Ganguly when the Indian team started winning matches abroad and in the broader interests of the team kept wickets in one-dayers, opened the innings as and when required and thus was a genuine team man. However, he is remembered as the second best batsman of his era after Tendulkar and second behind Sourav Ganguly in the Indian captains ranking lists. He was thus a genuine no.2 who was very critical to the Indian cricket team.

As it is said “Behind every successful man there is a woman (the No.2)” there are always a silent and hidden no.2`s, behind the scenes personnel, behind every leader`s success whether be it the corporate world, politics, sports, etc. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an able No.2 in his party chief Amit Shah who has been the architect of many of his electoral successes. While Modi focuses on reaching out to the world and people, Shah focusses on the nuances of the organization to ensure full organizational support to Modi`s vision. In the Indian corporate world JRD Tata, who was one of the main architects of expanding the horizons of the Tata group, had able and strong leaders like Russi Mody and Ajit Kerkar to take forward the Tata group`s business interests.

Successful teams need to have different personalities and skill sets which need to be aligned. A team normally has six different types of personalities, as stated by Kate McFarlin viz. driver, adventurer, energizer, cheerleader, stabilizer and perfectionist. Successful leaders normally play some of the first 4 roles. A good no.2 normally plays the role of a stabilizer who tries to sew together all the different personalities in a team and is able to handle the different interests and egos in a team.

Thus can a good No.2 be called a “silent follower” who sacrifices his or her own interests in the larger interests of the team? Certainly not. Good no.2 in today`s context is a “Team Player” according to Mitch Simon, who feels that “followers” are outdated and hence leaders should empower their No.2 to play the role of effectively showing a mirror to them and have the courage to question the leader`s thoughts and take decisions. A good leader also needs to empower and encourage their sub ordinates to express their views freely and also play the leader`s role in their absence. Mahatma Gandhi built an able set of leaders for the Indian freedom struggle like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, etc. who could implement his thoughts and take it to the people.

The typical traits of a good No.2 would be thorough, meticulous, hardworking, ability to connect with people, non –egoistic and generally conformist. One of the questions that can be asked is whether, good no.2`s, leaders or managers? I would say, good leaders but excellent managers.

What would be psychological built of a good No.2? Maslow`s famous “5 stage hierarchy of needs” defines the different needs of a person as physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem and self-actualization as the different needs of a person. The difference between great leaders and good no.2 is in the domain of “esteem” as per Maslow`s hierarchy. While great leaders tend to become larger than life images, the No.2`s remain content with the respect and sense of achievement that they have. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman remained content as technically sound batsmen in the Indian team but didn’t have a cult status like Tendulkar and Ganguly.

In the corporate world too, we see lots of great leaders but their able deputies are rarely in limelight. Thus good companies focus on building and nurturing good teams rather than leaving to the whims and fancies of a superstar. Steve Jobs was a visionary who changed the consumer electronics products industry with Apple. However, Jobs needed the support of an able manager like Tim Cook and a bevy of engineers who could build products in accordance with his ideas. Thus management of companies needs to have effective processes to identify, nurture and recognize the efforts of the good no.2`s. A team cannot be full of leaders but needs team players playing various roles.

It is said,” It doesn`t matter who gets the credit as long as the team succeeds”. Well, good no.2 certainly fit into this saying. We need great leaders around globally but very importantly we need great No.2 `s too to implement and play effective roles in societies, teams, etc.