When is rug is pulled from underneath you

You walk onto the pitch. Test match, day one. You’ve got your strategy: play for swing, get behind the line, play with a straight bat.

Ten minutes in, the bowler realises the pitch is jagging off the cracks with uneven bounce. The bowler changes his length. And your neat plan is history.

Now it’s all about reacting better, and playing the situation at hand.

You walk onto court.

Ready to dominate with your forehand. But your opponent clearly got the memo.

Decided to pin you on the backhand side. All. Day. Long.

You don’t need to turn into a backhand wizard on the spot. (Trust me, I’ve tried. No luck.)

You just need to break their rhythm. Throw in a slice. A few drop shots. Show you can adapt.

As a leader, don’t over emphasise on predicting.

Rather, react. And react fast.

When the game changes, when is rug is pulled from underneath you, great leaders show their true colours.

They don’t necessarily predict every twist, but out-react everyone else.

If you thought great leaders have a crystal ball handy, you’re sadly mistaken. They do, however, have a mindset that is ready for the unexpected.

When your original plan is no longer relevant, they don’t freeze.

They adapt.

They stay flexible. Nimble.

They keep their team calm by showing their teams how to pivot. Maybe even gracefully.

You become the steady hand that turns chaos into just another challenge. Just another day in the office. So nonchalant, that it rubs off on the team.

The best leaders aren’t the ones with perfect foresight. They’re the ones who react fast, keep their cool, and turn surprises into opportunities to lead even more effectively.

But.

Once this battle is done, they’ll be the first ones to work on what caught them off gaurd. Perfect it. Find a new gameplay. Put that into their arsenal. And with time, they appear to have no obvious weakness.

Like Sachin Tendulkar and the short ball.

Or Roger Federer’s neo backhand.

fin.