As a captain, you wear many hats - you're a player, a coach and, as your influence grows, a selector: Faf du Plessis

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis delved into the finer aspects of leadership in his recently released autobiography titled ‘Faf Through Fire’. The flamboyant batter is currently plying his trade for RCB in the ongoing IPL 2023 and is relishing a terrific campaign as he is the leading run-getter with 631 runs in 12 appearances.

Throughout his career, Faf has taken massive strides to be on top of his game, both as a player and as a leader. The 38-year-old in his own words, delved into the finer details of leadership and spoke about the influence in the sport in his recently released autobiography in India. He further added that he was 'fanatical' about three core values he followed as a leader. 

“As a captain, you wear many hats: you're a player, a coach and, as your influence grows, a selector. You attend every bowling meeting and every batting meeting, and you are part of every fibre of the team’s being, without being a micromanager,” read an excerpt from the book ‘Faf Through Fire’.

"In that sense, I was almost fanatical about three of our core values: honesty, ownership and challenging each other from a place of authenticity. The second and third were added to the initial pillars of resilience, adaptability and honesty,” read another.

I'm inherently process driven: Faf du Plessis

The RCB skipper drew parallels between the principles of cricket and life, stating that he is more of a process-driven person. He further shed light on focusing on a 'process' by citing the emotions and decisions in play with words of wisdom.

“I'm inherently process driven. To me, the focus on the process in cricket is the same as in life. You can’t always control what life throws at you, but you are in control of your process and values, and how you respond to them,” he wrote.

“Our emotions lead to thoughts. Those thoughts dictate our decisions, and our decisions determine our behaviour. By focusing on a process, we can be deliberate in living the values that lead to the types of behaviour we need to achieve the desired outcome,” explained Faf.