After leaving the national squad in November 2023, Meg Lanning, the previous captain of the Australian women’s team, believes her leadership style has changed drastically. Driven by a better understanding of her players, she is a vastly different leader today captaining the Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred than she was when she commanded the Southern Stars.
Meg Lanning won two 50-over World Cups, five T20 World Cups, and a Commonwealth Games gold medal as Australia’s captain. Her winning attitude and composure under pressure were the foundations of her captaincy.
Despite acknowledging a flaw in her people management technique, she has made a concerted effort to address it. “I used to do 360-degree reviews and stuff like that on your personality, and I was always very low on empathy.”
That was usually extremely low. On the Wisden Women’s Cricket Weekly Podcast, Meg Lanning stated, “I believe that with more experience and things like that, you get better at understanding those situations.”
Why has Meg Lanning made transparency an important part of his leadership style?
The Australian attributes her greater empathy to her willingness to be vulnerable with others around her. Throughout her time overseas, she maintained a guarded demeanour and rarely showed signs of weakness.
She discovered that sharing personal issues in a more open and honest manner generated deep relationships with teammates.
“I believe it simply came down to my being a little more open with those around me. I believe that if you can be a little more open, honest, and upfront about things that aren’t going well or that you haven’t done as well as you would have liked.
I believe that it opens the door a little bit more and helps to build those connections and relationships a little bit better, which I believe is where empathy grows. So that’s probably something I’ve had to carefully consider,” said Meg Lanning.
How has Meg Lanning’s captaincy been enhanced by delegation?
Beyond empathy, the Australian believes that delegation has played an important role in her development as a captain. The coach now empowers her players and support personnel to take ownership of their roles, rather than taking on all responsibilities alone.
I believe that actually improves the group’s performance because individuals are invested and truly buying into what you’re trying to do because they have some say in how that happens. So that’s something I believe I’ve improved significantly, and it’s now one of my strengths,” said Meg Lanning.
Lanning will captain the Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred of 2026. After retiring from international competition, the 34-year-old continues to compete in a variety of local and franchise events, bringing advanced leadership skills to her new post.
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