CMI organises ‘Authentic Leadership for Strategy Execution’ in collaboration with KPMG

Panel discussion. From left: Brandix Group Finance Director Hasitha Premaratne, AMBEON Holdings Group MD/CEO Murali Prakash, PIM Director Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri, KPMG Sri Lanka Managing Partner Reyaz Mihular (Moderator), STF Commandant and Senior DIG M.R. Latiff and Cargills Bank MD/CEO Rajendra Theagarajah

Leaders of today are compelled to inculcate authentic leadership skills in the face of a fast-paced volatile and connected world. This is because it is believed that the greatest competitive advantage is derived from the alignment of the brand purpose with the correct team that is empowered to fulfil it. The seminar on ‘Authentic Leadership for Strategy Execution’ organised by the Chartered Management Institute UK, Sri Lanka Branch, in collaboration with KPMG as the knowledge partner, was inspired by these lines of thought. The event was held on 3 October at Hotel Galadari with an eminent panel discussing and exchanging ideas and their insightful experiences on this crucial topic.  

The evening’s proceedings commenced with the valuable keynote speech by University of Sri Jayewardenepura Postgraduate Institute of Management Board of Management Chairman and Director Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri. His speech emphasised how the concept and word ‘strategy’ has become a commoditised word and is often misused. He further stressed that ‘strategy’ may mean different meanings to different individuals. At corporate level, clarity and commitment towards formulating and implementing strategy is vital for the achievement of objectives. It is somewhat same at national level and is much needed in today’s environment. Prof. Dharmasiri further touched upon the topic of leadership, where he mentioned that leadership was more about inspiring, influencing and instructing, elements which were beyond designations, titles and positions and titles. This is mainly because leadership revolves around execution and making instant decisions in order to achieve the said objective. 

Commenting on his thoughts of an authentic leader as a strategist, Prof. Dharmasiri further stated, “I would leave for the intelligent audience to decide if Sri Lankan managers in the private sector and the administrators in the public sector think and act like authentic leaders.” He further added, “One thing is quite clear. We all can improve our skills in this area.”

The second session of the event, which was the informative panel discussion, mainly focused on strategy execution to trade-off decision making process, Methods to convey strategies in a way that can be understood by others, incentives in the role of authentic leadership, risks related with strategy execution and overcoming risk as a an authentic leader was further elaborated and critically analysed during the session.  Answering a variety of questions asked by the audience, Brandix Group Finance Director Hasitha Premaratne pointed out that an integral part of risk management was to identify possibilities of events which can go wrong and methods to mitigate same. Further stating the importance of spending quality time on analysing risks, AMBEON Holdings Group MD / CEO Murali Prakash stated that leadership differs according to the type of the company and the nature of the corporate culture and the biggest incentive was empowering people. Ending the discussion, Cargills Bank MD / CEO Rajendra Theagarajah commented that “As an authentic leader, one should always listen to others and get the best out without pushing or throwing one’s weight which can be because of a designation or position in the organisational hierarchy.” Finally commenting on the topic, Senior DIG and STF Commandant Latiff mentioned how his leadership was much needed in risk averse situations.

This interactive event on a much-needed current topic was organised by The Chartered Management Institute (CMI). CMI is the only chartered professional body dedicated in promoting the highest standards in Management. Formed in 1996, CMI Sri Lanka has over 150 exclusive members and has created a broader management club, consisting of several hundred members across the globe. Commenting on the importance of the event CMI Sri Lanka President Murali Prakash mentioned, “CMI is on an ongoing mission to create leadership excellence and they hope and intend to contribute positively towards development and positive growth of the business fraternity by organising interesting forums of this nature. This is just the first, many are planned to follow.”  KPMG Sri Lanka Partner Kamaya Perera stated, “It was our pleasure to be the knowledge partner of this event. At KPMG Sri Lanka, we always try to share global knowledge and expertise we have with the local clients, hence over the years we’ve established strong relationships with the reputed higher education institutes to support them in developing future business in Sri Lanka.”