PIMA creates a novel experience with Leadership Dialogue Series

The Alumni of the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (PIMA) staged the inaugural session of its latest initiative, PIMA Leadership Dialogue Series on 5  October at the Ceylon Continental Hotel.

The first session was held under the theme ‘Women at the helm; Reflections on real life journeys’ and featured two renowned female leaders in our country; LOLC Group and Browns Group Chairperson Rohini Nanayakkara and Ramya Holdings Chairperson/Managing Director Ramya Weerakoon.  The session was moderated by PIM Director Professor Uditha Liyanage.

The two speakers shared their ‘stories’ – how they reached the helm in their careers, the barriers they faced, the opportunities they did not let go of and the secrets behind their success.

Nanayakkara, in her speech, elaborated on how her childhood experiences of studying in seven schools in both urban and rural areas and growing up with people of different social strata, helped mould her character. She identifies herself as a product of the 20th century and not 21st, where women had very limited opportunities in terms of career.

Nanayakkara stressed that women should never feel they are ‘special’ just because of their gender and should always consider themselves equal to men. Speaking on her book ‘What Glass Ceiling’, Nanayakkara explained that in her opinion there is no ‘glass ceiling’; there are challenges that women face, but by being open to new ideas, being willing to change and acting as a change agent and by improving knowledge, women can circumvent any barrier.  

Nanayakkara advised the participants to take decisions that need to be taken and to refrain from delegating decision making, to be open to new ideas, improve people skills, deliver on time, have a good mentor, be fair and objective and balance family and work. Those who follow these practices will automatically get recognised.

Weerakoon shared  her story of being the first war widow of the country when she lost her husband, who was a Major in the Army, in the 1971 insurgency. In an ironical twist of destiny, her husband’s death led to her becoming an entrepreneur and today, a success. She elaborated what a transformation that was for her, from being brought up in a protected environment by her parents and then leading a very comfortable life with her husband, to a widow with a young daughter and another on the way.

She explained how she ventured in to business, in the backyard of her parental home and built her business step by step to five factories with over five thousand employees today.

Weerakoon also highlighted that during the difficult times when all the banks refused to lend her money, it was the Bank of Ceylon, in which Nanayakkara was the General Manager at the time, who believed in her and stepped forward to her rescue.

She added that as women leaders one should not lose her femininity as she progresses in her career and competes shoulder to shoulder with the male counter parts. She believes in always playing it fair, which would ultimately bring success.  

Even though the two speakers had two very unique stories, summing up the session, Prof. Liyanage identified three common characteristics in the two leaders: Focus, Hard work and Support System. Both leaders had unwavering focus in what they wanted to achieve, worked relentlessly towards their goals and had people at different junctures supporting them.

Commenting on the event, PIMA President Dilini Wijeweera stated: “We are proud to stand out as the Nation’s Thought Leaders and strive to introduce unique programmes to share and enhance knowledge of our members and also the general public. The Leadership Dialogue series will share inspirational success stories of Sri Lankan Business Leaders and we will be conducting this program once in every six months.”

Leadership Dialogue Series Chairperson Vindhya Weeratunga stated, “We selected this theme for our first session because even though we have some extra-ordinary female leaders in our country, they are not always highlighted. However, they have gone through a remarkable journey to reach the helm in their careers and there are many lessons all of us can learn. The two leaders we selected are truly inspirational and role models to both women and men”.