Defeat comes only when you don’t bounce back
View(s):Panduka Weerasingha reveals some of the passionate management mantras that has brought him success and encouraged his team
Panduka Weerasingha, Senior Vice President- Agriculture/ Battery/ Porcelain and New Business of Brown and Company PLC and Chief Executive Officer of Browns Real estate, Browns Tours and BG Air services, is one of the brave new breed of young inspirational leaders who are thinking out of the box and emerging with ideas that are turning businesses around in record time.
Mr.Panduka Weerasinghe - Senior Vice President-Agriculture/Battery/Porcelain & New Business Chief Executive Officer-Browns Real Estate/Browns Tours & BG Air Services
He is credited with revolutionising and revamping diverse businesses spanning multinationals, privately-owned and public quoted companies. At Browns, he has already revolutionised the Agriculture, Battery and the Retail divisions, and is presently tasked with turning around the group’s latest acquisition, Royal Fernwood.
So, what does he do differently from other leaders? What are the management tenets that define his leadership style? His inspiration begins with teamwork, he confesses. “I have made it a point that every employee use the term ‘we’ and not ‘I’. Teamwork takes priority over individual identity in my office. Winning is always a team effort, Individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” he stresses.
Moreover, grooming employees as future leaders is a task every boss should be proud of, creating a win-win situation for the employee and the company, he says. Another tenet is charismatic leadership; Charisma is a sparkle in people that money can’t buy. It’s an invisible energy with visible effects as Marianne Williamson said and he feels that it’s inherent in some and should be nurtured as it is a very rare commodity. “
Weerasingha sets store by planning and execution, because he feels the weakness in many entities lies in extensive planning but poor implementation. “Many good plans are not implemented for fear of upsetting a few. If, as a leader you have the courage of your convictions to implement a new policy, chances are your team will automatically fall in line if they believe you have their best interests in mind,” he opines.
“Also not only planning and executing it’s very important to do a post-mortem, to see and to analyze whether what was executed was of use or not.”
Further, he recommends that leaders share their success and not bask in solitary glory. Sharing success with the team builds loyalties and a strong bond which reflects in greater cooperation in the workplace, It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” he adds.
People are the biggest asset in any organization. They will do wonders if you are with them. Recognising all employees and commending employees who are hard working is particularly important, as these highly motivated people need recognition so as not to wither away.Succession plans to each and every employee is very important when running an organization. “If your staff does not feel that they have not been looked after. It’s a matter of time that they will leave you. No point blaming the staff saying that they are bad; instead you have to blame yourself that you are bad”, he boldly states.
“If you are worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on” taking a cue from Lance Armstrong, Weerasingha also refers to the “never give up attitude”, which he instils in his team. “Only if we adopt this attitude can we find innovative solutions to problems and think out of the box. We should make every hurdle that comes across, a stepping stone to our success ,”he says.
Engaging stakeholders should be an ongoing endeavour of any successful business, and companies looking to succeed cannot take business relationships for granted, he cautions.
The new era has seen the demise of traditional hierarchal patterns and he recommends an open-door policy between senior management and employees. Personal problems more often that not have a greater impact on workers in the workplace, and bosses should take the time to counsel employees undergoing personal strife.
Also, with companies being so involved in profit-making, it’s easy to take your eyes off the branding process, which is a fatal mistake, in his book. Lastly, Weeransinghe suggests that it’s important to enjoy what you do and celebrate every success, however small. “Never postpone a celebration as it is a culmination of hard work on part of your team, the more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate, he concludes with a quote from Oprah Winfrey.
The interviewee is Panduka Weerasingha, Senior Vice President- Agriculture/ Battery/ Porcelain and New Business of Brown and Company PLC and Chief Executive Officer of Browns Real estate, Browns Tours and BG Air services
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