Ronnie Peiris, a former Executive Director at John Keells Holdings PLC and former Managing Director of the Anglo American Corporation (Central Africa) Ltd, has left an indelible mark on corporate Sri Lanka across several key sectors, from tourism, logistics and plantation to technology and from food and beverage and property development to finance and corporate governance. After retiring from formal employment, Ronnie honed his skills with a course in Transformative Coaching from the Coach Masters Academy, Singapore and has since coached/mentored over 70 top-tier professionals in Sri Lanka and offered advice on governance, strategy, and people-driven operating models to firms across the public and private sectors. Beyond individual mentorship, Ronnie conducts workshops on pivotal leadership aspects. Amidst Sri Lanka’s economic challenges, he underscores the pressing need for contemporary leadership approaches to drive the nation forward.
Is continuous leadership development a ‘nice to have’, or is it a must?
The facts are stubborn in stating that the investment in leadership development in Sri Lanka has decreased significantly in the past 5 years. I do not have specific statistics as evidence. However, I can confirm this by the facts gathered per regular discussions with corporate leaders. The vicissitudes of Covid-19 and the economic crisis made corporations adopt the typical knee-jerk cost-cutting of training and development, including leadership development. These, usually, become the whipping boys in times of low economic activity. This penny-wise, pound-foolish approach is inconsistent with the growing expectation that employees, irrespective of rank, must make consequential decisions in keeping with the corporate strategy and culture. This can happen only if they are equipped with the relevant technical, relational, and communication skills. We are living in a world fraught with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The incredible dynamism enabled by mind-boggling technology and increased connectivity has added to the challenge. Against this background, the need for leadership development has assumed urgent and critical dimensions. While there are many digital aids and collaborative platforms/tools for enhancing the technical skills of potential leaders, there is a relative vacuum in developing their soft skills, particularly their emotional quotient. This deficiency must be addressed in a focused manner if organizations are to retain, and grow, their competitive advantage.
Economic history reveals that it is difficult to distinguish between the great and the mediocre in good times. In turbulent times the gap widens and becomes more visible, and it is tough to regain lost ground. Leadership skills are most needed when the chips are down. Leadership development, therefore, must be continuous- in good times and bad times, and sunshine and rain. I have walked the talk through the experience of working for organizations which thrived in chaos.
What are the tangible benefits enjoyed by organizations which prioritize continuous leadership development?
It is more natural for most leaders in the corporate world to upscale organizations than upscale people. However, companies are just collections of people. We must understand what they need to succeed for the company to succeed. By investing in the development of employees, organizations significantly improve retention rates and reduce retraining costs. Employees who feel valued, and supported, are known to stay longer with the organization. Leadership development improves employee morale, making them feel more engaged and invested in their work. Secondly, these strategies help employees develop their skills to be more technically and emotionally productive. The inevitable net result is the direct and indirect increase in overall organizational productivity and effectiveness. Also, through mentoring and coaching, talent is better managed and succession planning is facilitated.
What is lost when companies cut back on leadership development during economic downturns?
I have already touched on this. Leadership development must not be ad-hoc. It must be a part of a continuous programme and must be an integral component of a ‘Learning Organization’ as propounded by Peter Senge, the American Systems scientist. A learning organization establishes a culture of personal and professional growth through knowledge transfer as an overall vision for long-term success.
What leadership practices are now outdated and require change?
This is a vast topic. Let me focus on five key thoughts. One, you do not build a business. You build People who will build the business. Two, get out of the ivory tower and engage the stakeholders. Three, replace command and control leadership styles with heart and soul-stirring styles. Fourth, leadership is not just ‘nature’. It can be learned through ‘nurture’. The fifth is promotions to leadership roles must be more justified by leadership abilities than by just technical abilities.
Are Sri Lanka’s current challenges attributable to poor leadership?
People associate leadership with power. Power makes previously rational and normal people behave in ways opposite to the very behaviours that brought them into their current exalted positions. They fail to understand that you become more powerful by becoming powerless. This is enabled by empowering others and by delegating. Not by micromanaging. Integrity, honesty, fairness, accountability, transparency, servitude, humility, and ethicality are the foundational traits of an effective leader, traits which are becoming extinct like the dodo. These must be revived, and entrenched, as a part of human goodness. Nationally, we must elect leaders who think about the country first through an inspired shared vision. A herculean task considering where we are.
What are the direct and indirect leadership development initiatives to help address Sri Lanka’s national, corporate, and societal challenges?
As the saying goes – the fish rots from its head. Whether it be at a national, corporate, or societal level, we must appoint Values-driven leaders. I have heard colleagues and associates saying that Sri Lanka is doomed and that malpractices and corruption are too deeply entrenched and cannot be uprooted. Though, admittedly, this is akin to cleaning the Augean Stables, I believe in achieving the impossible by seeing the invisible. Do not give up. Start somewhere. Teach values and meritocracy in schools. Increase public awareness of the importance of meritocracy and ethicality through social media, theatre, and television. At a national level, vote for those who walk the talk. At a corporate level, have continuous well-structured leadership development programmes including coaching and mentoring.