LEADERSHIP PROFILE
Credibility pays dividends
Ayodhya Iddawela Perera
An essential quality of a leader is credibility – being someone that employees and stakeholders can trust and rely on, Ayodhya Iddawela Perera declares. Once established, this trust not only enhances a leader’s influence and ability to guide others, but also fosters an environment where openness and honesty flourish.
She adds that the next most essential quality is vision: “A visionary outlook sets standards and motivates employees to strive towards a common goal, and helps the organisation navigate challenges, supported by the direction provided and guidance.”
As a strong believer in the importance of effective and open communication, she acknowledges that clear communication not only provides clarity and effectiveness to an organisation, but also ensures that all team members are aligned with its goals and expectations, encourages a culture of trust and mutual respect, and facilitates the free exchange of ideas, feedback and concerns, making it easier to address issues promptly and collaboratively.
DIVERSITY “Having a team comprising individuals with diverse backgrounds and characteristics enhances decision making by enriching discussion through various perspectives; it helps an organisation arrive at the best possible decision with the available information,” she maintains.
Perera avers that strategies to ensure representation should focus on equal opportunities, regardless of gender, age or experience: “I believe that everyone should have access to the same resources and equal opportunities for advancement. This can be achieved through initiatives like unbiased hiring practices, skills based assessments and fair compensation structures.”
EQUITABLE PAY She believes that pay equity is a right, adding that if two individuals contribute equally to an organisation’s success, they must be compensated equally. As Perera notes however, this is not as straightforward as it seems in real life.
“The objective measuring of contributions is difficult due to diverse roles played by different employees; it cannot be comprehensively captured to develop an objective measure of equity. As such, though businesses have ensured that pay disparities among same grade employees are minimal, this doesn’t address the fundamentals of pay equity,” she states.
Perera is hopeful that with technological advances and a deeper understanding of HR sciences, more sophisticated models can be developed to ensure real pay equity in the future.
INNOVATION To create a culture of innovation and creativity, she explains that organisations need to first nurture a culture of risk taking, accepting the failures that occur during the process and learning.
Perera believes that no one will attempt anything new if risk taking entails punishment and failure means the end of one’s career.
She elaborates: “You must also have a learning environment so that people can learn from others’ mistakes and not necessarily only their own. Fostering such an environment would put an organisation on an upward path of achievement although creating such a culture is easier said than done.”
Firstly, Perera says that it’s important to break silos and encourage people to work as a team to learn from each other. This should be followed by providing the team with exposure to new experiences, and encouraging them to do things better – and try new things despite the fear of failure.
Lessons from both failures and successes should be shared, while encouraging innovation and creativity, she emphasises.
TRANSPARENCY Perera reiterates that effective communication is essential for a leader and this includes being transparent: “By fostering an environment where information is freely shared and all voices are heard, leaders can build trust and credibility with their teams.”
“This openness encourages employees to express their ideas and concerns without fear, leading to more innovative and well-rounded solutions,” she asserts.
In conclusion, Perera underscores that when decisions are made transparently, it helps everyone understand the rationale behind actions, aligning the team and reducing resistance to change.
