This is an excerpt from the speech delivered by Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri, President of the Chartered Institute of Management, Sri Lanka, Faculty Member at the Postgraduate Institute of Management, and the Co-Chair of the Judge Panel at the 45 Under 45 Leadership Excellence Platinum Award Ceremony.

I am very happy to share some thoughts briefly on why we recognise leaders.
The country needs leaders. They say the only ship that survives the storm is leadership. So we need leadership more and more. If you look at the 76 years since regaining independence, some say we have a social crisis, an economic crisis, and a political crisis, but I tend to disagree.

I think we have a leadership crisis. Two years ago, we had long fuel queues, long gas queues, long power outages, and we had a very interesting case study that ended up as a chase study.

The case study became a chase study. So that’s all to do with leadership. I’m here to be positive, not to be negative. I’m here to witness the celebration of the young leaders of the country. I wish I were 20 years younger to be less than 45.

So at the outset, let me congratulate the winners who were already showcased and the winners who are yet to be showcased.

Shall we put our hands together to give them a big round of applause? And also to the winners in the past and the winners in the future.

There are winners today, and there are winners yet to be in the audience. There are winners yet to be who would watch this event on television, on social media, and when it goes viral. So my invitation is to be a leader.

In my view, it’s more to do with decisions and actions than with positions and titles. There are so many leadership positions and titles, but are they really thinking and acting as leaders is a big question mark.

As a leadership researcher, thinker, and practitioner, I would say leadership is more about decisions and actions than positions and titles. That’s what I firmly believe. You have to take the right decision at the right time, in the right manner, using the right resources to produce the right result.

That’s what leadership is all about. It includes inspiring, influencing, and initiating. Inspiring words, influencing deeds, and initiating seeds, the seeds that you sow so that you get the fruits coming out.

Are we inspiring others enough? Are we influencing others enough? Are we initiating things with others enough? There’s a fundamental question I would like to leave with you. We have to do that more and more in order to make sure that the country prospers. We all have to think and act like leaders. It’s a mindset more than anything else. First the mindset, then the skill set, and of course, then you have the tool set. First, it begins with the mindset. You need to be a servant.

You need to serve others. They say those who serve deserve leadership.
It’s an invitation to serve others. You need to be a strategist. You have to look at the future. Not only the present, but the future.

Be logical and analytical on one side, and be envisioning on the other side. So you have to be a servant, you have to be a strategist, and also you have to be a synergist in building teams, in building communities, not building walls, building bricks, but having the bridges connecting. I think Sri Lanka needs that connection a lot. Inter-racial harmony, inter-religious harmony, and inter-ethnic harmony.

We are having unity within diversity. So we need to have leadership on all fronts. So let me conclude my brief sharing by wishing once again to all winners and future winners as well, by quoting “Subhashitha”.

Like a fragrant sandalwood emanating the scent more and more when you are crushed and squeezed.

That’s what leadership is all about, ladies and gentlemen. It’s never a crown, it’s a “cross.” It’s always a journey. So I would invite you to embark on that journey from good to great. They say the enemy of great is good. If you are complacent with being good, the journey ends. It’s all about exceeding expectations and being excellent. I think we need excellence on all fronts. It’s all about raising the bar higher and higher and higher. So let’s all excel in our fields as exemplary leaders in showing effective results.

That’s what we need as leaders. So let’s ensure that we become fragrant sandal wood, emanating the scent to inspire others, influence others, and initiate things with others.
So may I wish all of you good luck. May that journey be a truly enriching, engaging, and excelling one. Bon voyage. Happy journey. All the very best to everyone.