“The Pathway for Leadership - Insights for Lady Executives’

This talk organized by HRMI to mark the International Women’s Day will be on the 7th of March at the Cinnamon Grand from 4pm to 5pm. Young ambitious lady executives are cordially invited to attend this presentation which is FREE OF C H A RG E BY PRIOR REGISTRATION.

Ms. Deshika Rodrigo is the former Head of HR at the Standard Chartered Bank and Recipient of Sri Lanka’s Top Women Leaders award – by the World Federation of HR Professionals 2017, Most Outstanding Workplace for Women award – by IFS and WIM – 2016, Leadership Excellence in HR award – by Women in Management 2015, and Voted “50 Most Powerful Women in Sri Lanka”- Echelon Magazine 2013.

Many successful career women have common characteristics which could be turned into valuable insights for any lady executive who aspires to reach the top. Only 4 percent of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are women. What happens to the large number of very talented women who excel in the middle of the hierarchy?

1. Be Assertive: Be an assertive communicator, talk the talk and speak with authority like a CEO

2. Be Authentic: Be confident to come out with original thinking. You don’t have to be a conformist, a follower. Believe that you can be original.

3. Be optimistic about your future: Think positive, make the right move at the right time. As aspirations evolve, don’t be afraid to make career changes as

4. Be Qualified, have the right kind of experience and exposure: Make sure that you have many accomplishments and accolades to make you a unique individual.

Be Tech-savvy: Be up-todate with all the technology related to your field. Don’t allow anybody to say you are obsolete

6. Believe in yourself: You can achieve anything a man can. There is absolutely no truth that men can perform better at work than women. It could be a wrong self-belief or a prejudiced social perception. It’s important that women always remind themselves and each other that they are equal.

7. Brand yourself: Make it known what you are good at, and excel. Let everybody know what you are good at and remember to excel. Consistently raise the bar and be the cynosure, the centre of attention and admiration.

8. Build good habits early: You need to earn a reputation of being disciplined and reliable. Good habits lead to consistent good work and sustainable outcomes.

9. Communicate effectively: Communication is an important tool to master for every women executive. Perhaps it is even more important to nullify the belief that majority of women are not good at com- 5.

10. Create your own career path: Make your career decisions yourself. Know what kind of qualifications and what sort of experience and exposure you need to acquire to enable you to progress in you chosen career path.

11. Don’t discriminate yourself: The hierarchical progression should be seen as equal to your male colleagues and just because you are a women, don’t entertain the idea that there could be discrimination that will create obstacles in your path to the top.

12. Get your career priorities right: Don’t be emotional or irrational. Do not waste time in any job if that organization is not able to elevate you to positions you deserve. If you feel your employer has discriminated you because of your gender, that’s not the place you should be working.

13. Have a Dream: Gender should not be a barrier to dream big. Create a vision in which your goal ought to be a CEO. Ask yourself, “Why shouldn’t I be a CEO’ and do not let you disqualify yourself from working towards that dream.

14. Make hard- work your trademark: Make it obvious that women can be better in their application and commitment.

15. Pick a job you enjoy and excel: It is important to recognize your strengths and align your work accordingly. Picking and choosing the right job will not only make you happy, but also enable you to excel.

16. Roll up your sleeves: Do whatever it takes, remember hard work really does pay off.

17. Seek Empowerment: Take the reins and ru n . Demonstrate your competence and develop confidence in the people around you that you possess the skill and resilience to do whatever that has been entrusted to you.

18. Seize Opportunities: Opportunities don’t come your way all the time. Whenever you see an opportunity where you could excel, grab it and be at your best

19. Speak up: Learn to express your thoughts and stand on your feet. Perhaps you may have to raise your hands a little higher, speak a little louder and push yourself outside of your comfort zones.”

20. Think long term: Focus on developing a career on a long term and do not entertain thoughts like being married and having children detract you from having long term career aspirations.

21. Treat challenges and problems as opportunities to learn: Never take a failure or a challenge as a setback. That’s the experience that will toughen the mettle in you.