With a perfect balance that is uniquely catered to fit her individuality, Ishani Kulathunga, Modern Trade and E-commerce Manager of Upfield Lanka Pvt. Ltd has climbed the corporate ladder while maintaining her qualities of empathy and humility. Ishani, as a driven woman in the field of sales and a leading figure in a powerful organization, has created a pattern and network of hard work and effective qualities that boost her daily to do her best.
Passionate about influencing and crafting unbeatably skilled sales professionals around the globe, Ishani holds a torch up high as she takes an approach that is centred around empathy to achieve the outcomes she desires.
“The empathy – understanding, being sensitive, and sharing the feelings of another is not an easy task as it sounds, because the ego always gets in the way. People are made of emotions and feelings, and most of the time, we easily get tricked by short-term targets and forget the human aspect. “
Embracing the opportunity to work with different kinds of customers and colleagues and to lead large teams during her career, Ishani mindfully continues to tackle the many challenging aspects she has to face with courage as she centres her mindset to always think in an understanding manner. From her perspective, everyone has a unique story that is important to them and arriving at a winning solution to both parties embracing that uniqueness while acknowledging the unique story of others will always establish a real deal and relationship with one another.
While leadership itself takes a lot of effort, Ishani emphasizes the uniqueness that comes with being a female leader. Concentrating on the positive aspects of potential and ability, Ishani claims the importance of an honest, transparent character as one strives to become a leader.
“Character is the centre point of a true leader. A good character in leadership commands respect, which is fundamental to effective leadership because good character builds trust, and without trust, people will not follow you. Without followers, obviously, one cannot lead. The team will work productively and chase the goals with confidence when they know that they are in good hands. “
Highlighting the qualities of integrity and emotional intelligence as the main ingredients in defining character, Ishani draws attention to the fact that integrity should be a way of being and emotional intelligence should be an effort that an individual should make. As Ishani believes, frequent reflective thinking while engaging your emotional intelligence with analytical comprehension can help you stay in control of your actions and maintain your authenticity, inspiring those around you as a true leader.
Looking from the viewpoint of a manager, Ishani claims that gender truly does not impact her ability or individuality as she always tries to be a part of “them” as a team. While it may be the case of outdated thinking where people used gender to differentiate, define, and disguise, the new era of progressive mindset doesn’t support those factors and takes a much more open approach to achieve organizational goals. From the female perspective, Ishani states that we cannot say that one is superior or inferior to the other. Genders have inherited qualities and skills and the blend of both parties produces a real effective outcome at work. Rather than discriminating against men or rebelling without proper direction, women can take the initiative in creating opportunities and facilitating the inclusion of fellow women.
While looking back at the struggle and progress women have made as a whole, Ishani looks forth to the potential and the immense room for further improvement. Relying on the new ways of working, where flexibility in the workplace seems to be considered an essential right, more and more women are encouraged to join the workforce. Striking a healthy balance as a woman or a man within one’s life comes in as a basic need, and based on the new changes brought forth by the pandemic, society is moving towards a more lenient approach where they can embrace the inevitable unpredictability and cater their energy to survive and thrive the unexpected challenges.
“We see a lot of professionals seizing the career halfway or satisfied with the status quo due to family interests. This can change with the changes of the new era as organizations can attract more female talent by facilitating the unique needs of women in the work environment, which will enable more women to absorb and thrive.
With the hope of a new dawn, Ishani salutes the many who came before her as she absorbs the inspiration of their courage and hopes to aspire to the many that follow her as she leads them on to a new cast of light and a diverse range of new opportunities. As she encourages anyone who looks forward to a career with true passion, regardless of age, position, or gender, Ishani, as a part of the vast hemisphere of revolutionary change, hopes to continue to enable her team to become influential and powerful while she also continues to grow on the path to the top of her field.