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| Saturday, 27 March 2004 |
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My friend Gamini by Dr. Rudi Webster, Former Ambassador to the United States of America (An article appearing in the book "50: A Beginning", which was published for the 50th birthday of late Mr. Gamini Dissanayake)
I am very happy to offer congratulations to my friend Gamini on his fiftieth birthday and to make a contribution to the 'Gamini Dissanayake Felicitation Volume'. Almost ten years ago in Melbourne, Australia, I was awakened by the sound of my telephone. When I picked up the receiver, the person at the other end said, "Dr. Webster, my name is Gamini Dissanayake. I am the President of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and I would like to invite you to Sri Lanka to work with our national players. They are extremely talented but are not as aggressive or competitive as they ought to be and they seem to lack the mental toughness and killer instinct for world-class competition. Will you help us rectify this deficiency?" I was surprised and flattered by this request and asked for some time to consider it. But as soon as I had replaced the receiver, I had made up my mind to accept his invitation. I had been following the fortunes of the Sri Lankan cricket team and had heard many good things about it and Sri Lanka from my friend and colleague Sir Garfield Sobers. I also had an encounter with the team in Melbourne when I had the opportunity to give them a motivational talk, the night before a one-day game against Australia, which they won a few hours later. I believe that was the Sri Lanka's first one-day victory against an Australian team in Australia. I shared the excitement of the victory and immediately developed a good rapport and strong linkage with the team. Yes, these events were not responsible for my decision: Gamini's personality was. He stimulated my curiosity and motivated me to accept his challenge. During my visit to Sri Lanka, my initial impression of my host was confirmed. I observed his charm, power and influence and marvelled at his capacity to motivate others. His ability to lead was obvious. I do not know if the Sri Lankan team benefited from my intervention but I know that I gained great knowledge while I was in Sri Lanka. Exposure to the Sri Lankan culture and lifestyle changed my thinking and beliefs and altered me to the importance of loving kindness, compassion, communication and proper insight into reality. Gamini and Shrima, more than anyone else, were responsible for this change. Gamini has had much success in his short life. But I do not want to talk about past achievements. I prefer to look ahead to future challenges. I feel that this greatest achievements are yet to come. Gamini has the resources to deal with the challenges of today's complex and rapidly changing world. He knows that a different style of leadership is needed to cope with these new demands; today's problems cannot be solved by yesterday's solutions. Why am I confident that Gamini will do well in the future? He has the motivation, resources and basic skills to achieve success. He has a sound knowledge of his profession. His people-management skills are excellent and are possibly his best asset; he is an efficient listener and communicator; and effective team builder, and a great motivator. His ability to concentrate, maintain a healthy level of confidence and cope with the pressures of the job enable him to control his ego, thinking, emotions and behaviour. They also allow him to use his power and influence constructively. His ability to see things from different perspectives is another key attribute. It is an antidote for selfishness and an indispensable ingredient for creative and strategic thinking. Gamini's record clearly shows his efficiency as an implementer: what good are concepts, ideas and plans if they cannot be implemented! Inability to implement policy is a major weakness of many leaders and managers. Gamini's motivational skills are exceptional. He has a clear vision of what he wants to achieve and is able to show his vision to others in a meaningful way. He generates energy and enthusiasm, and attracts others to follow in his path. He rewards and praises generously and makes the people around him feel important and worthwhile. Sir Garfield Sobers the famous cricketer has said: The principal difference between great performers and the others is not just knowledge, skill or motivation, but also the ability to identify important demands in the situations, which they face, and the capacity to tailor their skills and resources to meet with these demands. Gamini's performance will be determined by his ability to carry out this matching process. He is well aware of this and constantly reminds himself of this fundamental. What is Gamini's basis philosophy? What are his driving forces? Without any hesitation I can say that they are his: * Belief in the principles of Buddhism * Passion for freedom, democracy and peace * Commitment to the protection of human rights * Respect for law and an independent judiciary He is well aware of the fact that a democracy can only flourish in an atmosphere of order, discipline and justice. Gamini's success did not occur in a vacuum. Many people have helped him along the way. No one knows this better than Gamini and that is why he values the support and loyalty of his family, colleagues, friends and electorate so highly. I am proud and honoured to be a friend of Gamini and his family, and would like to thank them for the joy and happiness, which they have given me. I wish them health, peace and success. I will end my tribute by reminding Gamini of his own words: Who is thus a great leader? He is not one who say, "I did this" or "I did everything." He is one who conducts himself in such a way that when at a particular time his people are asked "Who achieved these great things for you." They will answer, "We did them together." |
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