Learning Diary for Panel Presentation/Discussion

Name of Participant / Group No: W D Pradeep Gunawardena / Group 04

Panel No: 02 Subject: Navigating digital disruption – The new leadership paradigm

Date of Submission: 30.05.2023

1) Key Learning Points (KLPs)

a. A company should not benchmark its main attributes only with competitors. Instead,
inspiration could be obtained from well managed companies of other industries as well.
b. Just because the company is big, and has a rich history, we should not get complacent
because no company is too big to fail (i.e., Nokia, Yahoo).
c. Since the macro environment is very volatile, our decision making must be swift.
d. Leadership in an organization should be from top-down.
e. If the Bank’s vision is to be technologically advanced, then we should create that tech savvy
culture within our staff as well.
f. Organizations should embrace ‘Agile’ work culture which emphasizes on continuous
collaboration and improvement.
g. The Bank should have a specific ‘Project Management Office’ which is responsible for
implementing projects and track its progress.
h. When shifting from legacy systems to newer technologies, people too should be transformed
through continuous training and coaching.
i. Future leaders should be tach savvy and agile.
j. Culture would question why we should change, but change is inevitable when the customers’
needs are rapidly changing.

2) What aspect of your job/function or development does this relate to?

A) Creating a tech savvy culture – As per Commercial Bank’s (CBC) Vision statement, it
strives to become the most technologically advanced and innovative Bank in the country. When
consider the broader meaning of this, it is important to understand that this statement is not
limited to acquiring of state-of-the-art technology and equipment to the Bank. It has the broader
meaning of becoming the pioneer in the banking industry with latest technology coupled with
staff who can understand such new innovations and leverage from it.

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As the SME Manager of a region, I have been working closely with a sales team which comprises
of over twenty-five members. In April this year, Bank introduced a new digital product branded
as ‘COM LEAP’ which is an eco-system for local SMEs. Management wanted bank’s SME team
to take the leadership in promoting this product among our SMEs. However, when training was
conducted for my region’s SME team, one main observation of mine was not all team members
were excited to learn about this new concept due to their lack of knowledge in using digital
products.

Having identified this training need of my team, going by the vision of the bank, it is my duty to
provide required training to these team members so that they are not left behind in bank’s journey
towards becoming the pioneer in digital banking. In this regard, necessary steps have already
been taken to provide my team members with focused training on new digital banking trends and
how to change their mindset to embrace such new concepts with an open mind.

B) Change is inevitable – In CBC approximately 33% of the staff members are below the age of
30 years (mostly from Gen-Z) and this composition is true for my regional SME team as well.
Also, bank’s new customer cohort is represented by Gen-Zers.

People from Gen-Z cohort demonstrate unique personal attributes such as not defining
themselves in only one way, be radically inclusive, have fewer confrontations etc. which are
completely different from the behavioral attributes of Millennials and Gen-X cohorts.

These unique personality attributes are observed even in my own team members who represent
the Gen-Z cohort. As a SME Manager who is involved in onboarding of new business to the
bank, such characteristics are observed in young and emerging entrepreneurs as well.

Therefore, as an individual who is from the Millennial cohort, using old management practices to
manage my Gen-Z team members and implement same old canvassing strategies to onboard new
customers of the same generation will not be effective. Hence, as a manager it is my
responsibility to understand these different requirements of different generations and change my
strategies to win both support of my team members and business of new customers, as my failure
to embrace change would be detrimental to the progression of my region as well the overall bank.

Participant’s Signature
Date: 30.05.2023

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