Identifying talents critical for managers: Aravinda de Silva

The most critical factor in being a successful manager is the ability to identify and understand talents and bring it together in a team, Aravinda de Silva, Deputy Chairman, Ideal Group of Companies and former Sri Lankan cricket team captain told a gathering of students at IIM-Tiruchi on Friday.

Virtually inaugurating Dhruva 2021, the flagship business and cultural fest of the institute, Mr. Silva said teamwork and the ability to learn from mistakes were vital for career progression, as he reflected on his most important takeaways from his cricket days. Passion is the most important criteria for a student to translate classroom learning into practical applications, Mr. Silva said.

Banishing fear

Speaking of his role in the 1996 World Cup when he led his team to victory, Mr. Silva spoke on how banishing fear propelled the team members to bring out the best of their abilities. “Things keep changing, you need to be innovative and be aware of what is happening around you,” he said, sharing his views on management styles. Citing the rise of the T20 format, he emphasised the necessity of keeping pace with change.

In its fifth edition, Dhruva has gone online for the first time, enlisting 10,195 registrations for events across multiple business domains such as Finance, Operations, Marketing, and HR.

Dhruva 2021 has attracted widespread participation from premier B-schools across the country, Pawan Kumar Singh, Director of IIM-Tiruchi, said.