Ep. 133 - Sree Anand Ratnasinghe's secret to leadership success lies in being recognized for taking a hands-on approach to tackling large-scale digital transformation initiatives while simultaneously being a passionate customer advocate. How does she balance them when she manages employees internationally and remotely? Listen in to learn the qualities of an empathetic and high-performance- driving leader, especially in the wake of COVID-19. You will also learn the importance of building customer relationships and experiences through technological advancements in your business. In this episode, she talks about her career journey and her role as a leader in the technology sector.
Key Takeaways:
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- How to be fearless and put yourself out there to achieve what you set yourself out to achieve
- How to mentor people to reach their goals in a diverse environment as a leader
- How to be a successful business by focusing on being customer-centric and driving for high-performance with your team
- How to be a listening, understanding, and empathizing leader by empowering your team and using KPIs
- The importance of developing your career goal plan by writing it down and having mentorship
"Leaders can help an organization by communicating a sense of purpose and a sense of why." -Sree Anand Ratnasinghe
In this episode you'll discover:
Sree describes her career from a software engineer to building and leading customer-facing teams [1:58]
How Sree's childhood shaped her to be fearless and to go after her goals [4:34]
She explains why she chose a career in computer science [7:04]
Sree's IBM influence in building patterns and recipes for cloud access plus creating diverse teams [13:00]
She describes her life partner as supportive and the best decision she's ever made [17:54]
The meaning of a company having a customer-centric culture and a drive to high performance [20:40]
Tips on how to be an empathetic leader while holding your team to high performance [25:03]
How she coaches and mentors' women with their career development strategies [30:40]
The importance of having conviction in your purpose and expressing empathy as a leader [33:58]
The three critical areas that companies need to look at during and after the pandemic [36:03]
Sree describes her family, her team, and her customer communities as her right things today [38:30]
The power of believing in yourself and fighting to achieve your goals [39:33]
CAREER
Sree is a customer-obsessed and results-driven cloud executive with two decades' experience leading global technology organizations focused on enterprise adoption of emerging technology. Sree recently embarked on a new adventure at Amazon Web Services as Director of Solutions Architecture.
Previously Sree was an IBM Executive Director across roles including Solution Architecture, Professional Services, and Customer Success. Sree is a strong believer in the force multiplier effect and is an advocate, coach, and mentor for women in technology. She’s passionate about organizational culture, transformation and skills growth,
It is obvious when you meet her that her values are firmly grounded in integrity, ethics, and respect for the individual. These values are the foundation for being a champion for diversity and inclusion - not only in the corporate venue but in her local community. She is currently serving on the Board WomenNC involved in developing an advocacy strategy.
EDUCATION
Carnegie Mellon University, M.S.
Slippery Rock, University of Pennsylvania, B.S. Computer Science
Sree speaks four languages.
RESOURCES
LinkedIn Sree
LinkedIn WomenNC
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