“Always try be the least intelligent person in the room and ask questions without shame.”
On the surface this piece of advice might seem to contradict popular opinion on how to build a successful career. But this approach is exactly what Jeewana Dasanayake credits with helping him get where he is today.
Jeewana’s career journey began as a summer intern at Koch Fertilizer Canada in 2013. During his four-month internship, he had one primary goal: gain as much knowledge as possible while working as part of a team to overcome challenges. This objective resulted in Jeewana asking a lot of questions.
What he didn’t realize at the time was that four months wasn’t long enough to make a dent in his goal. Four months doubled to eight, and when the well of learning opportunities and challenges never dried up, he found himself with a job offer to join the Koch Fertilizer Canada team permanently as a project engineer.
After a few years in this role, Jeewana began a progression of positions — plant engineer, reliability engineer, fixed equipment manager — that led to his current role as operations leader. As his career has evolved and he’s stepped into a leadership role, the emphasis has shifted from mostly hands-on work to include much more team growth and development. However, his humble — but tenacious — drive to learn still remains.
“As operations leader, my main responsibility is to take care of the people who take care of the equipment,” Jeewana said. “I’m learning to stop behaving as a technical expert and be more of a coach to provide support. It’s been challenging, but I try to stay on the sidelines and give direction. Our team is extremely talented and passionate, so a little direction is usually all that’s needed.”
Regardless of the role he finds himself in, as long as he’s at Koch Fertilizer Canada, Jeewana knows he can continue to seek and share knowledge that results in meaningful contributions.
“I’ve averaged about two years in each of my roles, and the variety has given me good perspective on the different aspects of the business,” Jeewana said. “Through all the transitions, one thing has been consistent. Knowledge is openly shared regardless of your role or level of experience. It’s available to anyone who asks — and I ask a lot.”
More than a decade in, he still feels empowered to be a problem solver and a team player every day. And since there will always be new things to learn and new problems to solve, there will always be a place at Koch Fertilizer Canada for people like Jeewana Dasanayake to thrive.