Airmic seeks to deliver tomorrow’s risk leaders

Airmic has launched its 2018/19 Risk Leadership Programme that aims to turn today’s senior risk professionals into tomorrow’s risk leaders. This follows the successful launch of the first Risk Leadership Programme this September. The programme is aimed at risk managers on the cusp of leadership roles, who want to take the next step in their career. It is entirely focused on developing business, networking and other skills needed for risk leadership roles, rather than technical education. It is unique to Airmic and delivered through Cass Business School. Those completing the course will receive a Cass Executive Management Programme Diploma. “The programme is aimed at people one step below leadership level. It is not about being a risk manager, it is about being a risk leader. We will not be teaching people about subjects like risk management standards, The Insurance Act and the like, because we are assuming students will be technically very competent,” explained Julia Graham, Airmic’ deputy CEO and technical director. The Airmic Risk Leadership Programme is designed to help risk management professionals develop leadership skills as their responsibilities increase and their careers develop. Airmic’s objective is to provide its “high flying” members with the ability to take on risk leadership roles through a 12-month programme of leadership development. The annual programme will start every September with graduation taking place in December the following year. The 2018 intake is open for registration. Airmic believes it is a “golden age” for the risk profession and the course is needed to allow risk managers to develop beyond technical capabilities so they can take the opportunity to move into strategic, leadership roles and operate at the highest levels. “For ambitious risk professionals, returning to a backseat role is not an option,” said the association. “To perform well in higher-profile roles, risk managers require skills which have not formed part of their functional training and development – specifically leadership capabilities, which – in exactly the same way as technical expertise – have to be learnt and perfected through practical application. It is important for risk professionals to acquire these skills quickly, to meet the higher level of expectation associated with their enhanced role. Risk managers are increasingly interacting and walking the same corridors as directors, and being called on to provide high-quality advice to senior management. Rather than the historic requirement to offer subject matter expertise when asked, risk managers are now expected to be ‘front and centre’, strategically aware, and playing a leading role on issues of value protection and creation,” it said. According to Airmic’s CEO, John Ludlow, risk and insurance managers are a technical race that love detail, but to exert influence across their organisations, supply chains, markets and customers, they need to be leaders and learn how business gets done. “At an enterprise level you have three lines of defence and the risk manager’s role is really leadership and coordination, rather than managing a particular risk. To do that you need a whole range of competencies beyond the technical,” he said. Therefore, Airmic’s leadership programme is specifically designed to develop leadership skills within the sphere of risk management and insurance buying. “In order for the profession to be successful, it is vital that we build leadership and this course is going to help do that. It is also vital for individuals’ careers too. It is about preparing our leaders for tomorrow,” said Mr Ludlow. Delegates will learn how to deliver leadership in the context of their role, continued Mr Ludlow. “That is very important because we want risk and insurance managers to de-silo between themselves and then go out together and talk to the chief financial officer, chief marketing officer, chief information officer and walk around the business to provide leadership,” he added. Airmic said the leadership programme offers students the chance to improve their performance and leadership profile, promote the relevance of risk management within their organisation and build the profile of the wider risk management profession. It is designed to help participants develop collaboration, networking and strategic decision-making skills. They will be supported by mentors, lecturers, a 360-degree appraisal and a network of peers. The course also provides benefits for employers as delegates improve strategic awareness and enhance their risk management performance. The programme will be taught through full-day masterclasses taught by Cass Business School and Airmic research thought leaders. There are Airmic-led sessions at the start, mid-point and end of the programme. In addition, there will be a mentoring programme, dissertation and graduation ceremony at Airmic’s annual dinner. For the 2018/2019 intake, the following masterclasses will take place: Masterclass one: Enhancing Collaboration and Leveraging Networking for Leaders Masterclass two: Strategic Decision-Making for Leaders Masterclass three: Digital Transformation for Leaders Masterclass four: The Road from Ruin to Revolution and Beyond, based on Airmic reports and delivered by business school professors and experts involved in the relevant research. The individual 360-degree feedback will be based on a one-on-one introductory phonecall with each delegate, followed by a confidential online questionnaire completed separately by the delegate, their line managers and direct peer reports. The students will then receive a tailored, personal report on the feedback and decide on an action plan to address some of the issues raised. Review meetings will then be held. Mr Ludlow believes this process will deliver huge benefits. “The 360-degree feedback, done with the right attitude, is a really good experience. Getting feedback is tough but gives you an amazing amount of knowledge about yourself. It is about self-awareness and confronting the facts about your relationships with people. If you are an introvert, you have to go the extra mile to get your voice heard. If you are extrovert, sometimes you need to listen more. When you work in a team, it is about getting the most out of the other team members and their qualities. It is about understanding differences and respecting differences, so you can become a more effective team leader yourself,” he said. On the mentoring and coaching side, there will be formal quarterly sessions with ongoing support throughout the programme. Each mentor is handpicked to meet the needs of each student. The dissertations will be on topics that stretch students into leadership roles and will be published as part of Airmic’s technical agenda. The best dissertation will receive an award. All delegates will be invited to be a member of the Airmic Leadership Programme Alumni, which will develop over time. Graduating delegates will be invited to attend an opening dinner with new delegates on the next year’s programme. An annual alumni event will be arranged by Airmic, along with an online library of material relevant to the programme. The programme costs £3,950 and is run by Airmic as a non-profit initiative. It is restricted to 12 delegates each year. Those wishing to apply can submit entries can find out more details at http://airmic.com/leadership. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis with a closing date of March next year for the 2018/2019 intake. Airmic’s Risk Leadership Programme forms part of the association’s professional member journey. It sets out what Airmic can do for members at each stage of their career. “We have mapped out what the journey might look like both for insurance and risk managers,” explained Ms Graham. At the beginner level, Airmic is working more closely with universities to try and shape the risk and insurance management curriculum. Those at entry level and new to the profession can access Airmic’s FastTrack programme of 20 lectures and two conferences during a 24-month period. At the intermediate levels, which are aimed at mid and senior management, Airmic offers continual professional develop opportunities through its academies and special interest groups. The leadership programme then sits above that to help risk managers take the final step towards strategic, leadership roles. View from this year’s intake We spoke to two delegates taking the 2017/2018 Airmic Risk Leadership Programme to see why they decided to take the course, what they hope to get out of it and why it is important for the wider risk profession. Karla cruickshanks, risk and business continuity manager at law firm DLA Piper, said Airmic’s Leadership Programme is an important step to help risk and insurance managers move into much talked about leadership and strategic roles. She believes the course will help develop the skills that she and others need to facilitate that process. “It is all about how you start influencing people and decisions, and selling risk across the business to the right people. You need to convey risk management concepts in language that people understand. You need to be able to put the right people in touch with one another to enable action to happen across the business. This is all crucial if you are focused on ERM, but is also important for business continuity and crisis management. I think the course will help develop these critical skills,” said Ms Cruickshanks. She thinks the skills needed to succeed in risk leadership roles – such as the ability to communicate and influence – are not usually picked up from academic courses. “That is one of the reasons I wanted to do this course. I am very interested in people’s behaviours and, in particular, responses to crisis and risk. I’m looking forward to enhancing these kinds of skills as the course progresses,” said Ms Cruickshanks. The chance to work with a close-knit group of peers, masterclasses and 360-degree appraisal on current leadership abilities will be crucial parts of the course, she continued. “The close-knit group of peers is very attractive because we will bounce off each other. In addition to the masterclasses, it will be valuable to hear what other people are experiencing in different types of businesses. The 360-degree feedback will also be very useful in the context of leadership. Focusing on your leaderships skills can be challenging – because it is a reflective and personal issue. So not only are you developing professionally, you are developing personally. You will get a level of personal and professional development you might not get on a more academic course,” she told CRE. Jonathan Blackhurst, director, head of risk management at Capita, said Airmic’s Risk Leadership Programme provides an opportunity for risk professionals with a certain level of experience to confidently take the next step towards more strategic roles. He believes the door is open for risk managers to do this, but they need help to walk through. “For quite some time our profession has talked about what a risk manager needs to move to that next level. We keep saying to people, ‘we are risk managers, our knowledge is valuable at the top table’, but we have not always known how to get to this level. Very senior people in the world of risk and insurance, those that have a lot of experience, are in that space. But the next wave coming through are facing new challenges and competition to get that voice on risk heard at that top level. I think it is really refreshing therefore that Airmic is delivering what is needed to become skilled for that role, rather than our industry just hoping that we get there,” said Mr Blackhurst. He added: “We are not usually restricted from being at that level because the door isn’t open, it just depends on whether we are good enough. If we are at the required level we are welcomed in; if we are not, then we have to wait outside of that door until we are.” The is precisely why the leadership programme is needed, continued Mr Blackhurst. “People need to rely on us being more than experts in what we do and we need other skills to be part of decision making at the higher level. We want the longevity of our industry and profession to be at that level – we don’t want to just be a supporting function. The leadership programme is one tool to help achieve this,” he added. Mr Blackhurst stressed that the course is not technically focused, but rather a programme through which risk professionals with technical expertise can expand their skillset. Mr Blackhurst noted that the programme is a real example of the risk profession doing something to help its practitioners take the next step that most organisations are looking for. The risk manager believes the 360-degree appraisal that feeds into the mentoring programme will be of particular use. “The mentors are going to be some of the best people in the industry and City of London, so you know they are going to be really impressive and able to help. I also think the course is a nice balance between theory and practice, which is ideal for what I hope it can help me achieve,” he concluded.

Airmic seeks to deliver tomorrow’s risk leaders

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Markel names head of terrorism in London

Insurers defend Nord Stream’s €400m lawsuit as act of war

Generali splits insurance and asset management in restructure

AEGIS London recruits cyber underwriting team from AIG

German SMEs record rise in cyberattacks, reveals HDI poll

Markel names head of terrorism in London

Insurers defend Nord Stream’s €400m lawsuit as act of war

Generali splits insurance and asset management in restructure

AEGIS London recruits cyber underwriting team from AIG

German SMEs record rise in cyberattacks, reveals HDI poll

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Markel names head of terrorism in London

Insurers defend Nord Stream’s €400m lawsuit as act of war

Generali splits insurance and asset management in restructure

AEGIS London recruits cyber underwriting team from AIG

German SMEs record rise in cyberattacks, reveals HDI poll

Related Articles