Key skills for 2022: A holistic approach to risk management

From supply chain issues, to staffing shortages; from illness to enforcing new health and safety measures in the workplace, the pandemic created a huge number of unexpected challenges for leaders of organisations. We asked Dr Emma Soane, Assistant Professor of Management, for her thoughts on the role of leaders in assessing, managing, and mitigating against risk in their organisations for the coming year and what skills they’ll need to do this.

“Risk divisions in organisations are often seen as separate to other organisational functions, whereas the issue of risk runs throughout organisations and their activities. The pandemic is an example of a systemic risk as it connects many areas of organisations. Without risk there are no (or few) returns, so we need to consider a holistic approach to risk assessment, risk communication and the organisation of risk. Leaders also benefit from understanding how people engage with risk.” Says Emma.

What skills will be most useful for leaders in terms of managing risk in 2022?

One useful skill is developing inclusive workplaces which reflect the societies they operate within, where ideas and feedback are sought and valued. Emma explains “bringing people in and including them in the organisation of risk is important because each individual is a potential source of ideas; people are problem solvers and so they can all contribute to identifying risks and preventing them from materialising. Having organisational values which demonstrate that different voices matter is key, and the leader needs to be truly open to hearing other people’s ideas and creating an environment where they feel empowered to speak up.” Emma says that leaders need to add a risk lens to their organisations as well as acknowledge that risk can mean opportunity.

And how can leaders gain these skills?

Emma says it’s important for leaders to work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders to discuss and evaluate risks, encourage problem-solving and looking at ideas from different perspectives and even if you have heard some ideas before, continue to encourage people to speak up because doing so increases commitment and improves decision making throughout organisations.

What do leaders need to look out for [in their organisation]?

Emma concludes “Organising risk is challenging. The pressures of working through the pandemic have taken their toll on many people, so it’s important to remember that burnout is often a consequence of situations, not of people. People have been, or are, exhausted, fearful, over-worked or under-employed. Therefore, reducing the likelihood of burnout depends on changes within organisations rather than just offering people support when they are in burnout. Burnout inhibits outcomes that leaders seek to achieve, from the obvious effects on people, their commitment and performance to other areas such as idea generation and decision making.”

Dr Emma Soane teaches on our executive education programmes Leading Risk in Organisations and Achieving Leaderships Excellence.