There can be a tendency for conversations around the interpersonal attributes required to succeed in a modern working environment to dismiss these as ‘soft skills’ aimed at addressing theoretical concerns. It’s a misconception which brings significant implications for business leaders. For, whether the skills in question centre around time management, critical thinking, teamwork or problem-solving, they are crucial components to building and maintaining a successful business.
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The link between problem-solving and success is one especially familiar to Julia McGillis (pictured), MD of Marsh McLennan UK and Canada, who will be joining a panel discussion on proactive problem-solving at the upcoming 2022 IB Women in Insurance Conference. Being an effective problem-solver is a defining character trait of successful business leaders, she said, particularly in the current risk environment.
“[That’s] because the problems we’re facing today are getting much more amorphous and much bigger, and they’re much harder to solve than they ever were in the past,” she said. “Part of the reason I was drawn to this panel is that we, as Marsh McLennan, are co-authors of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Risk Report.’ And if you look at the key risks into the future, they are significant – and it’s across the board. They are environmental and economic and geopolitical and technological and social.
“It’s big problems and they're not going to be easy to solve. With an insurance lens, it’s not a case of ‘oh, we address this claim and then we’re done’. The ability to unpack the underlying causes to address the root problems will continue to be more and more critical. And that requires a problem-solving skill set that is not necessarily one which we have historically been taught.”
The risk profile of businesses and the wider world has changed, and so it stands to reason that the skills and aptitudes required to manage and navigate the risk environment have also evolved. Taking climate and extreme weather events, or DEI, or cyber risk as examples, she said, it’s clear that if people and risk management professionals don’t nurture new ways of thinking then these problems won’t get addressed – and they haven’t been solved to date.
Examining the approach now required, McGillis emphasised that leaders who are good problem-solvers are often independent thinkers and they know how to think outside of the box, bringing multiple solutions and capabilities to the table and challenging the status quo. This is easier said than done, however, she said, particularly considering the structured training – oftentimes within a certain business or risk area -- people undergo throughout their careers around how to approach and address risk.
“This is about bringing all of risk, strategy and people solutions to the table,” she said. “You can’t just be incredibly analytical. You have to be creative and innovative, as well as truly flexible and adaptable. And a great communicator. You have to take initiative and you have to be resilient because sometimes people are going to say you're wrong.”
“Ultimately, it’s about looking holistically at how to solve the problem – and bringing a lot of different perspectives to the table to identify the alternatives and decide on the best solution. The problems we’re going to be addressing into the future are different and our clients need us to take the lead.”
Operational risks are now becoming strategic risks, and known risks are becoming unknown risks, she said. Meanwhile, people risks are becoming financial risks. And that’s where her interest lies – getting to the heart of where risk really lies and addressing it at that level so the solution found actually carries forward into the future. McGillis noted that this is why her role at Marsh McLennan, bringing all four businesses to the table to solve clients’ most challenging problems is so rewarding.
“It’s a truly exciting time to be in this industry. We are not just addressing problems but bringing different perspectives to the table, and leading in the development of innovative products and solutions,” she said. “And it can feel hard when you’re dealing with all these problems that we’ve never seen before.
“However, [in insurance] we should always be leading, we should always be pulling ahead so that we can continue to play the critical strategic role that we do play… You never want to be in a position where your clients have to push you - more than ever we need to be their trusted advisor - helping them solve the problems they’ve not had to tackle before.”
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