“Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it’ll always get you the right ones”
Good morning dear readers, how was your risk barometer last week? We continue with more characteristics of the new breed of effective risk managers
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW BREED OF EFFECTIVE RISK MANAGERS.
Transferor of Knowledge
As a result of researching, scenario analysis and awareness level of risk managers, it is their duty to be teachers and transfer relevant knowledge of the subject to all staff in the bank. Knowledge shared is like “agape love”. It is protective, preventative, devotional, and all other benefits there are that makes a group have a sense of belongingness. In short, it shows that you care for all. Lack of knowledge sharing is like a teacher who does not teach well, but revels in the failure of his or her students. Every man’s success is in the hands of another. You would be able to achieve success by helping to solve problems of those who are in need. It is said that a problem shared is a problem halved. One can liken the role of the risk manager to an evangelist. You will be surprised that staff who do not work directly with the risk manager may gravitate to him or her for problem solving in an informal way. The risk manager who works closely with the identified “Risk Champions” in the various units and departments will find him or herself working as a team with a united purpose and there are little knowledge gaps.
Don’t be the “Know All”
Risk managers must know that no-one in the bank is the repository of knowledge and should welcome diverse opinions, even though they may come from detractors.
Being Independent – “Don’t be a yes man”
Even though risk managers should flow with the tide, there is definitely a limit. When the waves are too tall, rough and coming at you with full force, that is the time to back-track and say..”Stop” Being afraid to assert one’s self in critical times makes the risk manager impotent. If every person in the bank is preaching the same message, some type of checks and balances is needed to ensure the success of the bank. This is the job of a risk manager, to be the independent assessor of problem areas within the bank. Teamwork and collaboration is good but when the danger signals are showing, just be honest and explain your position in a professional way without being labelled “AGAINST”. To be honest with you, I have always loved staff who are able to be honest with me and express divergent opinions in a professional way. I am not too comfortable with yes men or women.
The Change Maker
What do I mean by this? How can a risk managers move away from their traditional role to become change makers? Yes, I am serious about that. Risk managers should be part of the movers and shakers in a bank that wants to move forward. What is the point in isolating the risk manager and bringing new projects for their input only at the last minute? Obviously, the “Against” label will be immediately tagged to him or her. A risk manager who is made part of the team will not be an “against” but rather be one of the team members who will lubricate the wheels of the process and keep all the juices flowing. I hope someone is listening. Try it and see. Can you imagine the Marketing department’s submission of a huge budget for some projects brings opposition to the Finance Department? A risk manager should investigate the basis of the two department’s position and build the bridge which can eventually become the game changer.
Adaptability
This characteristic has already been mentioned in my previous article, but I still need to stress it again to flow with the paradigm shift expected from bankers as well as the risk managers themselves. There is no “one-size fits all” solution to establishing a risk management process. The risk manager should be able to adapt processes, structures, decisions, and even his or her own behavior to the organizational culture. This means creating a balance between ensuring compliance and adapting to the realities on the ground in the industry. I believe in not just “cutting and pasting” processes adopted from other institutions in the industry, but in addition, customizing, massaging and aligning new processes to suit the business environment. Let us take a look at the dynamism of retail banking in Ghana. Some branches f the same bank are located in very remote countries while others are in the high class section of the capital…which is of late, the “Airport City” of Accra. This is out of the way of the average Ghanaian. Although risk management has its generic systems, managing risk in these two contrasting branches require some adaptability to make it work. The risk appetite for the various risks are usually the same but for some areas, additional zooming and study of the local conditions are required to make to make the application of some monitoring tools realistic.
A Good Communicator
Since risk is surrounded with uncertainty it can be confusing at times. A successful risk manager should exhibit good communication skills and use simple language for easy assimilation by all stakeholders. Processes need to be ‘idiot-proof”, broken down into simple terms and basic enough for new entrants to appreciate and reduce errors.
Integrity
Many bank staff get disappointed when persons who know the “ins and outs” of banking fall fowl of the banking rules and deliberately show unethical conducts. The first question asked is “Ahh, but shouldn’t he/she know better?” Banking is a human institution with its accompanying human errors. However a risk manager must practice what he or she preaches or writes about. Let us look at cases where auditors are transferred to manage certain operational areas. What happens? Subsequent audit findings show worse lapses, leaving others confused. When they were performing the audit, were they previously listing the audit findings just for scoring marks?
A recent survey conducted by Active Risk Inc. indicates that “… While the traditional view of risk managers is that they are overly pessimistic, analytical, logical, and focused solely on facts and data, a growing trend of risk managers possessing skills outside this stereotypical set suggest a new appreciation for the strength and value of risk management within an organization. No longer are risk managers buried within an organization and rarely made part of strategic-decision making”.
It goes further to identify the characteristics of a successful risk manager as one that embodies the principles that make risk management an essential element of organizational success.
I will pause for now. Next week, I will conclude with some mistakes that risk managers make which cause banks dearly. Let us explore some more unwritten facts and relate them to our circumstances. This is my small contribution to add to the thinking caps of bank executives. Have good week.
To be continued
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alberta Quarcoopome is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, and CEO of ALKAN Business Consult Ltd. She is the Author of Three books: “The 21st Century Bank Teller: A Strategic Partner” and “My Front Desk Experience: A Young Banker’s Story” and “The Modern Branch Manager’s Companion”. She uses her experience and practical case studies, training young bankers in operational risk management, sales, customer service, banking operations and fraud.
CONTACT
Website www.alkanbiz.com
Email:alberta@alkanbiz.com or [email protected]
Tel: +233-0244333051/+233-0244611343
