Analytical skills

All the problem-solving skills in the world are useless if managers can’t rouse the troops. Risk managers need good people management and leadership skills to inspire and incentivize staff members. In some cases, risk management might require upsetting the apple cart, and managers need the respect of their team through the inevitable challenges.

After assembling a list of potential business risks, risk managers need to be able to do a risk assessment and then rank the likelihood and severity of each risk. They should create and regularly update a list that notes the most likely to least likely risks, as well as the most severe to least severe ones. This…

Risk managers also need to be able to solve problems. While some risks might require passing the issue on to someone above a risk manager’s pay grade, others often will be left to the risk manager to solve. As a result, they need to like getting their hands dirty from a problem-solving standpoint.

Risk management requires constant education and keeping up with relevant news, trends and issues. Not so long ago, no one had heard of ransomware. Now, it’s one of the greatest cybersecurity threats that companies face. News sites and industry journals should be regular reading material for risk managers.

Risk management is a complex and comprehensive process. It’s definitely not a soft skill — or, at least, not just one. There are many types of risk, including compliance, security, operational, financial and reputational risks. Risk managers require a combination of both hard and soft skills to successfully address all the various risks. For example, compliance is a…

Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing and managing potential issues that could have a negative impact on an organization’s business operations and financial performance. It involves being mindful of potential risks and what could go wrong — both the expected and the unexpected. Risk managers must be aware of all forms of risk…