Ability to quantify risks

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.

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.

This goes hand in hand with the leadership skills. Risk managers must be able to build relationships — and not just with their immediate subordinates. They should also be able to do so with their superiors, as well as other corporate executives and department heads.

Risk managers need analytical skills to collect data, analyze risks and make sound decisions based on the results. They also need to be able to spot holes and weaknesses that others may have missed in IT systems and infrastructure, business processes, financial practices and other areas.

No sports team ever wins by only playing defense — and that applies here, too. If risk managers look at how things affect the business as a whole, they might come up with a better way for their organization to operate. Part of a risk manager’s job is to see the big picture — and…

To identify and estimate risks to a company, risk managers need to understand how the business works. They can’t say finance doesn’t matter because they’re in IT, or vice versa. Business understanding is a must — especially if the risk manager aspires to join the C-suite in the future.