Advancement “takes drive, opportunity and planning” – careers advisor

Ambitious risk managers should set themselves goals looking around three to five years ahead, a leading careers advisor told the fastTrack Forum. Amelia Stubbs, a senior partner at Korn ferry, described how the skills required evolved as people moved into more senior positions.

As they move into positions of greater responsibility, technical skills become less important as these are delegated to more junior colleagues. By the time people become function leaders – approximating to head of risk -  attributes such as vision and purpose, political savvy and the ability to handle ambiguity come to the fore. Beyond that, for exceptional executives technical skills were not even listed among the twelve top competencies required.

She advised the audience to decide in advance what kind of career they wanted, which might not necessarily mean aspiring to reach the most senior positions. Roles like Chief Risk Officer are highly demanding and would not be for everyone. Whatever the aspiration, career “development takes drive, opportunity and planning,” she said.

And she returned to the theme of networking introduced in the keynote speech by Inga Beale.  “The network could not be more important, both internally and externally,” she said. 

Amelia Stubbs