No matter your position or the organisational function you operate in, there are massive benefits in learning to lead alongside. I wrote about the concept in my blog last week with risk advisers as the primary audience. I’ll continue with their role to demonstrate the benefits for all advisers. 

Leading Alongside 

Like other functional areas, risk advisers are seeking to influence decision makers. For the risk function it is about helping the business with risk thinking. The risk management process is the best tool known to humankind for managing uncertainty. Being experts in the process, the role of risk professionals is to help business leaders to develop and adopt risk-based thinking.

When the risk team is leading alongside, it is all about decision support. The risk function is not seen as a threat or simply creators of red tape. They are valuable advisers to help navigate in an uncertain world.

What’s in it for the business? 

In this context, the role of business is risk taking. However, the business needs to take risk with “eyes wide open”. Meaning decision makers and their stakeholders are aware of the risk they are taking, and why, and are as comfortable or uncomfortable as they want to be.

When the risk function is leading alongside business leaders, those leaders and they alone are accountable for the decisions made. They can make decisions faster, knowing they have full responsibility AND knowing they have a valued risk partner by their side. 

In a nutshell, when you work up enough trust with business leaders to be able to lead alongside, your advice is sought not resisted. The result is better decisions and better outcomes.