Leadership on Ethics matters
Digital, regulation, trust – all rely on leadership on ethics. It’s not that the sector lacks ethics – far from it. It’s more about delivering clear, practical results that reinforce the right attitudes and perceptions. And for that, insurers needs managers and directors with the knowledge and skills to put leadership on ethics into practice. That's what you’ll find here.
Choose from one of these 'leadership on ethics' themes. If you just want to browse, click here, or use the search box below.
Ethical Risks and Objectives
Your leadership on ethics will count for little if it doesn't have focus and direction. That's why knowing about your firm's ethical risks is important.
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Client Project
A long established committee within a large insurer wanted to be sure that the ethics related priorities it was planning for the business were appropriate and set the right expectations. I provided the committee with a mix of guidance and challenge, helping them to test their ideas and see them from a different perspective. This influenced how those plans were communicated and rolled out across different business units
The Right Knowledge and Skills
Setting a personal example is not enough and on its own rarely works. Ethics requires particular leadership skills, applied with focus and diligence. Download the roadmap and take a look at the course.
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Why every insurance firm needs an ethical vision, and 12 steps to build one (article)
Ethical leadership – there’s more to it than just ‘setting a personal example’ (article)
Setting a Personal Example – why it often fails, and how to fix it (article)
How to teach leadership on ethics in a way that actually works (article)
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Codes and Values
Codes of ethics and the values statements that often accompany them are an important component of your leadership on ethics. That's because they should reflect the ethical vision you have for your firm. My review found that many codes were adrift, lost in time or just difficult to find.
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An important lesson for insurers to learn about their codes of ethics (article)
How can insurers get people to open and read their codes of ethics? (article)
Insurer codes of ethics are not addressing the big trust issue for consumers (article)
Are your firm’s values less ethical than you think? (article)
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Client Project
This small insurer wanted to make sure that an important supplier selection was thoroughly researched and weighed up. My role was to cast an independent eye over the ethics of what each supplier was proposing. Some anomalies, one significant, were identified and by factoring these in, the board was able to make a more confident decision
Accountability
With personal executive accountability on the rise, getting your leadership on ethics right becomes central to what you want to achieve for your firm, and for yourself. Being a 'good person' is fine, but it's not enough. Something more concrete is required and this is where you'll find it.
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Executive accountability is raising concerns – here’s the best response (article)
The Great Accountability Challenge facing Insurance Leaders (article)
Accountability in a digital age is a challenge, yet it's also more important as well. Understanding the language of ethics, knowing what you want to achieve for your firm and the role trust plays in all this - that is what leadership on ethics is all about.
Some Insight on Leadership and Ethics
Ethical leadership and leadership on ethics are two sides of the one coin. Which means of course that they’re related but different. Ethical leadership is about the manner in which you lead. Leadership on ethics is about how you lead on a particular theme – in this case, ethics. Clearly, if you get the first wrong, the second will fail. Yet getting the first right doesn’t mean the second automatically follows. Being a good person is not enough. Leadership on ethics needs to be planned, organised and delivered. At the same time, it feels different to say leadership on claims operations or leadership that builds teamwork. And there are reasons for it feeling different, which are explored in some of the resource available here.
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I help claims people to understand more about ethical issues so that they can make better decisions...
I work with firms to identify and address the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership being given on ethics. The renewed focus that emerges provides more results and an evidence trail for the firm’s ethical culture
Middle and senior people benefit a lot from learning resource on leadership on ethics. My courses fill gaps, provide simple skills and boost confidence to go beyond just setting a personal example.
With an ethical radar for the insurance sector that is both broad and detailed, I often help leadership teams identify where to focus their ethics programme and what expectations to work to. The aim is always to achieve results.
Senior people can often be too close to their operations to recognise where their exposures to personal accountability are highest. I often play a critical friend role within firms to open up their thinking.
If you'd like an informal chat about how I might help your firm, get in touch via the contact form below
Ideas
Working with the market, as well as outside of it, means that I'm able to watch developments unfold with more of a detached yet informed perspective. With over 18 years experience of how the market works, these further articles exploring the idea of leadership on ethics, and what makes it work or not work. They're full of insight and a bit of challenge as well.
Client Project
A committed senior manager had identified ethical issues that needed to be addressed, but was facing a sceptical executive team. I was brought in to map out some ethical scenarios and write a business case that made sure the business moved in the right direction. This relied on my reputation for recognising trends and communicating their consequences. The result was progress that then reinforced a wider commitment.
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