8 Traits of Your CRO

A Chief Risk Officer is that guy that protects your organization from danger.

We’ve all experienced being placed in a team whether it was during our past school days or in more recent years, in a professional setting. Whenever there is a team, there is a leader.  It is pretty common knowledge that a leader can actually make or break a team. If you are ever placed in a leadership position, always remember that there are key traits that are intrinsic in being a leader.

One of the traits of a leader is Self-Confidence. No one wants to follow a person that does not have faith or assurance of themselves and the choices they may have to face. Timidity is not a trait that a team will want in someone that has to lead them on what to do. On the flip side, having too much confidence may irk team members. Even if you’re well meaning, the surplus in confidence will work against you. It is important to strike a balance between being confident and having grace to effectively establish the leader’s authority without ruffling any feathers. Calmness and presence of mind that come with self-confidence helps show that a person is worthy of filling the leadership post.

Empathy is a trait that is important in a leader. Empathy refers to the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Humans have a basic need to have their point of view be understood by others. When tackling an issue that arises, a leader is able to place his or herself in the other party’s shoes. It is by far the easiest way to smoothen out any misunderstandings and promote goodwill between team members.

Decisiveness is another trait of a leader.  It always come hand-in-hand with confidence. When you are sure of yourself and what needs to be done, decisive decisions follow. Having a leader that second-guesses everything lowers the morale of the team.

Adaptability and Flexibility are traits that a leader also needs to possess. Circumstances may shift or unforeseen events may occur, so it is crucial that a leader be able to take these in stride and be able to adapt to events as they occur. Conversely, one of the good things about being in a team is that you get to hear other people’s varying input and opinions. As a leader, it is important to be flexible regarding suggestions that may, in fact, be a better fit to the activity on hand.

Every project has an end-goal. Being Goal-Oriented is a trait that a leader needs to have in order to direct the team somewhere. A leader needs to have a clear vision of what the aimed result needs to be. That way, the team will not be an episode of the blind leading the blind. A leader that is goal-oriented can effectively set milestones for the teams to aim for and standards to adhere to.

One trait of a leader that is often overlooked is the trait of Patience. You can have the best team but they aren’t immune to human fallibility. They will have errors and there may be parts where they have trouble understanding why certain things need to be done in a certain way. A leader needs to be patient in addressing the needs of his or her team. The last thing any member wants is to be chewed out for asking a question.

In that same vein, Being a Good Communicator is a trait that is crucial in a leader. In order to minimize misunderstandings and delays in action, a leader needs to be able to effectively relay what needs to be done in a succinct and concise manner. A good communicator takes into consideration the comprehension level of his audience and tweaks his delivery to suit them. In other words, a good communicator is able to adjust his technique to what suits his or her team the best. A good communicator is also able to smoothen out any conflicts that arise between team members.

All in all, being a leader is tough. Leaders have to shoulder the responsibility of seeing a project through and carrying their members beyond the expected result. The traits of self-confidence, empathy, decisiveness, adaptability, flexibility, goal-oriented, patience, and good communication all serve as stepping stones for a leader to accomplish their tasks and further hone their skills for the future.