Inspiring a culture of loyalty and trust
Kathleen Faries, the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from WiRe Bermuda this year, has been in this industry for more than 35 years. She sympathises with leaders grappling with today’s fast-changing landscape, and believes greater diversity is important.
Leaders taking the most senior roles in the risk transfer industry have a tougher challenge now because change is happening so much faster—and technology has a much more central role in decision-making and how re/insurers set themselves apart. This makes it more important than ever to drive for greater diversity, which can enable a greater range of ideas, leading to innovation.
That is the long-held view of Kathleen Faries, chief executive officer of Artex Capital Solutions, as she reflects on her career in the risk transfer industry and after recently receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Reinsurance (WiRe) Bermuda earlier this year.
Faries started her career in Chicago in retail broking. She came to Bermuda in 1996 to work for Marsh and was instrumental in the development of group captives covering the trucking industry in the US. After a stint in wholesale broking, she was recruited by Tokio Millennium Re where she drove the build-out and execution of its third party capital strategy. She joined Artex in 2021.
Describing her career, Faries says it has been reflective of her natural curiosity. “I didn’t necessarily plan to enter into the insurance space, but I’ve always been very curious and I love to learn,” she says. She adds that starting out in roles that involved dealing with trucking industry executives and brokers and other male-dominated areas prepared her for a career in the insurance industry which at that time certainly lacked diversity.
“I was always one of very few women but even more so in the 1990s, especially broking to the trucking industry. But being in that position definitely builds your resilience and you learn to have a good sense of humour,” she recalls.
“I always used my sense of humour and focused on what I was trying to accomplish. It definitely helped me with the challenge of moving into leadership as a woman: it gave me the background and backbone.”
She agrees that diversity and inclusion are hot topics today, with most companies embracing them. But, she says, they are important for pure business reasons, as well as ethical or societal ones. She believes that true diversity of thought and experience can help companies navigate the complex challenges of today’s risk landscape.
“I do feel for leaders now. Technology is so fast-paced, so the environment you’re trying to deliver in is constantly changing. But that is where hiring great talent, having the right people around you who can help you make good decisions, is essential.
“We talk about gender diversity, and that is a work in progress. We are seeing more women entrepreneurs but it’s too slow in some industries. We need to do better and we need also to consider wider diversity, whether that is around race, background or thought,” she says.
Trust and support
Faries acknowledges the challenges of creating truly diverse workplaces, describing it as a chicken and egg scenario. “We can’t change the culture enough until we have talent interested in this industry, and we can’t get the talent without shifts in the culture,” she says, but she highlights the importance of educational programmes such as We Speak, a Bermuda initiative designed to develop presentation skill and confidence among young women, that she co-leads.
“Seeking greater diversity is just one of the building blocks leaders must focus on if they are to create a culture capable of managing and embracing change,” Faries says. Her own experiences suggest that culture and the way people feel within an organisation are pivotal to its long-term success.
“In my experience, great leaders build a great environment with the foundations of trust and support,” she says. “Challenges are constantly emerging, but if you can achieve and inspire a culture and a team that has trust and supports each other, you can get through all that.
“The essential element of a high-performing team is not so much the bricks, but the mortar between the bricks. What happens between people is important. That is the linchpin of leadership: inspiring a culture of loyalty and trust.
“If you can do that, you will see people truly start to collaborate and innovate.”
“The essential element of a high-performing team is not so much the bricks, but the mortar between the bricks.” Kathleen Faries, Artex Capital Solutions
Faries says creating such an environment has become tougher since COVID-19 and a shift to more remote and virtual working. This has created a number of novel challenges for leaders, who must navigate these new ways of working while also taking into account generational differences in expectations.
When you consider this new hybrid world, the virtual setting is where the real challenge comes in. Young people don’t find it so difficult—they’re used to communicating online. But some people are feeling disconnected.
“There are many positives to working remotely, but the cost to in-person collaboration may not be appreciated by everyone.
“Leaders have to be so much more intentional around making time to connect with staff or chatting about what’s happening in that person’s life,” she explains.
“This is why a lot of companies are trying to get people back to the office. When you’re trying to solve a problem, or to come up with a new solution, you need to collaborate.
“High-performing teams have that familiarity and understand each other, and that builds up over time, and it’s much easier to do in person. We live in a very high-paced, fast-changing world, so this part is so much more important now.”
Faries says that, as a leader, her intention is to build an environment that encourages and inspires.
“I want people to feel safe, feel heard, to know their ideas and opinions matter. People are self-motivated to be high-performing, they want to grow, but you need that safe place to disagree and have an opinion. For me, leadership is about building that culture and environment.”
This is why recruiting great talent is vital, she says, as is training and educating that new generation—in every sense.
“I get annoyed when people discuss ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ skills. What are traditionally called soft skills—emotional intelligence, empathy, caring about people—to me, that’s the hard bit.
“Leading from the centre, with a concept of ‘I’m here to serve’, it can be very tough. In order to do that, you have to genuinely care about people, but when things are challenging, you have to have tough conversations with them.
“It can be personally challenging. But as a leader, you have to put that aside and focus on getting people through any transition and challenge,” she concludes.
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