Kia ora koutou katoa – Hi everybody
Firstly – a huge apology. I’ve been meaning to get in touch for weeks now. What surreal times we find ourselves in…! We’re all having to find new ways of facing into our days, establishing new routines, and drawing on reserves of resilience. The current situation will be challenging each of us in very different ways, depending on our personal circumstances.
One solace that we can all take from the myriad of challenges we are each facing right now, is that we are most certainly not alone. More than ever, it’s important that we stay connected (more of a challenge for the introverts among us), reach out if we need help or support, and be aware of others who may need our support. And that we practice kindness and compassion – not just to others, but to ourselves as well – recognising that we’re in unprecedented times, and the changes to our daily lives and lack of certainty about what’s ahead, will naturally give rise to anxiety and a feeling of unsettledness.
As risk professionals, our skillsets and ability to add value in enabling our organisations and those around us to be more resilient and to adapt and pivot safely in these evolving times, has possibly never been more important or in demand.
On behalf of us all here at RIMS NZ&PI, we hope that you and your families are well and safe (and managing to stay relatively sane…!) within your respective lockdown bubbles. We wanted to give you a quick update in relation to what you can expect from RIMS NZ&PI over the coming months.
Events and education:
As you’d expect, our Risk Roundtables and D&I sessions for the foreseeable future, as well as our Annual Summit, have been put on hold. We’re currently investigating alternative ways of delivering education, online content and member virtual networking opportunities. We hope some of you managed to tune into the “How to Stay Ahead of Emerging Risks” webinar on 9 April.
Join our LinkedIn group at https://www.linkedin.com/company/14558250/ and keep an eye on our website: https://rims.nz for the latest Knowledge Base updates and for information in relation to upcoming webinars etc. For those of you who are members, don’t forget to leverage the extensive risk-related content on the RIMS USA site, which has some fabulous learning resources: https://www.rims.org.
RIMS NZ&PI Diversity in Risk Mentoring Programme:
It feels very timely to refresh our mentoring programme…!
To those of you who are currently part of the programme and would like a new or additional mentor, please speak to your existing mentor and get in touch by emailing president@rimsnz.localdev.
If you’re not currently part of the programme and would like to join, either as a mentor or a mentee (or both), get in touch by emailing the above email address and we’ll get the relevant forms to you to complete, and then work our matching magic.
Some additional food for thought:
- What are you doing to keep yourself resilient? We all have individual coping mechanisms and if you’re anything like me, in these unprecedented times I’m having to play around with this a little and adapt day by day – establishing new routines to ensure I stay motivated, recognising when I’m feeling stressed or anxious, trying to be a little kinder to myself if some of the more historical routines or self-expectations fall by the wayside or are harder to maintain. Physical and mental wellness is particularly challenging right now – be aware of how you’re feeling, recognise what works for you (and what doesn’t), and be super aware of the importance of nourishing food, regular movement, and sleep.
- For those leaders among us, or managers of people – how are you maintaining a sense of inclusion and connectedness amongst your team? Not an easy challenge, but one that must remain forefront of mind, recognising that everyone will be dealing with the current lockdown in different ways, and be facing into very different personal circumstances. The natural introverts among us possibly aren’t finding the social isolation of lockdown particularly challenging – although those Zoom calls will be…! While on the flipside, those on the more extroverted end of the scale are probably feeling drained of energy and finding it a lot harder to maintain the usual motivation. Recognising these differences, and understanding what we as leaders can be doing to continue to bring out the best in our people and enable them to thrive in these difficult times, must remain a priority.
Last, but not least, a thank you:
A huge thank you to all of our RIMS NZ&PI members and community, and to our sponsors, ACC, AIG, Allianz, KPMG, Marsh, and Willis Towers Watson, for your continued support and sponsorship. We couldn’t do it without you. And for the essential workers among us, of which there are many, I am sure I speak on behalf of everyone when I say thank you for everything that you are doing and the value that you bring.
Kia tūpato, ka tū tāu Mauri hei manaaki hei tiaki te Whānau katoa
Stay safe, keep well, and take extra good care of yourself and your loved ones
Teressa and the team at RIMS NZ&PI
(Kate, Kerry, Greg, Darren and Sioeli)
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