CLM Webinar Provides Steps to Better Leadership in Subrogation

Webinar Wrap Up

Can subrogation pave the way for leadership development?

According to a recent CLM webinar presented by Wilber's Cortney Helfrich, Sally Noma of the Noma Law Firm, and Arch's Jason Wright, developing better leaders isn't just good for adjusters, it's good for industry, and subrogation provides an area of opportunity.

Leadership 360

Helfrich explained that leadership isn't about titles but comes from influence and perspective. Looking to John Maxwell's model, Helfrich looked at leadership paradigms.

Leading Yourself

At a basic level, self-leaders model best practices to lead themselves effectively and set a positive example in subrogation.

"It's simple to say you're going to have integrity," Helfrich explained. "But creating the habits is more difficult."

Self leaders embrace accountability and view integrity as a strategy in subgrogation so that recoveries withstand scrutiny within the industry and in court.

"Strong leaders pause to consider the ripple effect before they hit 'send,' or accept the settlement offer," Helfrich explained. "It's not just the dollars in, but how did we get there?"

Leading Across

The basic principle behind "leading across" is showing what it takes to be a team player. In subrogation, "leading across" often involves striving for clarity in communication and cutting out the jargon that pops up among adjusters, underwriters, and attorneys.

"Ever try to play a team sport by yourself? It doesn't work," Helfrich said. "Explaining terms gets everyone on the same page and gets everyone moving together."

Helfrich pointed out that adjusters often find themselves playing a bridge role.

"Cross-functional leadership isn't just nice to have, it's necessary," Helfrich said. "It's not about having control; it's about having the team rowing in the same direction."

Leading Up

Adjusters are in a unique strategic spot to influence decisions "up the ladder," and a trustworthy adjuster will communicate well with senior leadership and step up as an advisor.

"You can't just walk in the room with a hunch and a really big binder," Helfrich said. "You need to come in with a plan."

Subrogation is business-driven, according to Helfrich, and adjusters who lead up will demonstrate how subrogation affects the bottom line.

Nix the Legalese

Adjusters are in a position in subrogation where they can plumb out confusing language, according to Noma, especially those on the plaintiff's side of a case.

"We are the storytellers," Noma said. "We have to take a 60,000-foot view of a claim and present it to the jury."

On the other hand, defendants' attorneys' job is to poke holes in that story.

"It's on us to come up with a broader story we can take with us," Noma said.

What works best? Clarity and putting your best foot foward.

"My best communications are ones where my clients don't have to ask me what it means," Noma said. "Judges don't want to read legalese, either. They want to know the law, but they don't want legalese."

Noma also said that a little "puffery" is okay, if you're playing on your strengths.

"Build up the case as much as you can," she said. "Make them believe you have the best case ever."

But, remember, reputation means everything.

"Perception will come back to bite you," Noma said. "Is there a pompous attorney you don't like? Well, guess what? Judges don't like them either."

Building Sustainable Leadership Development

What should organizations be doing to make sure that developing leaders happens?

Wright pointed out three areas organizations should prioritize:

(1) Leadership potential identification. Recognizing key traits is essential for nurturing future leaders in subrogation. "What this looks like depends on what your organization looks like," Wright said, pointing out that large and small organizations will approach leadership development from different sets of needs.

(2) Legal aptitude criteria. Wright cautioned that technical skills and leadership skills don't always overlap. "Leadership is different from technical skill," Wright said. "Being good at tech skills doesn't always translate to being a good leader and vice versa." Instead, it involves looking for key leadership traits. "It's not as simple as saying, 'They've been doing this job a long time, and they're really good at it,'" Wright said.

(3) Sustainable leadership development. Wright advised that it's up to organizations to implement programs to cultivate leadership to ensure long-term success in subrogation teams. "How do we expand leadership identification so it can be used for years at a time?" Wright said. "You want the ability to pull from a pipeline." A strong way to develop a pipeline is through mentorship programs and knowledge-sharing initiatives that can be as simple as regular team huddles that exchange what happened in real-world recoveries. "Take advantage of opportunities," Wright advised. "You can get very tailored and specific if you know they individual and what they're looking for."

Share This Article: