71: Paul Atkinson, Representative Director, Country Manager Japan, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Paul Atkinson shares his journey as a leader of a multinational
global insurance company and his insight in working in diverse
cultural environments. Originally growing up in the UK, Mr.
Atkinson joined RSA Insurance after graduating from university.
Mr. Atkinson was attracted to the people aspect of insurance
built on trust and integrity. Having worked in London for five
years, Mr. Atkinson was posted in the Bahamas for two years
before moving to Japan. After five years in Japan working for
Royal Insurance, Mr. Atkinson move to Hong Kong and then to
Taiwan where he continued to build his career within the
insurance industry. In 2003 Mr. Atkinson returned to Japan and
has been living in the country since then. After working as an
executive search consultant, Mr. Atkinson went back to insurance
and ran a direct marketing consultancy. Mr. Atkinson has been
Head of Corporate Sales at AIG and is currently the
Representative Director, Country Manager of Swiss Re Corporate
Solutions.


 


Through his experience of working in multiple countries, Mr.
Atkinson has learned the power of diversity and inclusion in
management. Having managed both male and female dominated teams
and faced its challenges, Mr. Atkinson has worked to bring more
balance to his organizations by forming diversity and inclusion
employee resource groups. Mr. Atkinson explains this has been a
wonderful way for him to connect with people outside of his
immediate leadership. Although Mr. Atkinson points out the
prevailing gender gap in management positions in Japan, he sees a
potential of talented people with diverse backgrounds and
different ways of thinking to bring change.


 


In order to increase team engagement, Mr. Atkinson treats people
with respect without being judgmental. Mr. Atkinson spends a
third of his time speaking to people including those outside of
his direct report. As his leadership style is delegation based,
Mr. Atkinson understands the need to develop a culture of trust
that enables people to step up and make key decisions. To
encourage this, Mr. Atkinson sets up a clear vision and goal, and
consistently communicates his expectations to his team. He also
holds multiple discussions at various levels of the organization.
Although Mr. Atkinson realizes this process is much more
time-consuming than just giving out directions, he believes the
final product is of much higher quality. He additionally
encourages multiple departments to work together
cross-functionally to create a culture of open communication and
innovation. Mr. Atkinson also points out that following up and
having regular check-ins with people is essential for ensuring
that the delegation is happening.


 


To newcomers coming to lead in Japan, Mr. Atkinson recommends
talking to all team members in order get a sense of where to
focus on in terms of improvement, be it in staffing,
communication or strategy. He also advises to buy some time from
head office – at least three months – before doing a 90-100 day
report as this initial communication aspect is essential. Mr.
Atkinson recommends people to learn some Japanese to understand
the culture and show genuine interest. Lastly, Mr. Atkinson
encourages newcomers to find a hobby and enjoy the beautiful
culture and sites in Japan.