Episode #71: Paul Atkinson, Representative Director, Country Manager, 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.