Mergers and acquisitions are not uncommon in business but they can cause great uncertainty for employees as the inevitable restructure ensues. Sometimes, however, they can create an opportunity.
That’s what happened for Nicole Mann when the Suncorp Group merged with the Promina Group in 2007. While she admits it wasn’t easy for everyone, for Mann it proved to be the catalyst for a positive change.
At the time of the merger Mann was working with the now CEO of Commercial Insurance Anthony Day when he suggested she move in to underwriting. Up until this point Mann had worked in all facets of broker distribution. Underwriting was taking a leap into a completely new arm of insurance and her immediate thought was; “I can’t do that.”
She looked at the job description and did what she says Sheryl Sandberg poignantly noted most women do and said, “Yes I can do eighty per cent of the role but I’m missing twenty per cent therefore I can’t do it.”
But having spent the past nine years on the brokering side of the business she was asking herself whether she could do more than just build relationships and was there more she could offer the Suncorp Group?
“(Anthony) really pushed me, to not only step in and own the role I had but to step outside and understand that there were skills and experiences that I had that could be transferred and used across other roles and create value in other parts of the business,” reflects Mann. “He was someone who really taught me that you aren’t going to progress or understand what you’re capable of unless you step outside your comfort zone and give it a go and give it your all.”
Taking the plunge Mann applied for the role and to her surprise got the job. She moved to Brisbane to take on the position and while it came with new challenges it was exactly what she needed. She expanded her skills, worked hard and returned to Sydney three years later as an Executive Manager.
“I am living proof you can actually be supported by very senior management in this business to take a skillset and transfer it,” she says. “If you want to be an actuary or you want to be an underwriter or a claims officer you absolutely can do that and the group will absolutely invest in that career pathway.”
Mann says the company invested time and money in her professional development with courses, leadership opportunities and coaching. It remains an ongoing part of her career.
“I’m not stuck doing the one role for the rest of my days,” she explains. “(Professional development) forces you to have a conversation internally if you are feeling the need to move to the next challenge rather than have a conversation with an external recruitment agent or a competitor. The first step for me is always ‘there’s got to be something within the SuncorpGroup that I can add value to,’ and the business will support me having a go.”
Prior to the 2007 merger Mann had no real career plan. Her main focus was to do her job well and do what her father, her role model, had always taught her – give one hundred per cent.
“I actually don’t think when I sat and finished university and started in insurance, that I thought ‘right this is kind of where I want to head to’,” Mann says. “It has probably been a more recent revelation for me.”
Mann attributes this to working closely with Day and to the mentoring and coaching he gave her at that time. Before then she had not asked herself the tough questions about her career.
Mann is very comfortable with the fact that her career was not a pre-determined path but there are some things she wished she had considered earlier. Primarily she wishes she’d had more confidence in herself early on as she struggled with being liked and building credibility and respect. This is just some of the wisdom she shares with emerging female leaders in the Suncorp Group.
She also tells them to seize opportunities when they are presented and not be put off by the 20% they do not have in that job description. These are things she says can always be learnt.
Finally she implores them to build their advocacy skills.
“By this I mean being very aware of the impression that you leave with people that are making decisions,” she says. “Because you are often not at the table when they are making decisions about you and your career and where you will fit and where you won’t fit. Those conversations are obviously often held during succession planning sessions.”
She believes letting peers, managers and staff know that you want to step out of your comfort zone, move interstate or just expand your job description can be incredibly beneficial to your career. Sound advice from a woman who has managed a sixteen-year career in the one insurance company.