Risk Management
The Other Side Of Risk: What Leaders Miss Until The Moment Of Crisis
By Reuben Kisigwa
In boardrooms across East Africa and beyond, risk is often spoken of in the language of compliance and control. Reports are tabled, registers reviewed, and red, amber, green charts nodded through. Yet beneath those rituals lies another reality: the risks that leaders do not see, or choose not to see, until the moment of crisis strips away the comfort of routine.
I have lived this from different vantage points. In my years as a senior credit manager at a tier one bank, I worked on major exposures where decisions tested not only financial judgment but also board culture. Later, as Head of Credit Risk in a tier three bank, I was in charge of the entire credit risk function and saw firsthand how governance appetite shapes strategy. Today, I serve as a consultant and trainer with boards, executives, and institutions across the region. I also see risk outside the walls of finance through my volunteer work with the Hope Arthritis Foundation, where the question is not about ratios or Basel requirements but about whether a child receives lifesaving medication on time.
All of these experiences have shaped a conviction I carry into every board engagement and training: true risk management is not about documents, models, or checklists. It is about foresight, culture, and courage. It is about asking the questions that feel uncomfortable in the moment but save institutions, and sometimes people, from devastating loss.
Risk Wears Many Faces
From these experiences, I have come to see that risk wears many faces. Sometimes it shows up in the overconfidence of a corporate strategy that assumes market dominance will last forever. Other times it appears in the overlooked realities of ESG, where climate shifts or genderblind spots quietly undermine long-term sustainability. In state corporations and cooperatives, it is often the policy changes or political decisions that ripple through balance sheets faster than any market shock. In financial institutions, it is the digital threat that boards still treat as an IT issue, even though a single breach can shatter public trust. And in community work like the Hope Arthritis Foundation, it is the uncertainty of medicine arriving on time for a child who cannot wait.
That wide spectrum is what I bring into every board engagement and training. Risk is not one discipline or one department. It is the thread that connects strategy, culture, governance, and human lives. The challenge for today’ s leaders is to recognize it in all its forms before the silence of neglect turns into the noise of crisis.
Past success can create a false sense of security that blinds leaders to emerging threats and shifts in the environment. Complacency sets in, challenge is discouraged, and early warning signals are ignored. In governance terms, this is one of the most dangerous postures an organization can adopt because it breeds apathy at precisely the moment when agility is needed most. Complacency is not just a weakness; it is the deadliest form of risk exposure.
Numbers Tell Stories, But Not the Whole Story
I still remember a credit committee meeting when I was serving as a senior corporate credit manager. On paper, the client looked perfect. The liquidity ratios were strong, the debt-to-equity balance was within range, and the growth projections promised a bright future. It was the kind of file that would usually get an easy green light.
But when I went for a site visit, the reality did not match the numbers. Machines were idle, staff looked demoralized, and there were quiet hints about delayed supplier payments. My instinct told me something was wrong. I raised the concern, but the immediate response was:“ Where is the model to prove this risk?”
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