**6. Conclusion**

While many companies implement ERM to inform strategic decision-making, most struggle with its effectiveness. This research explores risk practitioners' communication and leadership practices to achieve and maintain ERM effectiveness. Findings result from data collected through semi-structured interviews among leadership and senior-level ERM practitioners across various industries.

The study identifies four practice episodes. First, risk practitioners create shared knowledge between business units and the ERM unit. Practitioners fathom business concerns, requirements and objectives, and reciprocally qualify stakeholders and create risk awareness. Second, practitioners demonstrate the value-creating capabilities of ERM. They capitalise on the high-level perspective of a central ERM unit to leverage data and information through contextualisation. Practitioners acknowledge business domain expertise and esteem cooperation by dividing and prioritising risk work based on value-adding capabilities.

Third, practitioners consciously exert leadership practices to strengthen their influence in decision-making and champion sound risk management. They use participation to emphasise trust and get the buy-in of stakeholders. Using assertiveness, they withstand undue requests and advocate sound risk management standards.

Leadership practices affect relationship building, the fourth practice episode. Practitioners network to overcome organisational change resistance and balance independence and involvement. They are partnering with and proactively supporting business units in risk aspects to reframe ERM and avoid tensions.

The study forms a practical guide for risk practitioners to manage ERM effectiveness. Applying these practices requires practitioners to develop and emphasise referent and expert power. Practitioners must identify stakeholders and understand their *Communication and Leadership for Improving ERM Effectiveness DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107066*

needs to sell issues and effectively encourage decisions. Practitioners must continuously develop a common language for effectively transferring knowledge within the organisation, understand when knowledge boundaries blur and constantly explore and exploit boundary objects. For organisations, the research provides opportunities for shareholder value creation by optimising risk practitioner development programs and setting the course for higher ERM effectiveness.

The research is limited to Germany to ensure an unambiguous socio-cultural and country-specific setting. The narrow scope constitutes a limitation, and future indepth case studies are required to understand how cultural and intercultural aspects influence risk practitioners' ERM practices.
