I immigrated to the United States from Guyana, South America, at the age of 14 with my parents. We wholeheartedly embraced the opportunities that our new home in the U.S. would provide. After graduating with an MBA in finance from the Wharton School, where I was one of just a few women in my class, one of my first observations was that everyone wanted to work in banking. The banking industry was seen as far more dynamic compared to the staid, complex insurance industry. Seeing opportunity in the less-traveled, seemingly more difficult path, I chose to pursue insurance and nonetheless was able to rise through the ranks in investment banking. Not long after, I became the first female African American managing director at Swiss Re before founding Grace Global Capital, LLC in 2006.

Diverse backgrounds, teamwork bring strength

Early in my career, it became clear that the insurance industry was, in fact, dynamic. Much like mountain climbing, you're faced with ever-changing and unpredictable environments. A team of mountaineers can plan a course of action but, more often than not, that plan will have to be adjusted several times to be successful. Right now, the insurance industry is facing rapid changes, and leadership is tackling challenges much like the extreme environments climbers face. To be successful in either place you need a blend of determination, teamwork, integrity, emotional and cognitive intelligence, and collaboration to overcome the hurdles presented by uncontrollable high-risk situations.

One of the most poignant examples of teamwork in an extreme environment occurred for me in 2005. Michael Useem, a professor and change management expert at Wharton, brought together 28 alumni from various backgrounds to climb together in a remote part of the world. I had just been promoted to managing director at Swiss Re and knew it would be a big sacrifice to be away from work to take the 14-day journey. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, however, I had made a personal resolution to take more meaningful vacations and thought this fit the bill.

Professor Useem wanted to take us out of our comfort zones. The hike up to 20,000 feet would take eight days, and the hike down, six. He assembled diverse teams who were asked to work together to navigate the complex environment in Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom on the eastern edge of the Himalayas. The climb was one of the most difficult I've ever experienced, but also one of the most majestic. When we got to the seventh day and close to the summit, one of our team members became extremely ill and had to be medically evacuated, after which he died. It was a tragic turn of events that shook the group to its core. We made the decision to turn back at 17,500 feet and never made it to the top.

Instead of continuing our climb, we felt it was more important to remain a team and mourn with the family of our fallen alumnus. A smaller group of us continued to hike together after the tragedy, and the next year we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa. The teamwork, diversity and learning environment had a tremendous, positive impact on us. We've been climbing mountains ever since.

Conquering disruptions with diversity

When you look at the insurance industry, the environment is being disrupted by technology, regulations, competitive pressures and workforce challenges. Much like my experiences on mountains, industry leaders have to keep adapting to be competitive and remain successful.

Mountain climbing also holds another valuable lesson: Leadership must be linked to innovation. To lead in an extreme environment, a person has to be flexible, be able to empower employees to reach the summit and give them a mission that everyone can be excited about. That innovation includes an open mind about the workforce of the future where diversity and inclusion must be an initiative of every single boardroom.

Embracing a brighter future

Solving problems and finding new ways to transform the customer experience will require bringing together bright minds from all ages, races and backgrounds. In our world of accelerating, fast-paced change, the ability to thrive in uncertainty and flex in flux are becoming core skills.

Expect more women leaders at the helm. Women innately have essential future-of-work skills, such as relational skills, communication skills, empathy and emotional intelligence.

We must restructure and reorient our organizations:

1. From product focused to customer focused;
2. From slow-moving, siloed, hierarchical structures to nimble, collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams; and
3. From leadership based on control and command to leadership based on engagement, empowerment and inspiration.

These are all positive trends for the insurance industry.

Grace Vandecruze is the founder and managing director at Grace Global Capital LLC a consulting firm providing M&A financial advisory, restructuring, and valuation to insurance executives, boards and financial regulators since 2006.