CLM’s inaugural Leadership Accelerator cohort met for its first in-person session at CLM’s Annual Conference in Orlando, FL, ahead of their certification and graduation, which took place on March 31, 2026. The session, led and facilitated by Nicole Riegl, head of enterprise strategy, The Institutes, was joined by two of the program’s six leadership experts: Caryn Siebert, vice president and national director of carrier engagement, Gallagher Bassett, and Kimberly Vaughn, chief claims officer, Amerisure Mutual Insurance Company.
Leadership Accelerator is a CLM program that equips professionals in the claims and litigation space with the tools, mindset, and support to lead with clarity, confidence, and resilience.
A Tap on the Shoulder
Siebert related her own experience of getting her “tap on the shoulder” when a company she worked at needed a new president. Although she had run claims organizations before, she had never been a president. She accepted, and after 60 days as president, she replaced her company’s CEO—a turn of events she had not seen coming.
She advised the group, “just be ready to say, ‘I’ve never done that before, but I’m willing to try,” because “the only constant is change.”
Words Matter
At Gallagher Bassett, employees select one word to help carry them through the year. This year, Siebert’s word is “momentum.” Siebert says, “It could be momentum around public speaking and getting out there on behalf of Gallagher Bassett as a brand…talking to people about the company to come work for us…it could be any number of topics. It helps me keep my mind fresh with new ideas [and] it helps keep me focused. So, as you’re going through this program thinking about the future, if you keep that one word and it helps you stay grounded, to me, that’s more fun than a New Year’s resolution.”
Evolution of Leadership
Riegl had the group think back to when the program began in November 2025, during which participants had been asked to choose a word to describe how they view their leadership. Then, they were asked to think of a current word based on their time in the program, keeping in mind how their leadership may have evolved. Of the group of 14 professionals present, four kept the same word and 10 changed their word.
Words that changed included “elevated” to “collaborative”; “accountable” to “supportive”; “approachable” to “understanding”; and “flexible” to “listener.” Words that stayed the same included “trust,” “adaptive,” and “present.” A few of the professionals shared the reasons behind why they chose their words and how they have developed as leaders.
“My biggest hope is that they realize they have evolved over time,” said Riegl. “I hope all of them have…learned something that will help them as they evolve as leaders.”
The next Leadership Accelerator cohort will be announced later in 2026.