Description: This article covers the importance of letting teams lead you as a leader, that it's okay to admit you're not okay even at work, and that it's important to find informal ways for virtual teams to connect.

Description: In this interview, Caroline Grégoire, formerly from Hannover Re, and now international mentor, coach, trainer and speaker, shares her views on how mentoring can support you on your career path and how it also benefits the reinsurance industry as a whole.

Description: From the 2010 Long Term Care Think Tank Session, a summary on the activities and findings of the Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks, which focuses on understanding and mechanisms to assist in the distribution phase of retirement, by developing middle market consumer profiles, managing post-retirement risks, surveys and studies.

Description: The average person spends from one third to one half of every waking hour thinking about the past or present. We talk to ourselves when we do. Psychologists have identified three steps you can take to make your self-talk more positive. This will make you happier and better able to achieve the goals you set at home and at work.

Description: Learn industry best practices including challenges faced by retirees, such as needing exposure to growth, most exposed to sequencing risk, and the need for smooth returns to avoid poor investor behavior caused by risk aversion. Other topics will include how to set investment objectives which consider the members’ real-world needs and how to build portfolios and implement risk management strategies to meet those objectives. The speaker will provide real-life examples/case studies.

Description: Relationship management is your ability to use your awareness of your own emotions and those of others to manage interactions successfully. Given enough time and quality exchanges, we can form a relationship with any person we encounter. We should strive to develop positive relationships with people we like, and even with those we don’t like as much. Once established, both parties will understand each other better and benefit from the connection. Relationships can be challenging, especially at work or under stress. Skillfully managing them will help you initiate direct and productive conversations to alleviate misunderstandings, solve conflicts and achieve desired goals. This article explores strategies to develop the skill of relationship management.

Description: This is the third in a four-part series dedicated to strategies for improving EQ, based on the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 written by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. In previous issues of The Stepping Stone, I discussed the skills of self-awareness and self-management. In this article, I will share a few more of the book’s strategies and provide examples and personal insights to illustrate how to develop the third skill of social awareness in personal, social, and business situations.

Description: Based on the book “Emotional Intelligence 2.0” written by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, the four skills necessary to improve EQ are– 1) self-awareness; 2) self-management; 3)social awareness; and 4) relationship management. This article explores the skill of self-awareness by sharing examples and personal stories, highlighting three strategies to practice. In addition to lowering stress and becoming happier, having a greater ability to regulate our emotions gives us confidence, helps us communicate better, allows us to understand multiple perspectives, builds trusting relationships, and frees us from our assumptions and biases. Ultimately, this gives us more potential to influence other sand make better decisions.

Description: Self-management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and direct your behavior positively. When you understand what you are feeling, you can effectively choose how to react. Knowing your individual tendencies can help you prepare for future events by consciously deciding to change or adjust your behavior when certain situations occur. The article shares strategies, examples and personal insights to illustrate how to develop the skill of self-management.

Description: It’s tough climbing the corporate ladder as an Asian woman in the United States. In my journey, I wish I had a mentor to share their experience, clarify what I was facing, reassure me that I was not alone and guide me. That’s why I’m sharing my experience managing three cultural norms that I found most challenging professionally: 1. Obey your elders. 2. Pass exams and focus on technical skills. 3. Do not rock the boat or want too much.