Description: This article provides key themes of effective project management and case studies to illustrate their successful application. Key learning outcomes are: • To understand project management goals and key themes for success • For students, be empowered to manage. For managers, empower students to develop project management skills in tandem with their technical skillset

Description: Executives often tell subject matter experts such as actuaries, “You should think more strategically!” But the executives never define what they mean by “thinking more strategically”. This article defines the skills actuaries need to be perceived as being more strategic. It will provide practical steps actuaries can take to gain more strategic influence and escape the trap of being perceived as only a subject matter expert who provides limited strategic value.

Description: Tracy Choka is managing director and regional head business management at Swiss Re. Tracy has spent her career in L&H reinsurance, working across multiple areas that include pricing, valuation, operations, client solutions, deal development, and mortality and underwriting research. In her tenure, Tracy has headed Applied Research and Development, Products, and since 2014, Business Management for U.S., Canada and Latin America.Tracy shares her thoughts on how the pandemic has accelerated trends in underwriting and the challenges - and the silver lining- in managing professional relationships during COVID-19

Description: This article provides a model to assist teaching and coaching. It has been used to improve relationships and performance both in individual situations and in group settings.

Description: It is well established that empowerment of staff is a critical leadership trait. But what are the metrics to recognize that you have achieved it? What steps enable this achievement? Which psychological attributes explain its efficacy?This article proposes to answer these questions through a multi-disciplinary examination of empowerment in the context of three leadership domains.

Description: What it takes to lead teams is significantly different from what it takes to excel as an individual contributor. A leader's first mistakes is to think they have to do the same things they did before just with more volume and greater speed. Leading a team requires a transition to new behaviors and mindset. This article attempts to give you a few ideas to make the transition from leading yourself to leading others

Description: This article describes the EXCEL Model, a teaching and coaching tool developed by The Flippen group, College Station, Texas and adopted by many organizations. It focuses the leader on the needs of the team. The five components of the model are: Engage, X-plore, Communciate, Empower and Launch.

Description: What are the keys to creating the sort of actuarial career that leads to senior leadership roles? Is it to put more and more work into your technical skills, or to develop the 'soft skills' that make you standout among other actuaries? Learn one of the keys to self-marketing in a natural way, so you can make sure that opportunities find you.

Description: This article is about small business changes and challenges before and after COVID.

Description: By expanding their knowledge base, actuaries can develop a broad business perspective which in combination with the analytical skills characteristic of the profession can help them succeed in the areas of strategy and general management.