Description: July 2019 issue of The Stepping Stone by Leadership & Development Section. practical information for actuaries, trends that impact section, section activities.

Description: The article describes principles for optimal sub-tasking of a project goal. Two experiments each one comparing different approaches are presented. A summary of principles for optimal goal setting presents seven key points: i)levels of outcome goals should be recognizable and lack ambiguity; ii) each subtask should be atomic, i.e. not be capable of being broken up into further subtasks, iii) the subtasks should be uniform, lacking ambiguity, so that any new trainee could master it without the need for further guidance; iv) each subtask should be attainable in a reasonable amount of time; v) mentor feedback should be provided during the initial stages of learning or training; vi) upon mastery of each subtask trainees should be encouraged to maximize their overall score; vii) after mastery of individual subtasks, while attempting to maximize scores, trainees should be provided with a mixture of easy, intermediate, and difficult tasks.

Description: This article presents lost career opportunity examples from lack of communication skills and a list of resources to help you work on building and improving your own skills.

Description: A compilation of reader responses is presented to a real life situation posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision. This issue’s case study involved a new employee being hired specifically for an expertise that then does not seem to be valued once they arrive.

Description: A real life situation is posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision, and readers are invited to submit their responses to "What Would You Do?" This issue’s case study involved an informal job performance appraisal gone wrong.

Description: A real-life situation is posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision, and readers are invited to submit their responses to "What Would You Do?" This issue’s case study found amid-career actuary uprooting his family for a new job that involved promotion to Chief Actuary. Shortly after, he found that the company was in serious financial difficulty, and he felt he'd been deceived during the interview process.

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: Read how to combine people management and mentorship to create positive and open environments and improve employee engagement and productivity.

Description: The introduction of a new recurring feature, full of relevant content by young professionals, for young professionals.

Description: This article describes why dressing up - even while working remotely- can help create work / life balance when the day is done.