Description: This article is an overview of the SOA Leadership & Development Section Council's current projects, recent accomplishments and some immediate focal points of the Leadership & Development Section Council's efforts.

Description: A regularly occurring column in this Leadership and Development Section publication, it is a platform for the Section Chairperson to communicate with the readership regarding upcoming important topics that this Section will focus on in the current year. This article provides an overview of the new plan of focus for the newly-elected Leadership and Development Section Council for 2023.

Description: Quality Measures - December 2000 In the Office and on the Floor - Similarities Between Refereeing and Consulting by Nickolas J. Ortner, ASA, MAAA from The Stepping Stone Newsletter, April 2001, Issue No. 6.

Description: Article presents the basic terminology and theory of attribution theory, the theory explaining the causes that people attribute their successes and failures to. The article reviews i) typical attributions(e.g. effort, luck), ii) dimensions of attribution (controllability, stability), iii) useful and non-useful attributions, and iv) attribution retraining and v) other aspects of the theory (such as accompanying emotions)

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: Latest installment in series that applies Buddhist philosophy to the actuary's daily activities. This installment discusses the challenges for actuaries in dealing with the ongoing ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses mindfulness tools to cope with the resulting stresses in a peaceful and effective way.

Description: Taking a look at Julia Child's signature TV show The French Chef, and how aspects of her show gives us tips on how to train others.

Description: This article addresses how to best use body language to one's advantage

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: The latest installment in a series that applies Buddhist philosophy to the everyday working world of actuaries. This installment chronicles the author's career transition from corporate actuary to academia, relating the challenges faced to those periodically encountered by all actuaries during their career journeys.