Description: Learn concrete strategies to manage executive dysfunction. The author discusses techniques she has learned along the way to improve productivity and manage time. High-level tips are: 1) Write it down. 2) Plan your day. 3) Don't let email and social media steal all your precious time. 4) Give your brain a little distraction. 5) Find an accountability partner. 6) Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. 7) When distracted, begin again. 8) Give yourself grace.

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: We are living in a time of significant changes which are taking a toll on some employees. To assist our team members through these tumultuous times, being a supportive manager is key. We discuss using emotional intelligence to help employees have a positive work experience.

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: Investing in and taking care of employees can result in many-faceted positive results, for your team and for your firm. We first state the case for "taking care of employees," then exhibit several practical methods for showing you care for your employees.

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: 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: What does rappelling down a building have to do with an actuarial career? One actuary connects the dots between her personal interests and her career trajectory. Read on to find out how you too can piece together this puzzle of hobby and career!

Description: The author briefly describes a hypothetical example of several unconscious biases in the workplace, drawing upon the behavioral economics work of Kahneman and Tversky. He presents data to refute the snap judgments that are all too common in human interaction.

Description: With increasing demand for quality new-hires, it is increasingly important to hire the most impactful employees. Actuaries who think creatively can have a disproportionately positive effect on their employers. In this article, we discuss how to identify this type of person during the interview process.