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: 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: Actuarial Speed Cubers in Wonderland

Description: In this session Chris Lombardi FSA, MAAA, CERA discusses insights form the book “The Coaching Habit” by Michael Bungay Stanier, focusing on effective techniques for facilitating conversations during manager meetings. The goal is to encourage genuine curiosity and active listening, allowing the other person to steer the conversation’s direction. Key questions, such as “What’s on your mind?” and “And what else?” are highlighted to promote meaningful dialogue, discover underlying issues, and help individuals improve personally and professionally through self-awareness and proactive decision-making. Contributors Chris Lombardi FSA, MAAA, CERA, Anthony Champi, FSA MAA, Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, FLMI, MAA, Jon Forster ASA, MAAA

Description: A real life situation is posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision, and readers are invited to submit the irresponses to "What Would You Do?" This issue’s case study involved a staff performance issue faced by an actuary new to management.

Description: Actuary Dave Dillon describes his role volunteering his time as a teacher in higher education, including the rewards and challenges that teaching offers. He discusses the importance of being attentive to his audience’s pre-existing knowledge and adapting his presentations accordingly. His work as a teacher typically encompasses three distinct domains: 1) acquainting young students with the actuarial profession, 2) educating non-actuaries about public policy issues related to health insurance (including the Affordable Care Act), and 3) instructing current actuaries on advanced methodologies and principles within the field. Recently he taught a health insurance course for actuarial science graduate students at Georgia State University and lectured at Boise State University’s master's program in Population & Health Systems Management. In every teaching and mentoring opportunity, actuaries can contribute to the expansion and prosperity of the profession and are encouraged to pursue these endeavors.

Description: In this video Anthony Champi, FSA MAAA takes you through the journey from an Individual contributor to a leader of people. Anthony is a Director of Actuarial at Prudential Financial. He has over 15 years experience in actuarial work and is a member of the Society of Actuaries Professional Development Curriculum and Content Creation Council. He emphasizes the importance of developing leadership skills in the actuarial field, regardless of one’s position on the organizational chart. He highlights key differences between individual contributors and leaders of people, including the shift in accountability from personal deliverables to team deliverables and the need to continuous learning and setting expectations as a leader.

Description: This is the first installment of a two-part series that aims to provide valuable insights on how a new (re)insurance company can become an attractive destination for actuaries (Part I) and then how to retain them (Part II), thereby facilitating the company’s long-term growth.

Description: An article giving a summary of the Asia Pacific Teaching Conference that took place in Bangkok in December 2022. This article will be disseminated via SOA News Weekly, which will link to the article on soa.org.

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.