Description: As leaders and managers, we have results to achieve. To get those results, we have to do the right things. Those “things” include the management and deployment of our resources.

Description: Considerations in the assessment of when to leave a job include mentorship, fit to company environment and culture, and timing.

Description: How you can use your motivation and persistence to become an optimist.

Description: In this article, I provide a high-level overview of 5 of my favorite things that I learned while working in an actuarial department for a little over 4 years.

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: We will demonstrate three analytical tools along with a sample case study showing how they might be applied to a fictional actuarial organization within ABC Life. The goal is to highlight how they might be applied to perform a health check of an actuarial function organizational design. This can measure effectiveness quantitatively via benchmarking how an actuarial function might stack up against the industry and management expectations. The tools and techniques are critical for actuarial leaders and managers but are also relevant to all actuaries, since we can all benefit from understanding how our individual work efforts fit into the bigger picture of an organization.

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

Description: Based on the book “Emotional Intelligence 2.0” written by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, the four skills necessary to improve EQ are– 1) self-awareness; 2) self-management; 3)social awareness; and 4) relationship management. This article explores the skill of self-awareness by sharing examples and personal stories, highlighting three strategies to practice. In addition to lowering stress and becoming happier, having a greater ability to regulate our emotions gives us confidence, helps us communicate better, allows us to understand multiple perspectives, builds trusting relationships, and frees us from our assumptions and biases. Ultimately, this gives us more potential to influence other sand make better decisions.

Description: Discussion of peer mentoring: what it is, how it is different than traditional mentoring, and different forms that it can take. Some forms are 1 on 1, informal, formal, talking partners, groups, Lean In Circles, SOA Community Engagement. Includes a list of potential discussion topics for use in peer mentor conversations.