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: 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: 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: Applying Agile Methodologies to Manage Work and Drive Value is intended as an overview of the SCRUM, Kanban, and Lean methods of managing work in constantly changing environments. The value it provides is to draw awareness to the various methods that exist when the goal is to perform work with agility. There are three main sources of information within this version: scrumalligance.org, kanban.university, and lean.org for reference.

Description: Latest installment of a series applying lessons from Buddhist philosophy to the working world of actuaries. This installment focuses on practicing the yogic principle of "ahimsa" or non-harming with ourselves, and the importance of respecting and caring for oneself in order to better serve the needs of others.

Description: Read about how a great leader lays a tone upon which the harmonics of their followers are naturally amplified, rallying them together, while the tone of a great follower provides harmonics that further provide a layer of resonance for supporting those around them. These qualities help drive motivation, morale, and productivity within an organization.

Description: The average person spends from one third to one half of every waking hour thinking about the past or present. We talk to ourselves when we do. Psychologists have identified three steps you can take to make your self-talk more positive. This will make you happier and better able to achieve the goals you set at home and at work.

Description: Leadership through a positive mindset, how our positive mindset can influence a company, a team or an individual towards success. It can even impact the company bottom-line.

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 deciding whether or not to take an actuarial job that didn't seem that interesting, in order to work for a dynamic boss.

Description: Nobody is perfect, and actuaries are no exception. At some point, every actuary is bound to make a big mistake. These kinds of mistakes can have a significant impact on an actuary's reputation — whether that impact is positive or negative depends in large part on the way someone investigates, communicates, and resolves errors they uncover. By approaching mistakes with transparency and honesty, these big mistakes can actually enhance credibility and reputation, rather than harm it.