Description: March 2020 issue of The Stepping Stone by Leadership & Development Section. practical information for actuaries, trends that impact section, section activities

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.

Description: Latest in series of articles exploring the adaptation of Buddhist philosophy to actuarial practice. This installment examines the challenges for actuaries in dealing with pain points in actuarial work, and how to best manage these forces so that the work remains aligned with professional standards.

Description: The SOA, in collaboration with CSU-Fullerton, hosted the first event combining local high school students and community college and university students for a day of learning and networking.

Description: In this article, we aim to outline the advantages of smaller programs and gather opinions on the challenges these programs face in their efforts to emphasize these strengths. For our purposes, we define small actuarial programs as those with a relatively low student enrollment count. The following are three key advantages of small programs, which are similar to those of small colleges:(a) Enhanced benefits from small class size; (b) Adaptable curriculum; (c) Increased opportunities for each student. A variety of similar other issues are also discussed with recommendations, challenges, and invitations for further dialogue.

Description: In an effort to cultivate a more diverse profession and membership for their organizations, The Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), through their Joint Committee for Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Charter (JCIED) have made a commitment to significantly increase their funding and support of the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) for the next three years (2019-2021).

Description: This is the second installment of a two-part series. Part I was published in the July 2023 issue of The Stepping Stone and provided guidance on how a new (re)insurance company can build an attractive work environment for actuarial talent. In part II we will focus on how to encourage those actuaries to remain with the company in the long run.

Description: This article is about the little things that impact your personal brand, and how that personal brand helps you influence others.

Description: Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy that focuses on organizational success through serving and enriching the lives of the employees. As employees become engaged the organization becomes more vibrant, sustainable and successful. Four primary principles are discussed: Create an Environment for Employee Growth; Provide Employees What the Need to Thrive; Remove Obstacles to Employee Achievement; Help Employees Reach Organizational and Personal Goals. Trust, creativity, shared vision, listening, job skills and personal attention lift employees up, creating high quality, engaged employees that help drive organizational success and create a pool from which the next generation of leaders for the company will emerge.