The Stepping Stone ISSUE 65 MARCH 2017 What Would You Do? A Di icult Discussion By John West Hadley Chairperson’s Corner Business Management People Management 3 Changes in the New Year 12 Actuaries in the C-Suite 24 Solving the Leadership Puzzle: By Scott Randles Overturning Traditional Models Career Development By Anne M. Katcher What Would You Do? 16 Actuaries and Jungian Archetypes 5 A Di icult Discussion By Carlos Arocha Personal Development By John West Hadley 25 What Actuarial Exams 18 Setting “Objective” Objectives Don’t Teach You 6 Responses to “Su icient By Mitchell Stephenson By Juan Arroyo Preparations” By John West Hadley Communication Skills 26 The Zen Actuary Installment 11: 20 Write for Results “Refining and Rebuilding Diversity Spotlight By Pamela Burns the Practice” 10 Actuarial Science Is Everyone’s Game By Rich Lauria By Olga Jacobs 21 What Does the Pain of Independence Have to Do With It? 30 Pepper Spray and Shooting Stars By Doreen Stern, Ph.D. By Annie Xue 2017 SECTION The LEADERSHIP Officers Scott Randles, FSA, MAAA, Chairperson Anne M. Katcher, FSA, MAAA, Vice Chairperson Stepping Carlos Arocha, FSA, Secretary/Treasurer Council Members Abraham Gootzeit, FSA, MAAA Carrie Kelley, FSA, MAAA Rong Rong, FSA, MAAA, CERA Stone Joanne Ryan, FSA, MAAA Mitchell Stephenson, FSA, MAAA Issue Number 65 • March 2017 Tamra VanAllen, FSA, MAAA Published three times a year by the Newsletter Editor Leadership & Development Section of John West Hadley the Society of Actuaries. John Hadley Associates 908.725.2437 475 N. Martingale Road, Suite 600 [email protected] Schaumburg, Ill 60173-2226 Phone: 847.706.3500 Fax: 847.706.3599 Program Committee Coordinators www.soa.org Scott Randles, FSA, MAAA 2017 Valuation Actuary Symposium Coordinator This newsletter is free to section mem- bers. Current issues are available on the Abraham Gootzeit, FSA, MAAA SOA website (www.soa.org). Carrie Kelly, FSA, MAAA Ying Zhao, FSA, MAAA To join the section, SOA members and 2017 Life & Annuity Symposium Coordinators non-members can locate a membership form on the Leadership & Development Joanne Ryan, FSA, MAAA Section webpage at www.soa.org/ld. 2017 Health Spring Meeting Coordinator This publication is provided for informa- Carlos Arocha, FSA tional and educational purposes only. Anne M. Katcher, FSA, MAAA Neither the Society of Actuaries nor the 2017 SOA Annual Meeting & Exhibit Coordinators respective authors’ employers make any endorsement, representation or guar- SOA Staff antee with regard to any content, and Beth Bernardi, Staff Partner disclaim any liability in connection with [email protected] the use or misuse of any information provided herein. This publication should Jane Lesch, Section Specialist not be construed as professional or [email protected] financial advice. Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of Julia Anderson Bauer, Publications Manager the individual authors and are not neces - [email protected] sarily those of the Society of Actuaries or the respective authors’ employers. Erin Pierce, Graphic Designer Copyright © 2017 Society of Actuaries. [email protected] All rights reserved. Publication Schedule Publication Month: July 2017 Articles Due: April 21, 2017 2 | MARCH 2017 THE STEPPING STONE CHAIRPERSON’S CORNER Changes in the New Year By Scott Randles he Leadership & Development (L&D) Section is excited to present the first 2017 issue of The Stepping Stone! When I talk to actuaries about the section, the first thing they men- Ttion is how much they enjoy reading The Stepping Stone. People always tell me that they like to take it with them when they travel so they can catch up on past issues on the plane. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to contribute articles for this issue. Your unique perspectives on leadership and development topics make this resource so valuable. The L&D Section is committed to working hard in this new year to transform and continue to change to provide you with relevant tools you need to grow and succeed as a leader. In 2015, we changed our name to emphasize the importance of leadership in the actuarial career. This year, we’re providing more opportunities for you to interact with senior leaders and more frequent, short, electronic communications on L&D topics. Here are just a few of the many benefits that you will receive as a member of the L&D Section this year: outstanding sessions of the entire 2016 Society of Actuaries • Tools to facilitate your personal career development, such as Annual Meeting & Exhibit!). both hard and electronic copies of The Stepping Stone, as well as our NEW LeaD monthly e-bulletin, which will be spon- • Networking opportunities that will enhance your manage- sored by a different council member each month. ment practices and provide you with professional feedback. Attend an interactive section-sponsored session or webcast, • Access to practical leadership topics and results-oriented such as the popular “Women’s Leadership Forum” or “Break- skills available to you through our LinkedIn page. These can fast with Senior Leaders.” be helpful regardless of where you are in your career. • Summaries of leadership books to help you build the bridge I hope you take advantage of these valuable resources. I know from technical knowledge to decision-making via the getAbstract the challenge for me, and all of us, is: How do we carve out library. time to develop ourselves during the busyness of life? Will 2017 look any different from 2016? • Educational opportunities and resources to become a more effective leader within your organization. Attend one of the Recently, I took time to stop and contemplate what constitutes section-sponsored sessions this year at an upcoming meet- a good leader. I self-evaluated my leadership skills and realized ing! Among others, in 2016 we offered “Important Skills to I had a lot of areas where I need to improve. Recalling a recent Focus on in the Next Five Years” and “Dream Team: How conversation with my teenage daughter, I was reminded that I to Succeed in the Growing World of Virtual Teams” (which can learn more from her than just how to fix my iPhone. She I am very pleased was recognized as one of the top five most told me that in her leadership class last semester she concluded MARCH 2017 THE STEPPING STONE | 3 Changes in the New Year that a good leader must be someone who is passionate, stands very easy not to do. I encourage you to find just one or two up for what they believe in, has integrity, solves problems for new things to commit to as well. society, and always does the right thing even when it is dif- ficult. While this sounds so simple, I was humbled to realize Finally, I wanted to close by welcoming the newly elected how much I still have to work on. L&D Section Council members: Abe Gootzeit, Rong Rong and Mitch Stephenson. I am excited to have each one of you The real question is: Am I going to do anything different to on the council. I also want to sincerely thank the out-going develop myself and be a better, different leader in 2017? All council members: Kelly Hennigan, for all your efforts lead- of us have to take initiative to change in order to improve ing the section so effectively as chair; Jamie Shallow, for the ourselves, and it is all up to us to start taking small steps. countless hours coordinating webcasts; and Mary Wagnon, Sometimes some of the simple things have the biggest impact. who helped recruit some of the best meeting sessions we have Instead of making a long list of stretch leadership resolutions ever sponsored. Thank you very much for giving back to the and goals again this year (which I will never complete), I am actuarial community. n going to keep it simple and focus on just two. First, I am com- mitting to find a new way to volunteer in my community, and second, to find mentor(s) who will help challenge and provide Scott Randles, FSA, MAAA, is the chairperson of counsel for me in my profession as an actuary. I am not sure on the Leadership & Development Section Council the details of how or when yet, but by writing this, I am hold- and is an actuarial director at Allstate Benefits ing myself accountable and will promise to report my progress in Jacksonville, Florida. He can be reached at [email protected]. in future editions. While this is so very easy to do, it is also Virtual Dream Teams Mastering the Art of the Growing Virtual Team Workplace Are you leading a virtual team or do you work virtually? Listen to a new podcast to hear some ideas for a virtual “dream team.” At the 2016 Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting & Exhibit in Las Vegas, Frank Chechel, Zohair Motiwalla and Anne Katcher led an interactive workshop that took partici- pants through two virtual team case studies. The podcast at https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/podcasts/ leadership-podcasts/ shares a summary of the best ideas coming out of that session. 4 | MARCH 2017 THE STEPPING STONE WHAT WOULD YOU DO? A Di icult Discussion By John West Hadley ere is our next entry in the “What Would You Do?” series.1 Write to me at [email protected] to tell me what you would do. In the next issue, I’ll compile the Hresponses received (preserving your anonymity, of course), along with what actually happened in the real-life situation. Help me craft future case studies. Write to me about your own challenging, surprising or nightmarish situations involving business, leadership, management, or any of the topic areas covered by The Stepping Stone, and what lessons you learned from them.