Guardian Actuarial

16/04/2024

Will AI take our jobs? "Yes!", says Data Science Actuary Jon Shen.

But this could be a good thing! "We should be aiming to use AI to augment ourselves, to help make ourselves more productive and to remove some of those activities that we don't want to do anyway. So yes, I'd say let's embrace it and it’ll take our jobs, but let's make it take the jobs that we don't want to do anyway. That's a good thing.", says Jon.

Listen to Jon's full interview on the We Are Actuaries podcast this week: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast-episodes/actuaries-of-the-future-jon-shen

14/01/2024

🌟 Excited to kick off the 2024 series of We Are Actuaries! 🌟

In this week's episode, actuary and 2023 podcast guest Stephen Huppert turned the tables to uncover the incredible career trajectory of our Director and podcast host Julia Lessing. From unexpected twists to intentional pivots, Julia's story is a testament to resilience and adaptability in the face of career transitions.

We delved into her journey from early aspirations in psychology to her shift into actuarial studies. We explored her entry into the consulting world and her courageous leap into founding Guardian Actuarial.

Our conversation highlighted unexpected turns, including her bold foray into leadership training amid challenging times. Julia's dedication to empowering fellow actuaries is truly inspiring.

This episode is a must-listen if you're navigating career shifts or seeking insights into managing professional transitions. Join us as Julia shares her wisdom, offering valuable lessons and actionable tips.

Tune in to gain insights on resilience, leveraging strengths, and thriving through unexpected career shifts! Don't miss out! 🎧✨

Listen to the episode on your favourite podcast platform, or watch, listen or read the full interview here: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast-episodes/career-transitions-julia-lessing

Julia is a qualified actuary, certified coach and the Director of Guardian Actuarial. She is leading a mission to foster forward-thinking leaders in the actuarial industry and runs the Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program to help actuaries build their communication, management and leadership ski.....

07/10/2023

The We Are Actuaries podcast has been listed on Feedspot as one of the 15 best actuarial podcasts! https://podcasts.feedspot.com/actuary_podcasts/?feedid=5676688

Search “We Are Actuaries” on your favourite podcast platform, or watch, listen or read the interviews here: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast

08/09/2023

Are you following the We Are Actuaries podcast? Check it out on your favourite podcast platform, or listen/watch/read these inspiring interviews here: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast

Welcome to the We Are Actuaries Podcast, where you’ll meet leaders who use their actuarial powers to solve a range of problems and make a real difference.

22/08/2023

Do you want to be an amplifier, storyteller, or technical thought leader? It felt like "thought leadership squared", when Julia Lessing interviewed 2022 Actuary of the Year Chris Dolman about actuaries being thought leaders on the We Are Actuaries podcast this week!

But how do you become a thought leader?

Chris tells “It's got to be more than just: I want to be a thought leader. There needs to be some influence you want to have on the world, and some reason why you want to do that. So it's important for you to sit back and reflect on that a bit and work out, what do you actually want to do and why, and then go and do it.

In this episode, Chris shares:

🏆 Being awarded Actuary of the Year,

🎭 The three “personas” he sees in the thought leadership space,

😍 What he has enjoyed about becoming known as a thought leader, and

➡ His views and advice on career planning.

You can listen to the full episode on your favourite podcast platform, or head over to our website https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast-episodes/actuaries-as-thought-leaders-chris-dolman to watch, listen or read the interview.

You can also watch the interview here: https://youtu.be/mG88WGYdHO8

Watch Julia's previous interview with Chris in 2022 here: https://youtu.be/DMQNIRiIoDQ

18/05/2023

Why is resilience important for actuaries, and how can we build our resilience? Guardian Actuarial Director Julia Lessing asked experienced actuary, non-executive director and consultant Janice Jones about her experience of burnout and recovery on this week’s episode of the We Are Actuaries podcast.

In this episode, Janice shares:

💡 Why the concept of resilience is important for actuaries,

💡 Her own experience of burnout and recovery,

💡 Some signs that suggest your well-being needs attention, and

💡 Tools and strategies she uses to support her resilience.

Janice reminds us that we aren’t born with resilience, so we need to learn how to build it: “You have to recognise what your levels are, build them up because they'll be depleted through work and family commitments. It's really important that you keep on top of that because if you don't, you will end up unwell feeling, burnt out. And those are experiences that I've been through and I'm sure most people have been through”, tells Janice.

Burnout can take us by surprise, Janice suggests practising self-awareness and being alert for the signs: “You might feel like everything's going really well. But when you think, well, I'm drinking a lot of wine on a Friday night or have a lot of coffee to get through the day, I jumpy, I'm not sleeping well. There's signs that you're agitated, that you're not comfortable, but you're not able to pin why that is. But at least be observant. There's something going on here. And what am I anxious about?”

She also highlights the importance of a supportive team to sustain well-being at work and shares her advice for leaders: “One big thing I believe in is, people do the best they can with what they've got. Don't ask more of them than they can do. But expect that they will do the best they can, that everybody is trying to do the best they can. So don't look for the negatives, but don't ask more people than they can do”, says Janice.

You can listen to the full episode on your favourite podcast platform, or you can watch, listen or read the transcript at https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast-episodes/resilient-actuary-janice-jones

Janice is a Non-executive director, consultant and actuary with significant experience in the financial services sector including employee benefits, investments and financial planning. After starting her career at AMP, her actuarial career spans more than 30 years and has included a wide range of ac

21/02/2023

Actuary and Insurance Leader of the Year 2022 Sharanjit Paddam spoke about his career path working in climate change on the We Are Actuaries podcast this week. He told us that one of the biggest challenges he faced when he started working in climate change was learning how to change the way he spoke about what actuaries can do.

Sharanjit says: "Actuaries are very good at building the roots of trees, right? We're very good at going down, being really robust in our thinking, robust in our modelling, and robust in our data, assumptions very, you know, we'll go down to the nth degree, and we'll have deep roots in what we do. But actually, most people only see, or dare I say care about is, what's above ground. And even then, some of them may be interested in what's in the trunk and branches, but actually, most of them just want what's the fruit at the end of it. And so I had to so stop talking about the roots."

What a great analogy, and an important illustration of the importance of careful communication.

Sharanjit co-leads the Climate & Sustainability Risk practice at Finity and advises clients such as insurers, banks, investors and governments on climate risk assessment, management, strategy and reporting. He’s contributed to numerous national and international initiatives on the management of climate risk, and even gave a TEDxSydney talk on climate change!

In this episode of "We Are Actuaries", Julia asked Sharanjit:

❓ What motivated him to work in climate change and why he has stayed in the space,

❓ The biggest challenge he's faced as an actuary working in climate change,

❓ How he helps actuaries build their skills in the climate risk space,

❓ His experience delivering a talk on the TEDx stage, and

❓ His top tips for actuaries considering a career move into the climate change space.

You don't want to miss this episode, so download the episode of "We Are Actuaries" on your favourite podcast platform, or head over to watch, listen or read the interview on our website: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast-episodes/actuaries-climate-change-sharanjit-paddam

12/01/2023

Registrations are now open for the February - May offering of the Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program.

If you are a new or aspiring actuarial manager, looking for support to help you:

- build your network,

- become better at delegating,

- understand your own communication style and learn how to adapt it when working with others with different styles,

- feel more confident managing high quality technical work when you don’t do it yourself,

- manage your time better so you can spend more time on what’s important to you,

- feel more confident to have difficult conversations with colleagues and people outside your team,

- and learn more tried and true strategies to manage people and teams,

then this course is for you.

If you can spare a few hours each week to participate in self-paced, online learning with activities that work alongside your day job, with support from myself and a small group of actuarial peers from different companies, reach out to register.

More information: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/ga-leadership-program

29/11/2022

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new podcast: We Are Actuaries!

On this show you’ll meet leaders who use their actuarial powers to solve a range of problems and make a real difference.

Your host, Julia Lessing, is a qualified actuary based in Australia. Julia helps senior leaders use data to solve complex, people oriented problems.

You can listen, watch or read interviews from leading actuaries here: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/podcast and you can find it on your favourite podcast platforms.

So settle in, learn from the best, and be inspired!

26/10/2022

Q: What happens when an ACTUARY designs, delivers and evaluates the first ever cross-company group leadership training for new actuarial managers?

A: She collects and analyses data to measure the impact of the program!

The latest group on the Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program wrapped up last week and we've now crunched the numbers to evaluate the improvements that this group of high-performing actuarial managers has experienced.

THE RESULTS?

- Average confidence as managers increased from 46% to 75%.

- Average overall management skills across all 20 learning outcomes increased from 53% to 82%.

- Average skills in managing people and teams increased from 50% to 83%.

- Average skills in managing projects increased from 50% to 78%.

In addition, networking with actuaries across practice areas and geographies was cited as a key benefit of the program.

The full summary of improvements across the whole group in each of the areas is shown in the graph below.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT:

- There are quantifiable benefits in nurturing future Actuarial leadership talent in a small group setting.

- The need for this program is clear.

This course attracts 3 points of CPD per hour of learning for Actuaries Institute members and may be tax-deductible for many participants.

This program is for high-performing actuaries who are new (or aspiring) actuarial managers and is delivered online. Our next offering of this program starts in February and seats are limited.

To find out more, head over to our website https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/ga-leadership-program.