The SOA Leadership & Development (L&D) and Joint Risk Management (JRM) Sections are excited to announce that we are jointly starting a Book Club initiative focusing on leadership development and decision making this year! 

 

This will be a platform for all actuaries (and non-actuaries) to learn and share insights on leadership related topics. It is open to all experience levels since leadership skill development is a natural progression, starting with leading by example.

 

Every other month, we will host a virtual discussion on lessons-learned and key takeaways from a pre-selected book. In-person meetings will be arranged during major SOA conferences as networking events. You don’t have to attend all discussions. Each session is independent, and you can just register for the book tile or theme that you are interested in.

 

Each virtual session will be facilitated by two volunteers. It is intended to be an interactive session and a safe place for participants to reflect on the key concepts discussed in the book, key takeaways and practical applications. Through our selection of books, we hope to cover a wide range of hot topics, such as negotiation, handling difficult conversations, delegating effectively, making risk based strategic decisions, etc. 

 

Book Club session line up for 2023:

1.     “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It” by Chris Voss – discussion on August 9th 11am central. Register here: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/webcasts/2023-never-split-difference/

2.     “Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.” by Brené Brown – discussion to be held late September; exact date and registration details will be announced soon

3.     “The Ten Commandments of Risk Leadership: A Behavioral Guide on Strategic Risk Management” by Annette Hofmann – discussion to be held early December; exact date and registration details will be announced soon.

 

We have selected book titles for sessions to be hosted in 2024, and are also looking for volunteers to lead discussions. If you are interested, please reach out to Shirley Wu ([email protected])  & Emily Li ([email protected]).