Case Studies and Articles

Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Communicating Confidently with Jananie William

Jananie William (FIAA, PhD) wears many hats: she is an academic at the ANU, a Research Affiliate with the Global Institute of Women's Leadership (ANU) and Advisor to The Social Outcomes Lab…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Managing remote teams

With the COVID pandemic in its third year, many actuaries are still working remotely. This means that actuarial managers continue to face the challenge of managing team members who are not in…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Actuaries – How can we #BreakTheBias?

In celebration of International Women’s Day today, Julia Lessing highlights the need for leaders, managers, colleagues to take action to #BreakTheBias and reflects on the progress that the actuarial…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Leadership Reflections with Stephen Huppert

Stephen Huppert provides advice to organisations that are committed to improving the retirement outcomes of Australians. These range from some of Australia’s largest superannuation funds…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Better decision making in business

One characteristic of great actuarial leaders is their ability to make effective decisions. They confidently make timely decisions while capably weighing up all relevant factors…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Leadership Reflections with Ada Tong

Ada Tong is currently the Product Director of Property Data Solutions at Domain. She started her career as a GI actuary, before moving into analytics and data science, and most recently she has…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Applying active listening

Not long after I finished my last actuarial exam, one of my closest friends went through a traumatic divorce. Her mental health was affected, and before long, she was having suicidal thoughts…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

The Big D – how to delegate effectively

High-performing actuarial teams are led by managers who know how to allocate work fairly, safely and efficiently to maximise the contribution of their teams, while creating opportunities for team…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Leadership Reflections with Wayne Brazel

Wayne Brazel is an Actuary with over 30 years experience within the Australian and North American Industries and across the broad spectrum of products and currently is the Appointed Actuary and…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Covid-19 Christmas 2021

At 8am Christmas morning the phone rang. “Mum, I’ve just tested positive for Covid”. The previous night, a close friend told me her daughter had tested positive, and their household would be in…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Leadership Reflections with Sam Maitra

Sam is a freelance GI Actuary working with consulting houses and insurance companies while developing a start-up that helps reduce plastic waste. He is currently an Associate within EY’s Actuarial…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Lifeline learnings for better conversations

First it was COVID-19, then lockdowns, then Delta, then more lockdowns, and now it’s Omicron. It’s not surprising that many of us are feeling unusually on edge in the last few weeks of 2021…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Leadership Reflections with Douglas Isles

An actuary by training, Douglas first joined Platinum in 2003 as an investment analyst, having spent some time at the Commonwealth Bank as a product actuary and, prior to that, as an investment…

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Julia Lessing Julia Lessing

Are great actuarial leaders born or made?

As the eldest of four, I’ve comfortably worn the hat of manager and leader since my childhood. In my after-school casual work, weekend Army cadets, then in my actuarial career, my leadership qualities were…

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