Beyond the Office: Bringing Outside Skills into the Workplace

What do umpiring, teaching, community groups, and music have in common? As it turns out, quite a lot.

At a recent Insights Session chaired by Martin Mulcare, four actuaries shared how experiences outside the office have shaped their professional lives in surprising and powerful ways.

The session combined individual stories with collective reflections, reminding us that skills built in community, sport and volunteering are not just “extras” — they are deeply transferable into the workplace.

Bianka Grange: Lessons from the classroom

The first speaker, Bianka Grange, reflected on her experience as a volunteer Primary Ethics teacher — part of a non-profit organisation in NSW that brings ethics education into primary and high schools. In this role, Grange doesn’t provide the “right” answers but facilitates enquiry-based learning, guiding students through stories and helping them explore their own thinking.

Bianka Grange sharing lessons on neutrality, positive engagement, and communication from the classroom

Grange highlighted three lessons from this experience that have carried into her professional life. 

• Practice of neutrality: Resisting the urge to shape outcomes with her own opinions and instead rewarding contributions rather than “good” answers. This discipline has made Grange more intentional about creating space for her team’s independent thinking.
• Positive engagement: Framing what you want people to do — rather than what to stop doing — creates a more constructive environment, whether in a classroom or a meeting room.
• Presentation skills: Facilitating enquiry with a group of children demands clarity and presence, skills that translate directly into how Grange communicates with colleagues and stakeholders.

Crystal Mai: Finding presence, voice and composure

Crystal Mai, a nationally badged netball umpire, shared how the high-pressure world of sport has influenced her professional approach, explaining that what began as a way to stay active has grown into a decade-long passion, where every match requires split-second decisions and calmness under scrutiny.

Crystal Mai discussing how split-second decisions on court have built presence, voice and composure at work

Mai spoke about how umpiring has taught presence, as the energy and passion she feels on court naturally extends into her professional life. She discovered her voice, learning to back herself in decisions and project confidence even when challenged. And in the chaos of competition, she developed composure — focusing on what she can control, finding calm in the moment and projecting steadiness until she truly feels it.

These lessons have helped Mai show up at work more grounded, confident and resilient.

Dorothy Cheng: Building a community from scratch

For Dorothy Cheng, motherhood was the catalyst that sparked her journey. When she couldn’t find a support network during pregnancy, she started one herself. That small step has since grown into a thriving knowledge hub where hundreds of mums exchange advice, organise play groups and share resources.

Dorothy Cheng reflecting on lessons in empathy, delegation, and building community from scratch

Through this experience, Cheng has learned the value of empathy — building trust, listening carefully and reading between the lines to understand unspoken needs. She also discovered the importance of enabling others, recognising that not everything had to be done alone and that delegation created both sustainability and shared ownership. Finally, Cheng spoke about rules and boundaries. Clear principles guide how members interact with each other and with external parties, ensuring the group remains safe and focused.

What began as a personal search for connection has taught Cheng valuable lessons about  empathy, pragmatism and governance, that she continues to draw on in her professional work.

James McAtamney: Lessons from a life in music, business and community

James McAtamney’s perspective wasn’t shaped by one defining moment, but by a blend of experiences -  growing up in a family business, pursuing music, and stepping into community theatre.

James McAtamney sharing insights on teamwork, leadership and the value of stepping outside the corporate echo chamber

Through music, he learned teamwork and that success is not about being the loudest, but about listening and blending. Conducting was a different perspective again as it showed him that leadership is not directing every note, but knowing when to step back and let others take the lead.

Volunteering also gave McAtamney the chance to step outside the corporate echo chamber as it placed him alongside people with very different backgrounds who offered candid feedback and perspectives he would never hear at work. And when he found himself leading a community theatre through COVID-19, he had to rely on judgement — making decisions about reopening, safety rules, and volunteer wellbeing, often with incomplete information. These experiences reinforced that growth comes from teamwork, perspective, and practical decision-making.

Collective reflections

As the session moved into a more conversational tone, common threads began to surface. One was the art of communication. Grange spoke about adaptability — understanding how your words land with others — while Cheng noted that leading volunteers is not so different from leading at work, except that passion is often the motivator.

They also touched on the challenge of time management. Cheng recommended the book Anti-Time Management by Richie Norton, which encourages pairing new activities with things you already do, rather than treating work and life as opposing forces as work is part of life, not separate from it. Grange added that these activities all count as personal development ,sometimes even a handy way to collect CPD points.

McAtamney reflected on how volunteering brings a practical lens, reminding him to focus on what works rather than only what looks good in theory. Mai affirmed that volunteering broadens your worldview – meeting people from different walks of life brings empathy and perspective that carries back into the workplace. And as both Grange and Cheng are mothers, they found common ground in learning when to ask for help and how to share the load.

The event closed with Martin Mulcare asking each panellist for one piece of advice. McAtamney encouraged the audience to “do something different.” Cheng suggested finding someone to share the journey with. Mai encouraged not to worry about what others think. And Grange agreed with James, adding that the real value often lies in thinking differently about the activities you pursue.

Mulcare left the audience with one final challenge: What skill do you have that you’re not yet leveraging in the workplace?

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This piece is one of many initiatives under the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, which seeks to highlight the diverse experiences that strengthen our profession. By celebrating different voices, identities and stories, we aim to show how diversity and inclusion make us stronger, more innovative and better equipped to serve our communities.

If you’d like to explore further, the recording of the event is available here , and more in-depth conversations with the speakers can be found on the Guardian Actuarial podcast .