Career and Leadership
No, I don’t want to be a leader!
Actuarial careers
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For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed leading people and teams. Perhaps it was to be expected as an "eldest child", or maybe it was my Army Cadets training, but for me, there’s no greater buzz than leading a group of talented people use their strengths to deliver an outcome.
Having developed and delivered leadership training for actuaries since 2021, I’ve had countless conversations on the topic. So, it came as a shock when I first heard an actuary tell me, "Oh no, I don’t want to be a leader".
Isn’t a leadership role the ultimate marker of career success? Apparently not for everyone, but leadership skills are essential for all actuaries.
Not all actuaries aspire to have management or leadership roles and that’s totally fine. Our society needs actuaries to fulfil a range of roles from technical experts to leaders. We need technical expertise to solve business and societal challenges: price new products, model new risks and evaluate scenarios. But technical expertise alone is unlikely to change the world.
As an executive coach, I’ve seen actuaries amplify their impact and accelerate their careers by adding leadership skills to their professional toolkit. Essential leadership skills include:
"Most actuaries feel a sense of achievement when their ideas and insights are applied by other people. This usually requires presenting, pitching and/or persuading."
— Experienced actuary, Martin Mulcare
Whether you want the title of "leader" or not, here are some of the essential leadership skills actuaries need in 2026 and beyond.
Technical skills are essential as your credibility as an actuarial leader rests on a strong foundation of technical competence. But your technical prowess alone will only get you so far.
I recently worked with an actuary who had a reputation for technical strength. He had worked hard to earn this label, having held every key technical role from pricing to valuation across several of the bigger players in his industry. He felt he’d seen it all and he was ready for a new challenge. However, he had trouble securing a promotion. Once he started actively building communication skills – through strategic delegation, stronger connections with teammates and tackling difficult conversations – new opportunities opened and he quickly secured a promotion.
Your strong technical foundation is a given but investing in your communication skills will keep your career progressing. As Sujan Yamunarajan, Executive General Manager, says "Master the numbers but never hide behind them. Technical excellence earns respect; emotional intelligence earns loyalty. True leadership requires both. The real value of an actuary isn’t in the calculation — it’s in the clarity you bring through it."
Thankfully, actuarial negotiation doesn’t often involve life-threatening situations. However, the stakes can still be high in the corporate jungle! Whether you’re securing support for an idea, advocating to change a policy or trying to land a new role, having some practical negotiation tactics in your toolkit will help you succeed.
Negotiation skills can be learned. The first step is recognising that a negotiation is not a battle, but just a special kind of conversation. Next, consider who you are negotiating with, what you are seeking to achieve and then try to understand the needs and wants of the other party. Instead of seeing the negotiation as something to win or lose, work to find an outcome that is acceptable to both parties.
Simon Ong, Senior Actuary, makes the point well: "I think negotiation requires empathy. Separating people from the problem doesn't mean ignoring how they feel. It means genuinely understanding their views and interests."
Can you recall the most engaging actuarial presentation you’ve watched? A common mistake many actuaries make when presenting their ideas (whether in a meeting or on stage) is losing their audience’s attention by sharing unnecessary details, or boring them by sharing their analysis journey, e.g., "first we got the data, then we cleaned it, then we built a cool model". While you might find the process and details interesting, many people don’t need or want this level of detail.
Desmond Muzorewa, Senior Actuary, identifies the challenge: "As actuarial leaders, we work in a world of complexity (models, assumptions, and uncertainty are our daily language) but our real influence lies in making that complexity understandable."
Flip the script on your next presentation and focus on the "so what" for your audience. Start with the key messages and only share the details if someone asks for them.
The shift from technical expert to people leader carries real responsibility, and it's one that's easy to underestimate. Appointed Actuary Kathryn Pollastrini captures it well:
"When you are given the opportunity to manage someone or to lead a team, always remember the profound responsibility that comes with that trust. Never take lightly the impact your daily leadership decisions can have on people and their careers."
A common mistake I see new team leaders making is thinking their promotion is a reward for their own technical brilliance, while failing to realise that their role now involves developing and rewarding their team members.
You might have more technical experience than team members reporting to you, and you probably have accountability for the quality of the results your team produces. But don’t forget to take the time to develop your team members. What do they need to learn so they can strengthen their skills and take on more responsibility? What strengths do they bring to the team?
Use your technical superpowers to help others build their skills. This investment will return to you more time to further develop your own skills.
As actuaries, we share a common language and may feel more comfortable surrounded by our actuarial peers and colleagues. However, building strong connections outside our team can help us increase our impact and navigate challenges as they arise.
To identify your key stakeholders, start by asking yourself the question "Who has an interest in, or influence over, my team / organisation / project?" From there, consider ways to connect with them, whether through 1:1 catch-ups, engaging in cross-company activities or asking for an introduction from a mutual connection. Invest generously in building these relationships, not just when you need something!
Appointed Actuary Mike Williamson reinforces the point: "Building strong relationships across the business is essential to getting things done. Success rarely comes from working in isolation – collaboration is key to both individual impact and organisational outcomes." Investing in those connections before you need them is what makes them effective when it counts.
Whether you have set your sights on the C-suite or prefer to stay closer to the models, leadership skills will help you use your actuarial superpowers to amplify your impact and take your career where you want it to go. Investing in your leadership skills can also be considered as eligible CPD under Professional Standard 1.
Which leadership skill will you work on to amplify your impact in 2026?
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