In my last instalment in The Actuary, I wrote on the stewardship of the profession entitled “Nurturing and Growing”.
This is particularly relevant against the backdrop of the Council elections going on right now, and the renewal of the Presidential team and Council in the IFoA’s AGM on 24 June 2021.
I believe stewardship means that we nurture and grow what has been entrusted to us so that we hand it over in better condition to the next generation of leaders. In this regard, I think we can be reasonably content with what IFoA has achieved in the last 12 months.
I would like members to realise, that in our context, decision making is widely shared and there is a rich diversity of opinions. This is good but it also means consistency and authority are harder to achieve given the rotation and relative short terms of Council members and Presidents. It also means that we must be acutely aware that we must avoid the syndrome of “when everyone is responsible, no one really is”.
We all know that the work for the profession and IFoA is far from finished. My own take is our attention should not be IFoA strategy itself. This is often true for not-for-profit and membership organisations. I believe our attention should be placed on Culture, Governance and Capability. We must continue to encourage, support, and nurture a highly member centric culture; and where there is imagination and agility in execution.
In the coming fortnight, is vital that those with the capability, experience and time are elected to serve on the Council. They are the stewards of the profession. I will expand more on this later this week in Tip 59 which is based on Sir Francis Bacon’s quote “I hold every man a debtor to his profession.”
We have made progress, and the journey continues.
I have enjoyed being your steward. It is your turn.