Balancing personal and professional goals can often seem like two conflicting priorities, but one insurance manager says that they don’t need to be - in fact, she is encouraging staff to see that balance as ‘career empowering, rather than career limiting.’

Suncorp New Zealand’s executive manager, life portfolio and new business Claire Sutton (pictured) spent a lot of time in HR at various insurers before taking on her role at Suncorp-owned Asteron Life, and recently spoke at the annual Women in Insurance Summit. She said her career path had been ‘very deliberate’ in terms of where she had wanted to go, but that her number one priority has always been the same - her family.

“I studied for a postgraduate diploma in HR management, and over the course of the next 20 years, I really started to hone my craft,” Sutton said.

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“I was very deliberate around the generalist and specialist roles that I took, I changed industries because I wanted to really understand how my craft worked in different types of industries. I also took time out to continue to really build my professional development as well, and was always looking at how I can broaden my skills and how I can bring value back to my organisation.”

“We do have to make choices on a daily basis around our whole life, and where our career fits in around that,” Sutton continued.

“The principle around thinking about the choices I make as career empowering rather than career limiting is something that I feel quite strongly about. Over the last 14 years, the most important job in my life has been to raise good adults, to really be there for my children, and to ensure that I can continue to grow my career as well. I don’t really want to compromise, but at times, we all do.”

Sutton led Suncorp’s customer insights and culture team for a number of years, and now leads a team of 60 staff dealing with Asteron Life’s products, pricing and underwriting.

She said everyone working within her teams throughout the years has had to balance personal and professional goals in many different ways, and that, ultimately, the role of an organisation is to support that.

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“One thing I would say is that I don’t think this is exclusively a women’s issue,” Sutton said. “I see many men in our business balancing home and work, and I am very aware of that.”

“I’ve also had people in my team who have had to make choices about start-ups at the same time as holding full time jobs, and I’ve had an elite athlete in my team,” she added. “We’ve had to think about how we can create an environment that allows them to participate in their sport at the highest level at the same time as they hold and thrive in their career.

“Thinking about our choices as career empowering rather than career limiting is definitely a mindset, and one that I would encourage everyone to embrace.”