Leadership – The Leadership Edge

Becoming Your Best Self As A Leader

Welcome to the final segment of my fascinating, inspiring and practical conversation with Julie Anne Smith, President and CEO of Escape Bio. At The Leadership Edge, we have the privilege of partnering with clients and friends like Julie, to accelerate the pace, performance, and cultures of the world’s most innovative life science companies. What we have learned over our 31 years as a thought partner to these amazing leaders and their organizations, is that we can’t bring great drugs, devices and diagnostics to market, if we aren’t tapping into 100% of the best and brightest talent available. That is why we are so committed to increasing not only diversity in the life sciences, but also helping organizations to create a true sense of belonging for under-represented people.

Finding The Gift In Failure

Welcome to the third episode of our four-part series featuring Julie Anne Smith, President and CEO of Escape Bio. If you have joined us in our earlier conversations, I am sure you have discovered that Julie and I share a huge commitment to advancing womens’ success in the life sciences. Whether we are serving on DE&I committees, supporting our employees in taking on more leadership responsibilities, or strategizing ways in which the most marginalized, women of color, can have the opportunities to lead and positively impact their organizations… we are there for you.

Developing Your Mindset For Success

We are excited to continue our month-long celebration of Women’s History with the second video in our series discussing strategies to overcome the challenges that women face in the Life Sciences. I hope you had the opportunity to join Part One (*hyperlink) of my conversation with Julie Ann Smith, the President and CEO of Escape Bio, where we explored the things that can hold women back from advancing in our careers along with some tips for overcoming them.

Unique Challenges For Women In The Life Sciences

In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, The Leadership Edge team is excited to share the first in a four-part video series discussing strategies to overcome the challenges that women face in the Life Sciences.

Why are Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Important?

At The Leadership Edge, we have been committed to Diversity for more than 31 years and we, like much of the general public, are now increasing our focus to the equally important areas of Equity, Inclusion and Justice. This Black History Month, we are proud to highlight some of the brilliant minds who had to overcome unimaginable hurdles on their way to monumental contributions all while inspiring youth around the world to focus on S.T.E.M. studies.

What changes have you made in your routines to become more efficient with this new work environment?

Most of us are not currently commuting to and from work every day, which, for some, has freed up a significant amount of time daily. Yet, for those with additional work and family responsibilities; homeschooling, a loss of your support systems, etc, you may find that you have even less time than while working in a traditional workplace. Either way, a re-evaluation of your day might be necessary to make sure you fulfill all of your responsibilities while allowing for critically important self-care.

What have you learned as a result of this great time of change and reflection?

The workaholic/grind mentality is common in our industry and self-care is often secondary. The additional time many of us have now has helped us realize the importance of not only taking better care of physical, mental and spiritual needs but also focusing more on our personal relationships and family. The Leadership Edge shares some of their lessons learned and renewed personal priorities below.

Our team’s biggest take aways from “Picture A Scientist.”

It has been a heartwarming year for women in the sciences with the recent awarding of Nobel Prizes in Chemistry. The awards highlight how important diversity and inclusion are in our industry. The new documentary Picture A Scientist chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists by bringing to light the challenges they have faced as women in the sciences and their commitment to improving opportunities for women moving forward. This personal, powerful & eye opening film really hit home for our team as it has for people around the world.

Click here to watch the trailer

What attribute(s) are you most proud of when it comes to your team?

When we experience change, one of the first feelings we have as human beings is that we are alone. We think we need to solve all of the problems, identify and secure new resources, and somehow feel that we are prepared and capable to do it all. During times of change, we need others more than ever. We suddenly find the resources, the know how and the support we need to make great things happen.

Performance Reviews: New Competencies & Ongoing Conversations

The end of the year is fast approaching and chances are, no one ever prepared you for how to lead a performance review conversation during a pandemic.

You may have found that while some goals were put on hold there was also an expectation that many, if not most of the company goals were expected to be delivered upon, on time and on budget. The typical competencies that you measured may have seen a few additions, including communicating remotely, being self-motivated, working autonomously, or building high performing teams while juggling children, school, dogs and managing cold callers on your home line (if you still have one). With the new challenges that have been presented as many workers Zoom in from their home office, feeling the stress of huge levels of change and uncertainty, you might want to keep the following tips in mind.

12 3 4

The Leadership Edge

ASSESS. GUIDE. DEVELOP.