Angie Lindsey, Vice President of Marketing at Fresenius Cabbie USA, shares life science talent management strategies for 2023, particularly as they relate to sales and marketing.
At the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association (HBSHAA) event, Fresenius Cab USA Vice President of Marketing Angie Lindsay discusses talent management strategies for life sciences sales and marketing teams as they plan their strategy for 2023.
HBSHA. A lot has changed in terms of the hybrid workplace and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) since you started in sales at AstraMerck in the 1990s. Given the ever-changing relationship between employers and employees, what strategies should be put in place to manage sales talent? and marketing leaders in 2023.
Lindsay (Fresenius Cubby, USA). Because these topics can be challenging for some organizations, I believe Fresenius Cubby has developed a strong culture that values everyone's contribution. The fundamental need for community and employee connection is the same as when I was a sales rep in the 90s. Anyone who has ever felt like part of a successful team knows that feeling of camaraderie. When you have a strong team, it's important to develop a culture of trust among team members who are deeply committed to each other's success and growth. This requires investment in team cohesion, clarity of roles and responsibilities, and practices of interdependence; Based on faith.
After more than 17 years in sales and marketing roles at a large pharmaceutical company, I joined Fresenius Cab to lead the genetics sales team. I remember it was my first national sales meeting and we did a loyalty workshop by Stephen MR. With Covey. Even though it was 10 years ago, I remember well that trusting relationships with colleagues and customers are more important than ever, especially in a virtual work environment. I believe in the 13 Ways of Faith as taught in his book The Speed of Faith. 1 The team must be willing to practice trusting behaviors and the manager must trust the team by providing clear vision and direction. Engagement and productivity follow when the team knows they are part of something bigger and that their contribution matters.
Early in the pandemic, values-based leadership was taught at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University by Professor Harry M. Jansen Kramer Jr. I took a virtual course taught by a former Baxter executive. Teacher. Kramer described moving from “values to action” and highlighted four principles of values-based leadership: self-reflection, balanced perspective, authentic self-confidence, and authentic humility. 2 I particularly enjoyed this course during my transition to a virtual work environment.
Finding a balanced perspective and humility have been key to sustaining my team's success. For me, being humble means focusing on the people around me and treating everyone with respect and understanding that we are none of our business. The pandemic has added to the fact that everyone has a life outside of work. It was about inviting people into conversation, listening to their voices, embracing different ideas, and keeping an open mind.
We tried different meeting platforms and communication methods (including Microsoft Teams, Slack, and WebEx) and it was a great collaboration experience that helped keep our team's communication open and the conversation fun and healthy. Everyone was very supportive and we all agreed on the process to find better ways to communicate while being virtual. Finally, when it is safe for us to return to the office, I see people who really want to come back to the office to be together.
Fresenius Cabi has many jobs that can be done remotely. We offer flexible working hours so each employee can work with their manager to develop an office schedule that works best for them, including how often they come into the office. But since we all decided to go back to the office three days a week and split two of those days to overlap, it was a fun ride together for my marketing team. Part of the incentive was for those who returned three days a week to fill their positions; Otherwise this place was open for hotel accommodation. However, 100% of my marketing team was willing to come back to the office a few days a week, and the feedback was that people like working together in person.
According to a recent study by the World Economic Forum, "...only 12% of workers are completely confident that they are productive at home...even though 87% of workers say they are." 3 My direct reports understand my beliefs. in them; And we appreciate the great power that comes from personal collaboration. Last week, Wednesday afternoon, we all had an impromptu meeting at the office to catch up on the latest in our industry. Meeting the team in person and hearing what each team member had to say was very empowering. I know we can have similar conversations through Microsoft Teams, but you can't beat the energy you feel in person.
It's important to consider how readers can build meaningful relationships with your team, solicit feedback, build trust, and maintain the balance needed to attract, develop, and retain top talent.
HBSHA. Talent management is a good transition to DE&I because it is important that employees understand both CSR obligations and the business value of the subject. What are you doing as a leader to raise awareness of DE&I in the workplace and what challenges do you face?
Lindsay (Fresenius Cab USA). For me, the rise of the multi-generational workforce and the challenges it presents to include everyone is a very exciting development. We face the fragmentation of virtual and hybrid work and desperately need to unite our teams around common goals. Employee engagement is essential for teams to perform at their best.
Our company recently held a DE&I training program hosted by the NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI) on how to promote inclusion, which I think is a very important point. A core element of inclusion is connection, which has always been important to me as it relates to our innate need to belong in groups, which is essential for human survival. When we subconsciously put someone in a group, we like them and understand them more. However, this unknowingly leads us to expose our own unconscious biases, which can leave others feeling marginalized.
I am motivated to create an inclusive culture by developing relationships with my team. One of the aspects of the NLI training that I enjoyed the most was the simple ways to enhance the bonding experience in a group setting, 4 of which are:
- Be warm and curious. I've noticed that many leaders have excellent planning skills, but often struggle to plan well. Some of the most obvious indicators of warmth are physical: eye contact, smiling, and an open posture during conversation (don't cross your arms or look at your phone). These clues are just as important, if not more so, in a virtual environment. Other signs include expressing empathy and active listening.
- Describe the overall experience. The similarity of partners is not always clear. You may need to actively seek common ground, perhaps outside of work, involving shared experiences on this scale. For example, our team carries out voluntary activities at least once a year. Giving back to the community creates a meaningful bond. We also kick off our quarterly strategy meetings with an icebreaker. It's a valuable investment that helps your teammates get to know each other better, and it's fun.
- Definition of general objectives. Shared identity, such as race or gender, can create strong groups, but shared goals and objectives have been shown to be more powerful in bonding. Our team regularly reviews our vision and mission, and we constantly seek the victories that we celebrate together. When we all commit to a good cause like Fresenius Cabe's philosophy of 'caring for life', it creates common ground that we can all identify with.
I've found that when you practice this intentionally, it creates a team environment designed for strategy and communication, and we have a team of diverse generations and backgrounds. Every voice is heard and every scene has value.
Also, most global organizations, including ours, have mentorship programs and employee support groups where people can benefit from such support programs, such as my participation in the mentorship of my very talented colleague Fresenius Cab from our North American team. It can definitely enrich the working environment and create a meaningful communication opportunity. Ultimately, creating an inclusive culture with opportunities to connect is both a talent retention tactic and an important business strategy.
Reports
- Covey, SMR, The Speed of Faith. One thing that changes everything (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2006).
- Kramer , Harry M.
- World Economic Forum, “Bosses think workers are less productive working from home, Microsoft polls” https://www.weforum.org/videos/27493-bosses-think-workers-less-productive-working-from - home-them-a-Microsoft-Survey (October 11, 2022).
- Rock, D., Grant, H., “Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter,” Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter (November 4, 2016):
About Contributors
Angie Lindsay is vice president of marketing for Fresenius Cab USA, part of a 7 billion euro global organization with 41,000 employees. His previous roles in sales and marketing were at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca startup AstraMerck.
Michael Wong is an honorary member of the Harvard Business School Health Alumni Association.