Becoming an Agent of Change Was the Focus of the 2005 Leadership Conference
by Marie Tartaglio, M.Ed., Director, Training & Learning Strategy, Scientific Advantage LLC, and Donna Ramer, President, StrategCations Inc., Member, HBA Board of Directors
“Successful leaders are adept at mastering change, and most companies want their employees to be agents of change,” said Barbara Pritchard, immediate past president of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) and president of The Pritchard Group and Intermedica Inc., as she kicked off the 2005 HBA Leadership Conference, Agents of Change, in Baltimore in November 2005. The two-day conference sponsored by the HBA featured corporate leaders, rising stars, HBA Women of the Year, and internationally recognized personal coaches and authors who shared the most effective ways to become agents of change to more than 325 attendees. According to 2005 Conference Chair, Susan Torroella, president and CEO of Columbia MedCom Group, this year’s leadership conference was designed specifically to help participants recognize their own power as agents of change, whether they seek the role or are thrust into it. “It is safe to say people are leaders in some way at each stage of their professional development and contribute proactively or reactively according to need, expertise, and level of comfort,” Ms. Torroella said. The annual HBA Leadership Conference was created in 2001 as a two-day retreat to allow participants to focus on building their leadership skills and adapt to an ever-changing landscape through plenary sessions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. Previous conference themes were Redefining Leadership and The Responsibilities of Leadership. The Individual as an Agent of Change The Agent of Change theme was adopted by the leadership conference as part of the association’s ongoing dedication to helping individual members respond to negative comments about the industry with accuracy and facts about how the industry works and its direct impact on billions of lives around the world. There was something for everyone, with workshops on navigating the politics of leadership to securing venture capital to building a personal investment portfolio. By taking advantage of workshops on such topics as the computer-simulated Credible, Reciprocal & Persuasive Influence, Creating Best Practice Leadership Styles, Embracing Conflict to Effect Positive Change, the Power of Persuasive Communication, Thinking Outside the Pharmaceutical Box, How to be a Positive Change Agent during Company Transitions or Executive Influence: The Politics of Building Organizational Commitment, participants learned and practiced the skills of influencing change in often complex, emotional situations to determine and understand what resonates with those he or she is trying to influence, as well as how to build and act upon effective strategies to accomplish change. Workshop speaker Charles Green (Galvanizing the Trust: Tools for Perceptual Change of the Healthcare Industry) pointed out that trust is a factor of four variables as part of the tools and methods to respond to an aggressive consumer marketplace and a competitive environment. According to Mr. Green, the four variables of trust are: credibility (words); reliability (actions); intimacy (security); and self-orientation (focus). “It’s important to recognize that we can be powerful change agents in the industry, and we can never forget that our reason for working in this industry is to help patients,” said Debra Newton, president of Newton Edge and 2006 president of the HBA. “We must take a leadership position in putting the care back in the healthcare system with a focus on the patient.” Kudos to the 2005 Conference Committee, which worked for more than a year to bring together a highly distinguished group of industry experts, coaches, authors, and workshop leaders: Daria O. Blackwell, Shellie Caplan, Kathleen Case, Denise Dixon, Ciaran Duke, Wendy Hauser, Dominique Hurley, Nancy Larsen, Ilyssa Levins, Josianne Pennington, Donna K. Ramer, Lori Ryan, Barbara Schmidt-Kemp, Lori Spellman, Karen Spofford, Ryan Taft, Marie H. Tartaglio, Nicole Woodland-deVan, and Lynn O’Connor Vos. Mark Your Calendars A new HBA Leadership Conference committee is working on the 2006 conference, which will be held in Boston, November 2-3. Contact Ms. Torroella at [email protected] if you would like to volunteer. PharmaVOICE welcomes comments about this article. E-mail us at [email protected]. The Defining Moment: Becoming a Leader What is the one defining moment in which a person crosses the threshold to leadership? Or is leadership a series of small enlightening moments? Typically, it is only after successful navigation through a series of arduous tasks that one arrives in a position of leadership. In a workshop on “Women Embracing Change: Three Case Studies of Successful Women,” Carol A. Ammon, chairman and founder of Endo Pharmaceuticals, one of the three, shared with attendees that her path to high-level leadership was a process, involving trial-and-error and feedback along every step of the way. Ms. Ammon is grateful to those who cared enough to support and enlighten her along the way. “We are not self-made men and women,” she says. Preeti Pinto, executive director of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, an attendee of the workshop says, “there are people who will teach us what we need to know when we need to know it.” Attributes of Change • People can lead from any position • Passion can transform ideas/people through change • Be steadfast through change so that colleagues have an anchor • Know what you want to accomplish and then push yourself to gain the new competency necessary for the task • Make the decision to move on, even if it means moving out of your comfort zone; a new direction may provide a defining moment and result in an opportunity that will have enormous impact on your life • Reach out beyond your own team — faster, earlier, and broader — to ensure lasting success • Open your mind and attitude to a new way of doing things • Convince your colleagues that change is a good thing and that their contributions are a vital part of the progression • Identify what energizes you most so that you are invigorated by the chance to do something that makes a difference rather than exhausted by the tasks at hand Source: Catherine A. Sohn, Pharm.D., Senior VP, WWBD & Strategic Alliances, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare; Carol A. Ammon, Chairman and Founder, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and Mary Szela, VP, Primary Care Operations, Abbott Laboratories. Changing the Image of a Mature Industry: Numerous and Interrelated Opportunities • Every sector of the healthcare industry must take this challenge seriously • Court the current friends of the industry • Build trust; there are no competitors, only collaborators • Talk is cheap so we must be willing to take on our critics one battle at a time • To change the industry’s reputation, the industry must first change its actions • Treat patients as comarketers; this is a well-informed group • Communicate both the risks and the benefits of healthcare options • Speak directly to the issues and don’t assume too much • Reputation is important because it allows leaders to walk the talk Source: “Agents of Industry Attitude Change,” a plenary panel facilitated by 2005 HBA Woman of the Year Lynn O’Connor Vos, President and CEO, Grey Healthcare Group, as well as panelists: Heather Mason, Moderator, VP, International Marketing, Abbott Laboratories; Wayne Pines, Consultant, APCO; Peter Pitts, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Mark Grayson, Deputy VP, PhRMA; Mary Ann Wagner, Senior VP, National Association of Chain Drug Stores; and Deborah Dick-Rath, Executive Director, Global Advertising, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. HBA Leadership conference wrap-up January 2006 2005 HBA Leadership Conference More than 350 industry executives gathered in November 2005 for the Annual HBA Leadership Conference. The “Agents of Change” event kicked off with a reception at the Maryland Science Center and was followed by two days of keynote addresses, robust panel discussions, and interactive workshops. 1. HBA leaders, who were named to the PharmaVOICE 100, gather in front of the publication’s booth at the recent leadership conference. From left to right: Teri Cox, Cox Communications Partners; Charlene Prounis, FlashPoint Medica LLC; Robin Winter-Sperry, M.D., Scientific Advantage LLC; Susan Torroella, Columbia MedCom Group; and Lynn O’Connor Vos, Grey Healthcare Group. 2. 2005 HBA President Barbara Pritchard and 2004 HBA President Daria Blackwell share a moment during the reception on Monday night. 3. Carol Ammon from Endo Pharmaceuticals and Catherine A. Sohn, Pharm.D., from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare share their insights during a panel discussion. 4. HBA Plenary Session — More than 350 industry executives gathered in Baltimore for the HBA’s annual leadership conference. 5. Participating in the Thinking Outside the Pharmaceutical Box workshop were (left to right): Jack Barrett, Yahoo; Mary Wherry, AstraZeneca; Taren Grom, PharmaVOICE; Marianne Dugan, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.; Beth Everett, Ph.D., ImpactRx Inc.; Arlene Kirsch, Ph.D., GlaxoSmithKline Managed Markets; Jane Francis Lears, MedicAlliance; Monica Gilbert, Wyeth; and Jean Male, Emp-Higher. 6. Susan Torroella, Columbia MedCom Group, and President of the HBA Mid-Atlantic Chapter and Chair of the 2005 Leadership Conference moderates the Tuesday morning session, Agents of Inspiration and Passion.
