Creating Connections – By Nina Antinora
Understanding others creates meaningful connections
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, where the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly prevalent, empathic leadership serves as a cornerstone for nurturing deeper connections and driving sustainable growth, particularly in life sciences, where effective communication and engagement with healthcare providers (HCPs) and key opinion leaders are pivotal for success.
Empathic Leadership Is Not Just a Buzzword
Embracing empathy as a leader, innovator and overall human is imperative. It equips us all to better understand diverse perspectives and foster meaningful connections that surpass digital boundaries.
Enhancing leadership skills through an empathic lens enables life sciences professionals to effectively leverage AI insights, while upholding human values. Empathic leadership also preserves the human element in decision-making processes, fostering trust and bolstering the positive impact of technology.
Training Framework for Success
No matter the participant’s corporate or field function, when designing empathic leadership training programs, it’s important to create a framework that encompasses diverse perspectives, promotes collaboration and champions the cultivation of a supportive and inclusive workplace culture. As L&D professionals, it’s imperative that we equip delegates with the skills to effectively employ empathic leadership, alongside navigating varied digital technologies and adaptation within their teams.
Developing interactive learning experiences is vital. Experiential opportunities enable life sciences professionals to actively hone these skills and foster a balance that emphasizes peoplecentered approaches, while also adapting to technological advancements.
Exponential transformation in mindset, behavior and outcomes occurs when participants are provided with opportunities that allocate sufficient time for sharing
best practices based on realworld experiences. This facilitated learning style promotes vulnerability, openness and trust by creating a space where delegates feel safe to share their own experiences and perspectives, furthering mutual respect and collaboration.
Empathic Design Thinking in Action
In our industry, we have undoubtedly witnessed the profound efficacy of role-play scenarios in our training design and the importance of addressing learners across diverse roles and experiences. These interactive activities are indispensable for establishing competencies, fostering profound comprehension and enabling the practical application of expertise within authentic contexts.
Empathic Leadership Example:
Here’s the background, based on a leading pharmaceutical medical affairs team specializing in neuroscience treatments. The organization’s medical science liaison (MSL) team plays a crucial role in building relationships with HCPs and providing scientific support and education on their novel neuroscience products. The challenge is with the rise of digital communication channels. The MSL team identified a need to adapt their approach to engage with HCPs effectively in virtual interactions. They recognized that HCPs often faced time constraints and information overload, making it challenging to capture their attention and convey important scientific information.
Using an empathic leadership intervention to address this challenge, the MSL team implemented strategies to enhance their digital interactions with HCPs. The top three actions were:
- Understanding HCP Preferences: MSLs conducted surveys and one-on-one interviews with HCPs to understand their preferences for digital communication channels, preferred topics for discussion and challenges they faced in virtual interactions.
- Personalized Communication: Based on their insights, MSLs tailored their communication approach to each HCP, delivering personalized scientific content and resources that aligned with their interests and needs.
- Active Listening and Empathy: During virtual meetings, MSLs engaged in active listening, demonstrating empathy toward HCPs’ concerns and providing personalized support and guidance.
The empathic leadership intervention led to a significant improvement in HCP engagement and satisfaction, highlighting the importance of human connection in a world increasingly driven by technology HCPs reported feeling valued and supported by the MSL team, leading to increased participation in virtual meetings, higher levels of trust in the scientific exchange and greater willingness to collaborate with the MSLs in the future.
The MSLs found this specific role-play scenario to be invaluable in successfully integrating empathic leadership with their interactions with HCPs. This experiential training approach not only honed their empathetic communication skills, but also provided a safe space to refine their techniques, resulting in more effective engagements with HCPs and external stakeholders.
We Are All Leaders
When implementing empathic leadership training, it’s vital to recognize that leadership transcends conventional hierarchies or titles. It encompasses how each individual manages themselves and influences others, regardless of their position or role. This concept emphasizes that every action, decision and interaction contributes to shaping the culture and direction of a team or organization.
Empathic leadership encompasses self-management, which entails being self-aware, regulating emotions and dedicating oneself to personal growth and improvement. This includes understanding one’s strengths, weaknesses, values, goals and aligning behaviors and actions accordingly. It also involves managing emotions, stress and reactions effectively.
Conclusion
How we manage ourselves influences how we interact with others and contribute to a positive and productive work environment. By demonstrating integrity, empathy, resilience and a growth mindset, we inspire trust, collaboration and innovation among our peers and team members.
Empathic leadership starts with self-management, extending beyond the role as a life sciences professional to encompass our personal lives. This mindful approach
begins at home, transcends the work environment and extends into all aspects of life, reinforcing the significance of human connection beyond the scope of all
things digital.
Nina Antinora is CEO of Change It Up. Email Nina at nina@changeitup.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/nina-antinora-2804475.
