Over the last twenty years in biopharma, I’ve found nearly every Product Director (PD) I’ve ever worked with to be intelligent, knowledgeable, and driven individuals who have worked hard to earn their positions. Good business skills come very naturally to most who have gone through the rigors to earn a PD role, but as I observed in my blog, 4 Personal Skills Needed for Effective KOL Relationships, much more than planning, organizing, and budgeting is needed for a PD to truly connect with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and anyone else on their team. What separates a good PD from a truly great one is the ability to combine their business skills with the people skills (conscientiousness, self-awareness, empathy, social skills) that were highlighted in my previous article.
My colleagues and I have always referred to these rare individuals as ‘unicorns’ because that perfect mix of two seemingly diametrically opposed skillsets can feel impossible to find. In reality, naturally discovering that combination of skills in a single individual is very unlikely, but the most encouraging words I can give to any new PD is that these skills can, in fact, be learned and developed if they are willing to make the effort.
What Skill Will Help Me Excel as a PD?
The one social skill every driven PD should hone is a skill that doesn’t get nearly enough credit in business: Empathy. While it may seem like an odd trait to consider in the business world, it’s one that fits in perfectly when you pause to think about it. Like any business leader, a PD makes numerous mission-critical decisions every single day. Being able to make those decisions while considering the feelings of others tend to positively impact KOLs, who are physicians and naturally inclined to be empathetic. Empathy should also extend beyond KOLs and should be practiced with everyone within your organization as well, including your sales team. To truly develop empathy within yourself, it needs to be used with everyone in your professional and personal life until it becomes habit.
Where Should I Start?
While some people are naturally empathetic, it is also something that can be developed with patience and discipline in order to be utilized in the workplace. Nurturing your empathic side is really about making a conscious effort to shift your mindset away from yourself and your goals and instead focus more on the goals and values of others. Like I outlined before, empathy is key because it’s the culmination of many other social skills such as self-awareness and conscientiousness. How can you master developing empathy? An easy exercise is to try and practice empathy the next time you speak with a KOL. When you do, make a conscious effort to see things from their point of view and speak to that. Talk with them and ask specific and probing questions that are relevant to their goals. Take the time to truly listen to what they have to say. For example, don’t discuss the financial or attendance goals of your upcoming speaker program, but rather focus on how these programs could help them (and you) achieve your respective goals. Perhaps they wish to educate their HCP peers and help improve the quality of living for their patients. Finding areas where you can align your vision and theirs whenever possible creates synergy which makes any obstacles you might encounter much easier to overcome. With practice, this kind of thinking and seeing situations through an empathetic lens will become second nature. Always keep your focus on asking relevant questions, listening, and learning, and this will show your KOLs not only do you care about doing good work, but you also care about making a positive impact on the people you’re willing to undertake the details that will ensure their success. program speaks to.
You + Me = We
It seems easy in concept but maintaining this focus can become difficult in the workplace when countless other priorities begin to stack up, leaving you little time to consider the feelings of those around you. This is when the rubber meets the road, leaving you with the choice of what kind of PD you want to be. Do you want to be remembered as someone who is able to put others first or your own priorities first? We’re all here on this great big rock to help uplift others and being open to your KOLs, peers, and cross-functional partners will leave them wanting to collaborate with you more. The situations where it’s most difficult to practice empathy, are typically the most crucial. Those with a developed sense of empathy will make time and ensure a healthy relationship with their KOLs even when budgets are tight, a last minute deadline has come up, while priorities are coming down from above, and time is short. When KOLs see you working in tandem with them in times of stress, it garners great respect and strengthens the relationship. After all, you’re all on the same team. It’s no longer your agenda versus theirs. A convergence takes place, aligning all of your goals, allowing KOLs to empathize with you in turn.
Practice empathy and, combined with practical business skills, your relationship with your KOLs will flourish. While it may not happen overnight, over time you will develop the skillset needed to take yourself from a good PM to a great one and that newly honed empathy skill will come out naturally.
