Leading Change in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Dan Smith is the VP of sales of a leading pharmaceutical company. He has been a sales leader in the Pharmaceutical Industry for the last 10 years. He has spent most of his pharmaceutical career engaged in various sales and marketing roles. He remembers the days when “we would be adding a new sales force every year or two”. He reminisces about the good old days when he went to extravagant sales meetings in exotic locations, and had fun.

In 2009, Dan recognizes the need to move to a smaller sales force. His company is facing patent expiration issues, having difficulty gaining formulary coverage for new drugs and experiencing decreased access to physicians. Over the past 6 months Dan has worked behind closed doors examining countless sales force alignments, permutations and configurations. He has made 3 presentations to his boss and corporate VP’s. Dan has convinced the executive team that his plan makes sense.

Dan has carefully crafted a new approach to the market place, an approach that involves creating “Moments of Magic” for his customers. He has listened to their needs and is restructuring his organization to be lean and focused. The days of detailing are gone. He knows that sales reps need to move the needle on each and every call. They need to bring value to their customers and drive business forward.

In the days ahead, Dan will implement his restructuring plan. This is when the rubber will hit the road. He knows the subsequent weeks will be painful and challenging. He has a critical leadership role to play. As his executive sales coach I have been privy to his plans for the last 6 months. We have had long discussion about the stress and burdens of his responsibilities. I have been a sounding board and have helped him develop the change management skills necessary to lead the organization’s restructuring.

Dan has hopefully set the table for success. Prior to roll out, Dan has a 4-part plan, which I have detailed here.

1. Have all your ducks in a row:  HR and legal have put all documentation in place. There are packages prepared for each sales rep that is being laid off (severance letters and outplacement service offerings etc.). The people who are going to contact the sales reps have been trained and know how to effectively communicate what is happening. 

2. Act quickly: Even though Dan has tried to keep things quiet, rumours of layoffs will inevitably circulate, creating stress for all. Unfortunately the rumour mill is running wild with fear and negatively impacting morale, focus and productivity. All the more reason to set deadlines and make sure you meet them effectively and efficiently.

3. New vision for the sales organization is in place and ready to roll out: Dan is ready to clearly and concisely communicate his new vision. He is going to explain what the organization will be doing differently. What the new sales structure looks like, and what the new roles and responsibilities for team members are going to be. He has carefully crafted the rationale for the downsizing to share at large.

4. Set up individual meetings: Dan believes that it is critical to meet face to face with each employee. Keep meetings brief and factual. Treating those who are being laid off with respect by thanking them for their efforts and offering fair severance packages were important to him. He knew that word travels quickly and the way people are treated on the way out sends a message to the remaining sales people. He did his best to ensure that sales people were being treated fairly in terms of transition packages and with dignity.

Now that word is out Dan has outlined three goals for his sales management team:
 
1. To retain all top performers
2. To regain productivity and positivity as quickly as possible
3. To transition to the new way of doing business

Dan knows that the success of his new vision is dependent on the buy-in of his front line sales managers. For any change management program to work it needs to be led from the front lines. This is a critical time for Dan, as he needs to effectively communicate to the entire organization. His front line managers will look to him for leadership. He will be the role model, his attitude and behaviors through the initial phase will send an important message to the entire team.

Dan has been working on the changes for the last six months. He has had time to deal with his own guilt, anxiety and fears about the impact his vision will have on the organization. His managers on the other hand, are just starting to deal with their own emotions. They have lost colleagues, sales reps and friends. They will have to deal with their emotions, anxieties and grief. Dan and I have developed an approach that will help him transition his organization to the new vision.

1. Win their Hearts: You need to win their hearts before you win their minds. The managers need to believe in the changes and their future with the organization. The real work starts after all the announcements have been made and the layoffs completed. Senior sales management must now focus on the remaining sales managers and sales people. 

2. Be an Empathetic Leader: The key is to be open. Listen. Help your staff deal with their emotions and be empathetic. By showing concern and interest, you will be working towards getting everyone back on board. Set up weekly group meetings to provide feedback on how the transition is progressing. Put out the small fires and try to address them before they become infernos.

3. Offer Support: Your efforts need to be focused on coaching and encouraging people to be successful in transitioning to the new vision. Be available, be present, and be there for your people. You may want to offer your sales manager’s access to an executive sales coach to help them deal with any issues. An executive sales coach can help accelerate the transition by offering an unbiased sounding board and be an outlet for managers to discuss issues that they may not be comfortable raising with you.

4. Promote and Communicate Positivity: You need to exude optimism and a “can do” attitude regarding the transition. Promote optimism and positive thinking in all your communications. Be sure to highlight positive movements and all success stories, no matter how minor. Reward each success and allow the people who adjust quicker to become role models for the team.

As you may have figured out Dan is a fictitious Executive.  He represents any and all VP’s of Sales in the industry who have in the last few months announced downsizing in their organization. I encourage sales managers who have recently experienced a downsizing to share their challenges and successes. Please feel free to provide your first hand experience, I welcome all comments, concerns and issues.

(See next months article, “The Sales Managers Guide to Leading Change).

When I saw this title I was intrigued. As many of you know I frequently write about coaching being the No. 1 management activity that drives sales performance. Gwen Teatro discusses what a good coach looks like. Find out whether you are a good coach. Feel free to share your thoughts on this article.

Coaching is one of those words that tends to lace everyday language at work but I wonder how many people who are supposed to be doing it actually know what it means or what it takes to be a good coach?

I don’t know about you, but there was a time when, on hearing the word coach, my mind automatically dredged up visions of cheerleaders and marching bands and all those sports analogies that we all love to hate but for which we have yet to find decent replacements.

And yet I have come to know coaching as a very powerful tool.  That makes it worth talking about and worth doing.

There is no magic formula for becoming a good coach.  Like most things worthwhile, it takes work. Period.

But, in the interests of starting somewhere, here’s what a good coach looks like to me:

•  A good coach will be genuinely interested in knowing me

This does not mean that I expect you to be my best friend.  What it does mean is that you will make an effort to understand my capabilities, my ambitions and my development needs.  If you don’t take the time to know these things, you will be hard-pressed to know if you are getting my best performance

• A good coach will look past my excuses and challenge me to do my best

Sometimes, I won’t be able to see myself as you see me. Sometimes I will not want to stretch myself for fear that I might fail.  As my coach, you will challenge me to go beyond the unspoken boundaries I have set for myself.  You will not accept my excuses.  You will show your faith in my abilities and my potential to do more by demanding more.  And, should I fail, you will help me to extract the learning from it and move on.

• A good coach will hold me accountable for the commitments I make

When a new idea captures my imagination, it is easy for me to envision bringing it into reality.   And yet, while I will understand the importance of it, there will be times when I need your help to stay the course.  Starting is usually easy.  Finishing is harder.  As my coach I will rely on you to remind me of the importance of completing what I set out to do.  And, if I shift my focus, you will help me ensure that my reasons are valid.

• A good coach will encourage me, support my efforts and celebrate with me when the time is right

There will be times when I question my own abilities; when I need guidance and resources to help me do my work and: when I need acknowledgement for the work I have already done.  As my coach, I will count on you to deliver these things at the times when they are most appropriate.  That will require you to talk with me regularly. Our talks do not have to be long but they must be truthful.  The success of our relationship will depend on it.

So, that’s what a good coach looks like to me.  But, what must a person have in his or her own “kit bag” of characteristics before s/he can hope to successfully fill the role of “good coach”?  Well, I expect there are many but the four that come quickly to my mind are these:

• Self Assurance – If you are to be successful in your coaching efforts, you will often have to suspend your own desire for acknowledgement and work in service of helping someone else shine.  This can be hard on the ego and as such, a healthy sense of self, both in terms of assurance and awareness, will be important.
• Self Discipline - As much as it is important for those you coach to follow through on their commitments, it is as, if not more, important for you, as coach to hold yourself accountable for the commitments you make to them.
• Courage – Coaching often requires difficult conversations.  Courage is a cornerstone of good coaching and of good leadership.  For a good coach or leader there is usually no place to hide.
• A sense of humour – Most good coaches know the value of humour, particularly the self-deprecating kind.  It is an essential tool at work and in life. Enough said.

If this is all sounding just a tad onerous, you may be wondering what’s in it for you to be a good coach.  Where’s the payoff?  This is where I think it is:

• When those whom you coach do well, you do well
• When you coach others to do their best work, you get optimal results
• Good coaches are often recognized as having valuable leadership capability.  And that opens doors for you.

If you have an appetite for more coaching observations, you must go to Mary Jo Asmus’ excellent blog post here.  You won’t be sorry. http://www.aspire-cs.com/coaching-if-its-too-hard-do-you-give-up

So, what does good coaching mean to you?  What would you add?  What challenges do you face as a coach?

Gwyn Teatro is a Certified Professional Coach with a Masters of Science degree in Management and 15 years experience as a Human Resources Consultant to Executive and Senior Management in the Financial Services Industry.

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