Leadership, Lessons and Silver Linings During COVID-19

At SpringWorks, one of our driving values is to “Care Hard.” As a rare disease and oncology company, the first thing that comes to mind with this value is the importance of caring deeply and relentlessly for people living with rare diseases and cancer so we can develop new treatments for them. But equally important is how we “care hard” for each other, meaning our friends, family, and co-workers, especially during challenging times. This has never been exemplified more than during recent months when the coronavirus pandemic has impacted nearly everyone in some capacity.

The pandemic shined, and continues to shine, a light on how important it is for companies to show both flexibility and empathy as the world shifts to a “new normal.” Faced with a new reality in which people are juggling work and personal responsibilities in the same space, people with medical conditions are facing different challenges to get to their medical appointments, and the community at large is trying to navigate through it all.

A personal challenge I experienced during this time was the death of my father, who lived in Nigeria. While I was overseas to honor his life and grieve his passing, the pandemic intensified, and many countries closed their borders in attempts to control the spread of the virus; Nigeria was one of these countries leaving me stranded there for five months. Consequently, in addition to the grief I felt about my father’s passing, I also became worried about when I would be able to return to my family and to my company and team members who were all expecting me back in the US. I was left with many questions and concerns about how I could manage my team, my workload and my personal responsibilities.

Fortunately, these questions and concerns were short-lived. When I shared the news about my father and the border closures, my CEO responded with immense kindness, and asked how he could best support me based on Nigerian culture and traditions; when I found myself an ocean away from my usual home and office environments, my manager made a point to speak with me almost daily to ensure I felt connected; and when I needed to participate in team meetings, my colleagues were extremely accommodating of the international time difference.

My company’s response to my needs prompted me to think about ways I can better lead, support and engage my own team. Living through this experience helped me recognize that while the pandemic has posed considerable hurdles for us all, it has also presented numerous opportunities for employers and management teams to rethink their business operations, how they view productivity, and how they can adopt a more people-centric culture. A few examples come to mind:

1.     Don’t underestimate the impact of empathy and compassion

Now more than ever, it’s important to support the roles and responsibilities that employees bear outside of the workplace. We must understand that before someone is an employee, they are already a family member, potentially a parent and/or spouse, a friend, and a community member with other obligations. During this pandemic, many have had to adapt to a remote working environment while also juggling these other obligations, which is no small feat. Finding ways to show empathy and compassion to boost morale and ensure colleagues feel appreciated, supported, and productive is imperative; this should endure beyond the pandemic.

2.     Encourage professional development

As head of a field-based medical team, travel and safety restrictions greatly disrupted the daily routine for many individuals in my department. I challenged myself to find ways to keep my team engaged; I used the opportunity to accelerate our trainings and provide educational and professional development workshops – activities that are easy to dismiss when demands of normal course of business take precedent but important, nonetheless.

I encourage all employers to recalibrate their usual internal operations, and to view some “downtime” or disruption to daily routine not as a business expense, but as an immediate enrichment opportunity for employees that will ultimately have long-lasting benefits for their organizations.

3.     Communicate frequently and build a strong sense of connection

 Quarantining during the pandemic has highlighted people’s deep need for connection and communication with others. The ability to huddle in the same room for a brainstorm, to walk down the hall to ask a colleague a question, or even to have simple water cooler conversation became activities that many didn’t realize they were taking for granted.

With remote working currently the norm for so many, it’s critical to ensure that individuals remain connected to one another. At SpringWorks, another one of our driving values is centered on togetherness, and while this looks pretty different nowadays in a fully virtual environment, we are still connected and working toward our common goal of delivering life-changing medicines.

As so many have said, we truly are living in unprecedented times. Accurate as this is, this pandemic has presented us with an important silver lining – a renewed focus on how we can best “Care Hard” for each other. I’m grateful that SpringWorks offered me such profound compassion and empathy during a time of mourning for my family, and that my team was kind and understanding about my situation abroad.  

 As Maya Angelo said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”