The Personal Question That I’m Asking My Team

I like to work fast. May 1 was my first official day in my new role, but I arrived in the U.S. from Australia one week earlier to get to work. Why? The answer is simple: 2023 is a year unlike any other for pet health. Yet I’ve been telling my team that in order to realize this year’s potential, we have to take our work personally.?

Pet health has seen rapid innovation in recent years. At BI, we are at a special moment in time to continue this momentum as we work toward the launch of new pet products that will propel feline healthcare forward and make parasite prevention easier for pets. One of these new products launched in my first few weeks as the FDA approved our new combination parasite preventative for cats [LINK to release]. This is the first of several milestones we are working toward in 2023 as part of our mission to build an ecosystem of solutions that will help improve the lives of pets and the people who care for them.??

An opportunity like this doesn’t come along often. So as a leader of a new team, how am I working to ensure we seize this opportunity? Well, in my first few weeks I’ve been asking everyone that I meet the same question: What is your personal contribution that will drive our growth in 2023???

Once I ask the question, I can see the wheels turning in their minds. But we work as teams? Is this a trick question??

Yet as they start to answer, the veneer of corporate-speak erodes and human voices emerge. Human voices with ambitions and pride and spirit. I hear responses that are emotional and honest, powerful yet simple, curious if even a little anxious.??

I ask this question to learn, but also to make a point: It’s easy to lose your sense of purpose in your team or organization. But purpose is the engine that fuels our collective drive.??

We recently had the pleasure of hearing from astronaut and American hero Jerry Linenger, who survived one of the most dangerous missions in space history. He said something that resonated with me about the power of the human spirit. When you meld brainpower and purpose around a common goal, teams can accomplish incredible things.??

I’m lucky to work with exceptionally smart people, but I want to make sure that we understand how our individual contributions can have a profound influence on our mission. If we can all find our place — personally — to make this year special and then follow through and do the little things right, we have the best chance at improving the lives of the pets and people that we serve.??

We must never lose sight of this truth.?

I’m curious: If you had the opportunity to pose one question to everyone that you work with, what would you ask? Let me know in the comments below.??