Unlocking the Power of Your Personal Network

We all know networking is important for career growth – but it’s more than simply finding people to speak with, it’s about understanding what you want to accomplish with their support and collaboration. In the healthcare industry, we often talk about how science will cure cancer. That’s only partly true – people will cure cancer. People working together to do the research, people treating and communicating with patients, and even people picking up the phone to call on an unexpected source for help breaking through a roadblock on the path to a cure. In fact, I’ve found that building a reliable personal network is an invaluable tool in the battle to treat patients and push toward cures. Our networks are bottomless wells of resources, advice and innovation.

I’m often asked for advice about how to cultivate a personal and professional network. These are a few guiding principles that have helped me:

Approach Building Your Network with a ‘Pay It Forward’ Mentality

Looking back, I’ve seen that responding when others needed my help has been rewarding and often mutually beneficial. This includes helping people at different levels than I was or who I didn’t know personally, as well as connections from organizations like the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA). The reason? They have paid it forward not just to help me, but also my connections, as well as patients. And it still happens today.

For example, at the start of the pandemic our team faced a major challenge: a product made by another company that’s approved for use with our therapy appeared to be in short supply. Our patients don’t have time to wait for treatment, so I called someone at the company I had just met who connected us with the right people to prioritize the medicine needed for our patients. At Kite, we have been incredibly fortunate that no patient’s cell orders have been disrupted during the pandemic, and that is thanks to incredible teamwork and collaboration from employees across the globe.

In the early days of my career, finding opportunities was more difficult without having a strong network. As I built credibility, I stayed in touch with peers, bosses, subordinates and customers. I also forged relationships with people who I didn’t work with at the time, but was able to work with eventually because we kept in touch. All the while, I kept this ‘pay it forward’ mentality, and have found that the more I help others, the more I am helped unsolicited.

Lean on Connections to Overcome Challenges

Every time I’ve felt stuck in making a major career decision, I have tapped into a diverse set of mentors to get advice and different perspectives. Aside from my sister and my husband, I usually won’t go to the same people every time for advice. Often, we find our mentors in the workplace while working for the same company. But people switch jobs and careers – and keeping the communication going with your mentors can help you make big career decisions down the line.

As a woman in a leadership position, I’ve also leaned on my network to advance the role of women in my industry – both for myself, and for others. This is because in my early days (actually, until fairly recently) there were very few women in leadership roles that I could go to for mentorship. I’m pleased this is changing, but also recognize we still have a long way to go.

It’s why I will work to champion diversity in leadership roles. I often look to my network to help elevate diversity in the pharma industry and organizations where I’m a board member – especially those who are ready for the next step in their career, but either haven’t been chosen for unconscious bias reasons or haven’t raised their hand. You never know what impact you might have on someone else’s career – or who might prove to be a source of guidance and inspiration to you.

Seek out Diverse Opinions

I welcome being challenged by perspectives that are different from my own. I prefer to seek second opinions and insights from subject matter experts rather than making unilateral decisions, and I like hearing perspectives from those who are early in their careers. I may be able to teach them about leadership and the ins and outs of the biopharma industry, but they mentor me too. The world and innovations change so quickly, I’m learning more from them than I ever gave back when I was in their position.

In our line of work especially, seeking fresh ideas from unexpected sources is incredibly important. So often, we find ourselves working to solve problems that we ourselves have not experienced firsthand. This is certainly true for many of us working to cure diseases like cancer. Understanding the patient experience – and the caregiver and provider experiences, for that matter – is essential for designing and improving treatments. Having opportunities to speak with patients and physicians directly is incredibly helpful and important to better understand unmet patient needs. It’s these moments and conversations that are outside of my day to day business, but have helped shape me to be a better leader.

No man (or woman) is an island. However, with COVID, many are feeling more isolated. Now more than ever, we must focus on building strong connections to get through these difficult and uncertain times. For those of us in the life sciences industry, building a network helps us deliver on our pledge to patients: to put their needs at the center of everything we do. When we unlock the power of our networks and work together toward a common goal, nothing can stop us.

This photo is from almost exactly one year ago at the Forbes Healthcare Summit. I look forward to when we can all safely meet in-person again!