We Are Only as Good as the Sum of Our Parts

If you type “teamwork + quote” into Google, it’s likely you’ll end up finding a great quote from Michael Jordan. No offense to the greatest basketball player of all time, but when I need nuggets of inspiration around teamwork, I just ask my Sanofi colleagues or the athletes of Team Sanofi.?

In my first newsletter, I highlighted how Sanofi’s partnership with the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 is reflective of the company we aspire to be – modern, inclusive, and committed to making a difference in the world.??

When engaging in conversations with athletes who are preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris next year and thinking about the work we do here at Sanofi, I am struck by the commonalities found in our teams. Such as the essential contributors who are often behind the scenes, and the importance of qualities like trust and resilience.?

1. An athlete and a scientist are only the tip of the iceberg?

First, even in the most individual sport, an athlete is never alone in their journey to compete for Gold. Every member of Team Sanofi I speak with will immediately mention their coaches, trainers, family, friends, teammates – even nutritionists. Because they all play an essential role in an athlete’s training and conditioning – physically and mentally.??

Similarly, in drug development, and as Liz Laws and Rebecca Sendak highlight, it takes the collaboration of dozens of experts from across disciplines to bring a medicine from bench to bedside. Even with the best and brightest idea for a new medicine or vaccine, a lead scientist cannot do it alone. It takes the direct contribution of experts from clinical operations, regulatory, manufacturing, quality, supply chain. Not to mention the critical role of investigators, clinical trial participants and scientific societies.??

2. No trust, no victory?

Our Sanofi journey to transform the practice of medicine is as much a scientific team effort as it is a cultural one. Over the past four years, we’ve built a pipeline composed of 90-95% of first-and best-in-class assets. Because we want to lead scientifically, not follow. It comes with higher scientific risks, but also much more important rewards for patients and society.???

Ultimately science is always prevailing. But when you want to break new ground, you need to foster a workplace environment where people feel comfortable being themselves and are empowered to speak openly and recognize their team members frequently. Keys to success, according to Chris Liwski and Lauren Rowles.

Building a culture of trust also includes thoughtful risk-taking. That means encouraging teams to push boundaries in the spirit of doing things that have never been done before. Our purpose – chasing the miracles of science to improve people’s lives – depends on it.??

3. Slow and steady wins the race?

When we began working with Team Sanofi, I found out that it can take up to 10 years for an athlete to make it to the Games. That’s around the same amount of time it takes to develop a drug – from discovery to approval. In both sports and science, failure is always a possibility. But it’s how your team handles that failure, how you learn from it together, with discipline and humility as highlighted by Rafik Amrane, that makes all the difference.?

Finally, the best way to discover the parallels between science and sport is to bring our scientists and athletes together. Recently, we welcomed Team Sanofi member Ezra Frech to our lab in Vitry-sur-Seine in France. Based on Ezra’s takeaways below, it's clear our work with Team Sanofi is showing us all that no matter what your end goal, a great team can in fact make miracles happen.??