Quiet Leadership: Succeeding as an Introvert in Pharma

Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast.

I hope you are having an amazing week.

Today I am really excited to dive into this topic.

We are going to talk about being successful, growing your career, and excelling as an introvert in industry. And this applies to you whether you identify as an introvert or to better understand the strengths of the introverts you work with.

I work with a lot of women who identify as introverts and can struggle with the loud voices around them.

You want to be thoughtful about your responses, and it can be overwhelming to have such loud and constant talk going on around you.

It can definitely feel like the louder the voice, the higher the rank.

You work in companies with speak up cultures and social activities and it can feel like your worst nightmare.

Like, can you just do your work and be brilliant in your technical expertise – do you really need to socialize and be loud and talk to hear your voice?

I worked in Pharma and Biotech companies for almost 15 years and I know the personalities – and although I am more extroverted, I’m not the first to speak up in meetings.

I like to think through my responses in group settings.

I remember when I worked at a Biotech company we had an executive leader who was soft spoken, introverted, had to have group activities in small doses, and she was a strong executive leader.

She is someone that when she did speak up, people listened.

I want to reassure you that if you’re seeing being an introvert as a negative or holding you back in your career, it’s not that you can’t be successful as an introvert and get into any role you want to, it’s about the strategy you use.

Today I’m going to give you 3 specific ways you can succeed in your career as an introvert that isn’t going to put you too far outside your comfort zone.

Because guess what? “Quiet Leadership” so to speak is not a weakness, it’s a strength —and actually, the Pharma/Biotech space, with its focus on technical complexity, problem-solving, and scientific rigor is actually well-suited for introverted leaders.  

Before we get into the 3 steps let me just further emphasize this with you with some actually studies and data:

First, A report from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)  found that introverted leaders tend to score higher in empathy and emotional intelligence compared to their extroverted peers.  

A whopping 82% of introverted leaders showed greater sensitivity to their team’s needs, fostering better relationships and higher team loyalty.

Think about it, in Pharma and Biotech, where patient outcomes and collaborative team efforts are important to get the best medicines to patients in need, empathy allows you to lead with compassion and strengthen team dynamics getting medicines to patients more quickly.

Next, a study published in the journal Psychological Science found that introverts tend to outperform extroverts in tasks that require innovation and creativity. The study concluded that introverts’ ability to focus deeply without distraction allows them to produce more innovative ideas and solutions.

Given that innovation is at the heart of Pharma and Biotech, introverted leaders can excel in driving groundbreaking solutions, particularly in research and development teams.

I’ll share one more:

A 2014 study by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology revealed that introverts excel at written communication and often take the time to craft thoughtful, concise messages. Over 70% of introverts in leadership positions reported feeling more confident communicating through written reports and recommendations.

This plays directly into the Pharma/Biotech world, where accurate, well-communicated data (think., regulatory submissions, protocols, clinical trial reports) is crucial. Introverted leaders can lean into their strength in written communication to lead projects and influence stakeholders.

Like I said, I work with a lot of introverts and one of the things we work on is effective communication. It’s rarely written communication, it’s how to understand, influence, and communicate effectively at varying levels and in different situations whether it’s managing up with your boss, how you present yourself in an interview or deal with challenging personalities.

If you look for the evidence, it’s there, introverts have incredible strengths as leaders.

Strength isn’t measured by the volume.

Now let’s talk about the 3 steps you can take to use your quiet leadership, or introverted tendencies to your advantage to succeed in your career.

Step 1: Embrace and Leverage Your Strengths

As these studies showed and just to make crystal clear, here are 3 specific strengths of being an introvert in industry.

Deep Thinking and Strategic Insight:  Introverts are often strong at thoughtful, analytical thinking, which is crucial in a data-driven industry like ours. Leaders who are reflective can assess risks, foresee challenges, and offer deep insights, which is essential for strategic decision-making.

Active Listening is your Superpower: Unlike extroverted leaders who may dominate conversations, introverts like you can excel at listening and understanding others. This allows you to lead teams more effectively by tuning into your team members’ needs, fostering trust, and creating inclusive environments where diverse ideas can thrive.

Lead with Empathy: Introverted leaders often have strong emotional intelligence and empathy, which is critical in Pharma where the end goal is improving patient lives. Leading with empathy can result in stronger, more loyal teams that are motivated to do their best work.

Take a moment and think about how analytical thinking, listening, and empathy show up in your current ways of working. How do they impact your leadership style?

Step 2: Build Influence Without Being the Loudest Voice

Like I said, volume isn’t the strength, the strategy is.

Let’s talk about the Power of One-on-One Connections: Introverts tend to build stronger, deeper relationships in smaller groups or one-on-one settings. I think this is great – here is why – you build deeper, more meaningful connections and allies 1-1, regardless of your introverted or extroverted style – and this is your strength. You are more likely to have more strategically advantageous relationships with your focus on 1-1 connections. 

Thoughtful Communication: Instead of speaking for the sake of being heard, introverted leaders can make a bigger impact by contributing thoughtful, well-researched ideas at the right moments. This can give their words more weight in meetings or during decision-making processes. Like the executive leader I shared earlier, because she wasn’t always talking, when she did, people were more likely to listen. When she spoke there was substance there.

It doesn’t mean you should overthink every word, I know this can be an issue for many of my clients, but there is a balance between overthinking or being doubtful of your opinions and expertise and being thoughtful about how you share them.

Use Written Communication Effectively: In the Pharma industry, documentation is critical. It’s almost painfully critical, right? I have taken some of the best documentation practices from industry and incorporated them into my own business, like SOPs. I have SOPs for how to do virtually everything on the operations side. But I’ll let you know I don’t practice GDP. I am happy to date things however I want and chicken scratch my notes. It’s freedom for me lol.

Like I shared earlier, introverts often excel at written communication, so they can use this strength to lead more effectively by providing clear, thoughtful reports, recommendations, or even emails that drive decisions forward.  Instead of going back and forth and hearing people talk their thoughts out loud without thinking them through first, you are skilled at carefully crafting the best written messages to get a positive outcome.

Some tips you can use to amplify these strengths would be to follow up after meetings with an email of what you understand your action items to be. If you know you have an idea you want to share at a meeting, you could reach out to the organizer and let them know ahead of time so you have time built into the agenda and a runway to share, rather than having to insert yourself, if you’re not comfortable with that.

Now let’s get to Step 3: Create a Leadership Style that Works for You

One of the exercises I do with my clients is to create their unique leadership philosophy. We do this at any level so you can identify your strengths, values, and positions as a leader, and lead with authenticity, in a way that feels like you and allows you to stand out.

I did a podcast episode on leadership philosophies, if you’re interested in that topic and want to check it out.

You can create a leadership style that works for you by leading by example and showing people with your behavior the type of leader you are. 

Delegate and Empower Others: You may find it’s easier for you to delegate and empower others because of your tendency to be more empathetic, be a good listener, and understand people’s strengths. 

Set Boundaries for Recharge: It’s also important for introverts to build in boundaries and down time to recharge. Being introverted doesn’t mean you don’t like people, it just means you don’t get a lot of energy from being around people and talking your thoughts out loud. Leadership or highly visible roles especially in industries like Pharma where the stakes are high can be draining for you. Something you can do is to schedule quiet time for you to go for a walk, or spend time alone. Schedule buffer time between meetings so you aren’t back to back when you can.

So let’s recap the 3 steps I shared with you today: Embrace your strengths, build influence using your strengths, and create and leverage a leadership style that fits you.

Another thing to add here is that there isn’t a best style for any particular role.

There are strengths that introverts have to offer, which I highlighted just some of those today and there are also strengths that extroverts offer.

What’s important to takeaway is that you can be successful as you are. You don’t need to be someone you’re not to get to the levels of leadership you want.

Instead of focusing on styles and personality traits, it’s more effective to focus on skills and strategy.

What skills could you build that will help you use these 3 steps and amplify your strengths as a leader? Where might you use your style as a crutch to stay small or prevent growth or change, and where instead could you change your approach or strategy to be more effective?

I hope this episode gave you a lot of insight into how you can succeed as an introvert as well as some confidence and reassurance that the way you are is not a weakness, but instead a powerful strength that is a great fit for the Pharma/Biotech industry, no matter how loud the other voices might be.

That is all for this week’s episode. Have a great week.