Danièle Thibodeau

Quel est le plus grand défi auquel sont confrontées les femmes dans notre industrie aujourd'hui et comment le surmontez-vous ?

What is the biggest challenge facing women in our industry today and how do you overcome it?

I think women first need to be offered opportunities and support so that they can learn, collaborate, and shine.  However, too often, the “first woman” to hold a leadership position is burdened with the responsibility to represent all women.   This excessive focus on her every action and decision can lead to moments of anxiety and doubts while she has all eyes on her.  As more women are appointed to leadership positions, this apprehension will eventually decrease and a new balance will settle in.

These changes won’t happen overnight. Among the barriers women are facing, there is the lack of trust, limited opportunities, and lower legitimization.  I still believe that mentoring and coaching women is essential to the development of our future leaders.  For instance, planning a succession while ensuring an equal representation of women at all levels of the organization can help build and uncover a growing network of talented and highly efficient women.

I personally strive to always do my best with my current knowledge and skills.  Whenever I feel doubts gnawing at me, I often repeat to myself: “Don’t be perfect, just be present.”  This mantra helps me overcome my fears, both real and perceived, and helps me perform without second doubting myself.

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À quoi attribuez-vous vos plus grandes réussites professionnelles ?

To what do you attribute your biggest career successes?

Even though, throughout my career, I have learned to live outside of my comfort zone, I believe my biggest career successes are ascribed to my “tribe” (forgive the rhyme here).

I am proud to have built and maintained meaningful and long-lasting connections with people of various ages, backgrounds and interests.  Everywhere I worked and studied, I cultivated enduring friendships.  Now more than ever, I strive to have regular conversations with my friends, either in person or through technology, when we share our worries and success stories. I still count on their support and inspiration to help me through the hard times and celebrate my “small victories.”  With them, I feel confident and willing to face new challenges with all the energy required to overcome them.

One of the reasons that convinced me to join a WLP committee was to expand my network, with talented women especially, in the pharma industry.

I—bravely—promise myself to thrive as much as possible in my work and to be as visible and productive as I can be.  This guideline helps me take the necessary and sometimes hard decisions to complete my projects.

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Quelle est, selon vous, une caractéristique que chaque leader ou dirigeant devrait posséder?

What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Over the years, I learned to recognize the importance of emotional intelligence—the ability to understand and manage our emotions. People who possess this quality are also able to understand and influence the emotions and behaviour of others.

Controlling your emotions does not mean denying or minimizing them.  On the contrary, the emotion that surfaces is like a warning for you to pause, reflect, and listen more closely to what is going on within you.  Even the emotions we perceive as negative (e.g. anger, jealousy, or sadness) inform us on what really matters to us.

Empathy plays a great role and allows leaders to develop and refine their emotional intelligence.  Many women are a step ahead regarding empathy:  let’s leverage this advantage!

Quels conseils donneriez-vous à quelqu’un qui souhaite suivre votre cheminement de carrière dans l’industrie pharmaceutique?

What advice would you give to someone looking to follow in your career path within the Pharmaceutical Industry?

The advantage of working in the pharma industry resides in the wide selection of tasks that make a difference in the lives of the patients, their families, and the community. It’s a workplace of choice where people can reinvent themselves if they need to.

No matter your expertise, my first advice would be to cultivate knowledge—or at least a curiosity—for science and the scientific method.  This knowledge fosters richer conversations with colleagues and professionals and helps you better contribute to decisions.

My other piece of advice, intended specifically for women, is to make your work “visible.”  This can be done by being congenial, taking pride in your work and, most of all, evolving into a trustworthy, supportive person who is open to new ideas.