Elizabeth Cooper

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

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While we are all focused on COVID right now, there are challenges for female leaders that, from where I sit, have not changed. As women, we define leadership success differently and our leadership styles are perceived and judged differently. Our go-to leadership styles tend to be more affiliative, democratic, and coaching. We engage our teams and empower them by asking “what do you think?” but when we use commanding or authoritative styles (sometimes things have to get done quickly), the words that are used about us are more negative than those used for men.

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There are many ways that I and other women that I know are trying to change this, here’s a few:

• Call out unconscious biases

• Support each other

• Don’t allow female colleagues to be interrupted and cut off in meetings

• Encourage women (including yourself) to be unapologetically who we are

What is the leadership/business framework you use most often to help you lead effectively?

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Like many other women and men whom I admire, I use a situational leadership framework. I strive to modify how I work based on context, and consistently encourage people to respectfully express their ideas. By helping others find sources that transform hunches into referenced recommendations and conclusions, I create/facilitate cross-functional collaborations that uncover deeper business insights.

What trend in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry does not get enough attention?

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As someone who has been both a clinician and worked in biopharma, I’ve noticed two trends that haven’t seemed to garner a lot of attention. The biggest one is the paucity of companies that are focused on developing novel non-oncology products in the women’s health space. This is a global rather than Canada-only issue. I’ve interviewed many patients, physicians and payers over the years.  On one side there are female patients and physicians who are interested in new, safer, more effective drug treatments for not just endometriosis, fertility, and menopause-related issues, but also for pain, autoimmune diseases and depression – disorders that disproportionately affect women. On the other side there are payers that say, “but we have treatments,” and “painful sex will not kill you.” Maybe we need to be louder?

The second trend is more of an observation or a lack of change.  Even as equity, diversity and inclusion are discussed and we see more women in positions of control including in the C-suite, women are still being judged using male behaviour as the normal standard.

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How do you define career progression?

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I thought long and hard about this! The lens that I use to view career progression has changed over time. I believe that progression is not just about job titles and added responsibility. Over the past 20 years since I transitioned from being a clinician to working in biopharma/consulting, my career has progressed up and across multiple domains– business development, opportunity assessment, marketing strategy, market access, and negotiations, to name a few. Progression doesn’t mean getting a corner office to me; it means collaborating with others so that those that want the C-suite, see me as a trusted asset as they rise.

How do you inspire others?

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I’m answering this one as a “how to inspire” rather than how people find me inspiring.  Here’s some ways to inspire people:

Focus on the skills that people have and give them specific feedback on what you found helpful.  Help them hone what they are already good at.

Give people the benefit of the doubt – think about their intentions rather than your perception of their actions/words.

Positive energy and tenacity are contagious. Don’t give up, even when you have a bad day and the voice inside your head is telling you that you are a failure.  Breathe in and out, take a step back and reflect.  Then figure out how to solve the problem.  Share the solution.

Actively listen and connect with people above you, below you and at your level and share what you know and let them share what they know.

Intentionally do thoughtful things for people, colleagues, even strangers, but don’t expect anything back.

Consciously plant seeds, transparently nourish the ideas and allow forests to grow without claiming that you made them grow.