Leading Through Change: Lessons from the Field

Over 25 years, I’ve led transformation initiatives across pharmaceutical sales, analytics, business development, and AI implementation. Each experience taught me that change isn’t a project with a start and end date, it’s a continuous practice that requires authenticity, communication, and unwavering focus on people.

Start with Why, But Don’t Stop There

Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ is fundamental, but in my experience, successful change leadership requires going deeper. People need to understand not just why change is happening, but what it means for them personally and how they can contribute to shaping the outcome.

When I took ownership of the Customer Information System implementation at The Medicines Company, we didn’t just communicate the business case, we involved 300 users in defining requirements, testing workflows, and refining the solution. They weren’t just stakeholders; they were co-creators.

Embrace the Messy Middle

Every change initiative follows a predictable arc: initial enthusiasm, then the difficult middle phase where progress stalls, resistance emerges, and leaders are tested. This is where most transformations fail, not from lack of vision, but from lack of resilience.

During Unosquare’s expansion, we faced market challenges, competitive pressures, internal growing pains, and the pandemic. The temptation was to pivot or scale back. Instead, we doubled down on our values, invested in our people, and stayed focused on sustainable growth. That persistence led to $10M+ in new revenue and established us as a trusted partner.

Lead from the Field, Not Just the Boardroom

My background in pharmaceutical sales taught me that leadership credibility comes from understanding the realities your team faces every day. Before directing analytics strategy, I carried a sales bag. Before implementing AI platforms, I sat with end users to understand their workflows.

This field perspective shapes every decision I make. When I advocate for a new system or process, it’s not from a theoretical standpoint, it’s because I understand how it will impact someone’s daily work, their ability to serve customers, and their professional growth.

Measure What Matters, and Matter What You Measure

Transformation requires metrics, but not all metrics are created equal. Adoption rates, efficiency gains, and cost savings are important—but they’re lagging indicators. Leading indicators include engagement levels, feedback quality, cross-functional collaboration, and innovation velocity.

At Novartis, we celebrated not just platform utilization growth, but the quality of insights generated, the speed of decision-making, and the reduction in manual work. These metrics told us whether we were creating genuine value or just checking boxes.

Conclusion

Change is hard, uncomfortable, and often unpredictable. But it’s also where growth happens, for individuals, teams, and organizations. The leaders who succeed aren’t the ones with the perfect plan; they’re the ones who can navigate uncertainty with authenticity, communicate with clarity, and never lose sight of the people they’re leading. After 25 years, I’m still learning—and that’s exactly as it should be.