In the complex landscape of biotechnology, pharma, and medical devices, medical affairs teams serve as the critical bridge between clinical science and healthcare practitioners. The application of servant leadership principles in this space has emerged as a powerful approach to enhance both team performance and team satisfaction. By putting the needs of team members first, servant leaders in medical affairs create an environment that fosters scientific excellence and meaningful healthcare impact on HCPs and the patients we all serve.
Servant leadership in medical affairs begins with a fundamental shift in perspective. Rather than viewing leadership as a position of authority, successful medical affairs leaders see themselves as conduits of their therapeutic medical scientists (TMSs ; aka MSLs) and other team members’ success. This approach is particularly valuable given the highly specialized nature of medical affairs work, where team members often possess deep therapeutic area expertise, advanced scientific credentials, and strong clinical acumen.
A servant leader recognizes that TMSs need autonomy to build authentic relationships with key opinion leaders (aka external experts), while also requiring support to do so. Instead of dictating engagement strategies, these leaders focus on removing obstacles, providing resources, and creating opportunities for professional development, both internal and external to your organization, that enhance scientific credibility and growth fulfillment.
The impact of servant leadership extends to cross-functional collaboration as well. Medical affairs teams frequently interface with clinical development, regulatory affairs, marketing, and sales teams. Servant leaders actively work to break down silos, ensuring their teams have the connections and support needed to access critical information and contribute meaningfully to strategic direction discussions and tactical execution. This collaborative approach strengthens the organization’s ability to deliver value to healthcare providers and patients, as well as ensure that the opinions of all team members are highly valued and heard.
Professional development takes on new dimensions under servant leadership. Rather than focusing solely on scientific expertise, leaders invest in developing their team members’ capabilities and enhancing their exposure throughout the organization. This might include supporting advanced degrees / external courses, elevating a TMS to serve as the lead for a key cross-functional initiative, creating mentorship programs that pair experienced TMSs with newer team members, or foregoing the leader’s own attendance at an advisory board, a clinical trial investigator meeting, or important international meeting in favor of TMSs who’ve expressed developmental interest in these areas.
The benefits of servant leadership in medical affairs are multiple. Teams led by servant leaders typically demonstrate higher engagement, lower turnover, and stronger attainment of both individual and organizational goals. When medical affairs professionals feel supported and valued, they are more likely to bring forward innovative ideas, challenge conventional thinking, and pursue ambitious and “out-of-the-box” solutions to complex departmental and/or organizational challenges.
Implementing servant leadership in medical affairs requires intentional effort. Leaders must be humble and modest enough to receive open, honest feedback from their teams about the “good, bad, and the ugly”, remain attuned to individual needs, and continuously adapt their support strategies to each TMS. This might involve, by way of example, altering the cadence of discussion for individual development plans (IDPs) for those who report to you. Some may prefer the traditional once-per-year, while others want something more frequent. In fact, I have TMSs reporting to me to whom I engage in bi-annual or quarterly developmental discussions.
In conclusion, servant leadership can represent a powerful approach to leading medical affairs teams in biotech, pharma, and medical devices. By prioritizing the growth and success of team members, servant leaders create an environment whereby they feel valued, supported, developed for growth opportunities, and part of your company’s future. This leadership style not only enhances team performance but also strengthens the organization’s ability to advance medical knowledge and improve patient care. As the biotech, pharma, and medical device industries continue to evolve, servant leadership can be your competitive advantage in building high-performing medical affairs teams that drive high-value impact, both internally and externally.
About the author:
Greg Auclair, MSc
Greg has over 35 years of industry experience, with 24+ years in the field medical affairs. He has vast experience, having worked for global multi-national companies, small privately-held biotechs, and across the drug & medical device sectors. Currently, he works at Cytokinetics, a clinical-stage biotech based in South San Francisco, where over the last 5+ years he has built out the entire field MSL organization and manages the team in preparation for launching the company’s first-ever drug, a cardiac myosin inhibitor for patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM).
Have an opinion on this article? Send a message to the editor.