Introduction:
“Don’t do it! You’re going to the dark side! You are selling out!” Sound familiar? You’re not alone. The transition to pharma isn’t always smooth; it often comes with challenges and ribbing from peers. Many MSLs, as revealed through hundreds of our Power of Purpose interviews, have encountered the infamous “dark side” comments from their peers in academia or health care when they announced their move to pharma.
Reflect on your own journey: what did your family, friends, and colleagues think? How did you overcome obstacles, or are you still in the process? Are you still questioning if you can find meaning and purpose in pharma, or do you recognize that coming to pharma means you can help even more people than before? The ripple effect of your impact is tremendous. And the subsequent sense of meaning and purpose can be profound – should you choose to see it this way.
The Power of Purpose:
The sooner you make that choice and connect to the power of your purpose, the better you will do and feel! Connecting with your purpose, or ‘why,’ is essential for personal fulfillment and professional success. Connecting to your purpose fuels inner motivation, drive, and excellence. Communicating it builds trust, collaboration, and expedites projects. Teams that are driven by a common purpose outperform all the rest. Study after study proves that it is much more powerful and less expensive to motivate people with purpose than with incentives. So, why aren’t we doing this? I think it’s because people don’t know how.
The Reality:
In a webinar hosted by ImPatient Health titled “Pharma, But With Purpose”, we polled participants. 75 percent of them admit they would love to feel more connection to purpose in their work. While over 95 percent of respondents believe that living and leading from purpose contributes to business growth and to personal wellness, only 11 percent say their company has structured programs in place to guide employees in defining and sharing their purpose. Even though 85 percent believe that connecting and staying connected to one’s purpose at work takes ongoing effort, only 20 percent believe most people have a plan in place to cultivate their purpose (ImPatient Health, 2023).
Discovering Your Purpose:
Purpose almost always involves helping others in some way. Think about how your work makes a difference for others. Connect the dots between you and the ultimate beneficiary: the patient. And importantly, reflect on where that desire to help others comes from. It could result from childhood moments, key influencers in your life, challenging life experiences, passions in your life or perhaps something that happened last month.
Through leading a journey called The Power of Purpose we dive into why people work as MSLs. Many initially point to the obvious (and important) reasons of financial stability and lifestyle. But what brings meaning to their work? Finding this trigger is the opportunity to unlock inner motivation, grit, and teamwork. When people dig deeper into their stories, they unveil a tapestry woven from a myriad of experiences. Often subconscious, these experiences hold a valuable key. By identifying the ‘golden threads’ of the events that weave through your life, you can unlock the door to finding greater meaning and purpose in your work.
Drawing from my experience conducting hundreds of Purpose Interviews, I have identified eight triggers or catalysts, each capable of sparking a profound sense of purpose. Of course, these triggers often overlap and intertwine, weaving complex yet compelling paths to one’s purpose. My hope is that the description below of the triggers may help you illuminate your golden thread of purpose.
Eight Purpose Triggers:
1. Personal Health Challenges: Individuals who have confronted personal health adversities or chronic conditions often feel compelled to contribute to the pharmaceutical industry, driven by a fervent desire to discover solutions and treatments, inspired by their own battles.
2. Caregiving Experience: Serving as a caregiver to a loved one facing health challenges or witnessing such struggles can instill profound empathy, nurturing a passion to make meaningful contributions to healthcare, aiming to enhance the lives of patients and families.
3. Commitment to Equity: Those confronted with life or healthcare disparities due to various societal factors may be galvanized to pursue a pharmaceutical career, advocating for a fairer, more equitable healthcare system and world.
4. Spiritual or Religious Beliefs: Some individuals derive purpose in their pharmaceutical work by aligning it with their spiritual or religious convictions, driven by compassion and the desire to help others through a contribution to medical science and healthcare.
5. Alignment with Personal Values and Ethics: Those guided by strong personal values centered on kindness, compassion, and the welfare of others often find profound meaning in a pharmaceutical career, recognizing how their work can assist humanity.
6. Inspiration from Parents/Role Models: Childhood exposure to compassionate behaviors of parents or inspirational figures can ignite a philanthropic mindset, steering individuals towards a career in pharmaceuticals to positively influence lives.
7. Scientific Curiosity: A fascination with science and a quest to expand the frontiers of knowledge can be a driving force, motivating individuals to contribute to scientific advancements and novel treatments within the pharmaceutical domain.
8. Acknowledging Grace Received: Some are moved by a desire to reciprocate kindness, pay it forward, or honor someone due to grace received in their own lives. They perceive the pharmaceutical field as a platform to extend that grace, fostering the well-being of others.
Not only is there no downside to connecting to your purpose, but it is also essential for creating enduring impact. It just may be the number one secret to moving others and building teamwork.
For examples of these triggers in personal purpose stories, please download for free our recently published ebook called A Dose of Inspiration: 100 Purpose Stories from Pharma Leaders at www.excellerate.ca/freebook.
About the author:
Jill Donahue, MadEd, HBa
Need help building connection, meaning and purpose? A popular speaker and program creator and author of three books, Jill Donahue helps MSLs build teamwork, engagement, and communication skills—all through the common denominator of purpose. She’ll know she has been successful when MSLs feel proud of what they do and confident that they can make a difference for themselves, their organizations, and most importantly…patients. Jill is living her purpose by helping MSLs live theirs through The Power of Purpose.
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