Why I’m Staking my Reputation on Team Potential

Since I founded Divergent Consulting in 2016, I’ve been working with life science marketing & sales teams across Australia & New Zealand to help them make their best impact. To make that happen, I often talk about cx-omnichannel transformation, customer-first thinking, team & leadership development, harnessing technology, and fostering a sense of learning, curiosity and experimentation. 

But I’ve realised that all of that comes down to one thing. Potential. 

Teams aren’t working as well as they could because there are so many aspects of their work where talent, time and potential is simply going to waste. There is so much potential sitting in life science commercial teams, just waiting to be used. 

What kind of potential is going unlocked?

During my time in marketing, I’ve seen potential go to waste all too often in four main areas – leadership, experimentation, alignment, and people (what I like to call LEAP). You might’ve already read my other blog outlining each aspect of LEAP more closely, but you can give it a read if you haven’t already here. 

Life Science organisations are investing in technology without being aligned on what they’re trying to achieve – so the technology isn’t being used to its fullest. 

Life science commercial teams spend so much time doing busy work or what they think is needed that they’re not spending their time on high-impact activities and playing to their strengths.

Life science business leaders struggle to get their teams aligned around a vision, so no-one knows what they’re working towards or how to have the biggest impact. 

Unlocking all that potential will help any life science commercial team with their pain points, getting them working towards a version of success that matters to them and all working cohesively – and (most importantly) in the same direction!

So now I’ve stopped trying to be all things to all people and I’m going all-in (that’s a lot of alls!) on potential. 

Getting less ‘busy’ and doing more better 

I’m willing to bet that if life sciences could just tap into their commercial teams’ potential more effectively, all the tactics and technologies would become a whole lot more effective. 

Stopping for a moment and evaluating all the hard work your team is doing can save a whole lot of wasted time, effort, and money. There’s no point in a team working hard towards a vision that isn’t achieving anything valuable for the wider business (or HCPs), or having marketing team members busy working hard when they’re not aligned with cross-functional team members. 

But I know that it’s often hard to see the potential you’re missing out on amongst the hustle and bustle. 

To help life science marketing teams assess what potential there is going untapped and undervalued, I’ve created the LEAP Assessment – an assessment to unpack and understand potential in leadership, experimentation, alignment and people.

You can do it right now here. 

If you have completed the assessment, I’d love to know if it’s highlighted anything surprising for you.

I’d also suggest having your whole team complete it, then discuss collectively the findings so you can agree & align on where there is an opportunity to unlock your full team potential.

And, if you’re wanting to get started in unlocking all that great potential, there are a few different ways to get started. Have a read of my previous blog, in which I outline some of the ways you can get started re-evaluating and improving your efforts.

In my not-so-regular emails, I also share tidbits of advice and learnings from articles I’m reading that will help you unlock that potential as well. You can join our Divergent mailing list below.

Why do I care enough to stake my claim on potential?

Having been in life science marketing for years, I’ve seen first-hand how marketing teams are viewed within their wider organisations. Too often, their work is undervalued and underestimated. Marketing isn’t seen as the true transformation powerhouse it’s capable of. 

But I can understand marketing’s tainted reputation when I see the potential in leadership, experimentation, alignment and people that’s going to waste. That waste means marketing teams are seen not seen as influencers driving omnichannel innovation, change or transformation of HCP engagement strategies. Marketing is not seen as a driver of innovation, growth and learning teams. I want to see life science marketing teams be the successes I know that they can be!

I know that there are some great marketers in your team. There are great leaders who have the ability to empower teams. There are thinkers who want to innovate and experiment. Let’s start bringing out that potential so that everyone in your team can thrive & be future-fit.

Divergent is a life sciences transformation partner; We are your people capability partner, committed to accelerating your organisation’s CX & omnichannel transformation goals. 

Divergent is on a mission to transform life science commercial teams into the powerhouses we know they can be. Too much potential in commercial teams goes to waste – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Through our Tomorrows Bridge Builders team program & Today-Tomorrow leaders program, Divergent harnesses a team’s potential to help them accelerate the evolution of customer engagement strategies & be equipped for sustained change.