Coaching
Sam Cooke, one of the most famous singersongwriters, said it well back in 1963: “A Change is Gonna Come” (if you don’t know the song, it is worth listening to). Besides being a great song, it was an incredibly prophetic message for that time and continues to ring true today – especially in life sciences.
Change is going to come. We could argue that change has been continuously coming and that trend will not deviate as we enter 2025. In fact, you could argue that the pace of change is accelerating, and the scale of change is potentially increasing.
In 2025, we face the beginning of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that will change the reimbursement landscape for certain medications and impact how rebates are negotiated (both with Medicare as well as commercial insurance). One thing is certain, this will impact the bottom line for many life sciences companies and result in changes as to how they go to market. Therefore, we need to remember that the drugs impacted are just the first of many to come.
Artificial intelligence (AI) represents another major change for life sciences companies, whether it be in how they conduct clinical activities or how they execute promotionally. AI represents a shift in how we get and use information. It will surely impact how our people do their jobs and may even affect the nature of the jobs themselves.
These are just some examples of external factors that will affect your company’s strategy and likely have a direct impact on the people within the business, requiring them to change what they do and how they do it in order to meet future business direction. The reality is that there will continue to be other factors driving change within your company: customer consolidation, regulatory changes, competitive factors, new launches, internal restructuring and more.
What they all have in common is the need to shift what the business does and how it does it. This requires the employees to shift their mindset and perhaps to learn and apply new knowledge and skills. Enter learning & development.
Simon Sinek said, “I believe that change starts at home” (although that saying is also attributed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta). The bottom line is that before we can affect change for the world at large, we first must change ourselves.
Doesn’t this hold true for L&D functions?
L&D functions are the ones generally tapped to introduce new knowledge and skills into the organization, and before they can do that, they must be the first to learn the new knowledge and skills. They need to understand the impetus for change so that they can not only prepare the organization, but to do so within the messaging context of why this is the right thing to do.
L&D leaders are generally the ones who find themselves briefed on organizational changes within the business. Many times, they are brought into the conversation after the impending change has already been decided or may even be underway.
The resulting impact is that there is a fast action to set up and deliver training. This is not a bad thing, but, if done in isolation of what it takes to effectively implement changed behavior within the business, can result in a failed business outcome. Additionally, this is a missed opportunity to take advantage of the arm within the organization that can truly affect change within the business.
Getting employees to change their behavior is hard. It requires more than a training event. Training’s job is to impart new knowledge and skills to employees, but their decision to let go of old habits, adopt new ones and to build proficiency is what happens (many times) after they leave the classroom.
You want your trainers to understand the nature of the change that is needed, but also to have a framework for what it will take to drive that change within the business. It starts at home with the training team.
Change is generally something that is done to us, but our ability to transform is totally within our own control. The data has shown that only about 30% of all change initiatives are successful (meaning they reach their intended objectives within the desired time frame). As agents of change within the organization, L&D professionals need to have a solid understanding of the core capabilities required at all levels, from executives to first line leaders to individual contributors.
To help them, here’s a simple five-part construct around the components required to drive successful change within the organization:
Commit to the change. L&D professionals recognize that commitment to change is a collective effort. Their role lies in not only imparting the right knowledge and skills required for the change, but also to impactfully relay the “what’s in it for me” for the affected roles so that they understand the importance and purpose of change. By facilitating the right dialogue, they will foster a culture of buy-in and empower individuals to embrace and commit to organizational transformation.
Construct a mitigation plan. Individual contributors and leaders alike have a unique vantage point that may reveal critical risks in any change scenario. This also applies to L&D personnel who may personally be affected by the change.
As an L&D leader, the first step is to assess risks within the L&D function, determine a mitigation plan, and ultimately ensure the L&D team has the right knowledge and skills to do the job. Once this is in place, the team can turn to their internal stakeholders and follow a similar path using the risk mitigation plan to provide the right training that will build the competencies needed.
Create high-performing teams focused on results. The No. 1 challenge for most leaders is keeping their teams engaged and focused on the business during times of change. L&D leaders need to take this into account and jump-start their own teams. Additionally, L&D professionals can then equip leaders with team effectiveness training that empowers them to jump-start their teams whether there is a restructuring, new leadership or even new strategic imperatives.
Coach individuals through change and transition. As change unfolds, timely and effective coaching becomes a pivotal capability required for successfully navigating the transformation journey. However, it is not the type of coaching that most leaders are used to.
L&D professionals play a crucial role in equipping leaders and managers with transition coaching skills, enabling them to counsel and support individuals through the change process. Learning this approach to coaching is critical for L&D leaders so that they can first coach their L&D team members around the skills required for the change.
Calibrate to ensure success. Continuous evaluation and adjustment are essential in driving successful change. By providing training on data analysis, feedback mechanisms and change measurement techniques, L&D professionals enable individuals to actively participate in evaluating progress, identifying gaps and making informed adjustments to change strategies and execution.
Again, as L&D leaders, you need to use this same approach in determining the effectiveness of the change with your own team first. Remember that you want them to be ready so that they can then ready the organization.
Change is inevitable and, in our industry, frequent. As we approach 2025, we are in the midst of some very large-scale changes that can impact our industry. Whether it’s legislation (like the IRA), technology (like AI), continued customer consolidation, new competitors, innovations, launches or other factors, the one constant is change.
As L&D professionals, we are generally at the forefront in preparing the organization to meet these changing needs. L&D leaders need to remember that change starts at home and the first step is to prepare the L&D team.
Once they are ready, they can then ready the organization. To get here, they can follow the fivestep process, which has been proven to deliver successful results.
A change is coming. Are you ready?
Wendy Heckelman, Ph.D., is president and founder of WLH Consulting and Learning Solutions. Email her at wendy@wlhconsulting.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/wendy-l-heckelman-phd.
Rich Baron, M.A., is chief operating officer for WLH Consulting and Learning Solutions. Email Rich at rich@wlhconsulting.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/richbaron1.
