General communication skills (oral and written)

• Preparing clean, attractive, and effective slide presentations
• Creating conference posters that attract visitors and concisely deliver key takeaways
• Developing effective body language, eye contact, and vocal variety during presentations
• Taming nerves and radiating appropriate enthusiasm
• Maintaining engagement in virtual presentations 
• Preparing for and managing Q&A and audience discourse
• Achieving clarity, crispness, and appropriate content level in written documents

Executing powerful and memorable communications to achieve a goal

• Educating partners and building trust and credibility
• Identifying specific audience member types and preparing for engagement (decision maker, skeptic, ally)
• Tailoring material, format, and presentation style for the needs of the recipients
• Creating supplementary content/executive summaries that highlight key messaging 
• Handling skeptics and managing pushback or criticism

Relationship and team building

• Building credibility and trust
• Managing negotiation and conflict with naysayers and skeptics
• Collaboration, extracting information needed, sharing and education of each other, curiosity, active listening
• Influence without authority
• Identification of different types of partners and how to work with them
• Understanding the decision process and how to ensure your work is rolled into the team’s output   

Hiring and onboarding employees

• Writing job descriptions that will get noticed and recruit great candidates
• Screening, interviewing, and selecting the right candidates for the group and company’s needs and culture
• Navigating competition (with other companies) for a desired candidate
• Developing an onboarding document and executing the plan for new employees 

Managing yourself in the new role

• Managing change and ensuring compliance and discipline to rules, regulations, and processes
• Being comfortable not being most technically up to date person in the group 
• Appropriate level of oversight and review- avoiding micromanagement or too much distance
• How to delegate and build trust with group members 
• Advocacy for the discipline, education of partners, helping to build support for M&S within the company 
• Providing fair individual support (avoiding favoritism, 80/20 rule for problem employees)
• Learning to flex style to manage people with different personalities and drivers 
• Being your authentic self

Developing and retaining employees

• Retaining strong talent: rewards/recognition, career development, support, and training
• Resourcing projects- selecting the right people for the job at hand 
• Implementing peer mentoring and coaching
• Identifying opportunities for group members to raise visibility and make an impact to a wider audience
• Developing clear, measurable, objective metrics for assessment and career development 
• Giving (and receiving) regular constructive and actionable feedback at the right time in the right format 
• Facilitating team building and shared goals, crowdsourcing

Operations

• Defining and differentiating the roles and responsibilities of the group and their partners
• Evaluation of the current processes and tools and providing a gap analysis
• Selecting the software, tools, and processes that fit the group’s needs
• Development of process maps or guidance documents  
• Managing the implementation of changes to ensure compliance and (eventual) acceptance
• Helping internal clients (project teams) scope the problems and identify the questions or decisions that M&S can answer or support

Professional development

• Documenting success stories and obtaining testimonials
• Advocating for yourself and your career success
• Learning from your mistakes in a healthy way
• Learning to give and receive constructive feedback
• Building and maintaining a professional network
• Navigating professional organizations and and identifying (or creating) the best options for volunteering
• Documenting external leadership positions and acquired skills
• Managing time and level of commitment and when to say no
• Optimizing your social media presence and authenticity

Seeking new opportunities

• Determining if you are ready for a change in your current role
• Choosing career goals and selecting target organizations
• Optimizing and tailoring your CV and cover letter
• Mastering the screening call to get your foot in the door
• Preparing for the interview- doing your research
• Preparing for the seminar – selecting a topic and understanding the audience
• Handling interview questions and challenges
• Evaluating the culture and fit of the company
• Negotiating offers and selecting the optimal role

• Supporting preparation for regulatory, governance body, and critical development team meetings
• Educating drug development partners to develop understanding and appreciation of MIDD and its impact
• Assisting with the development and execution of key documents: executive summaries, reports, briefing documents, CTD modules
• Providing expert guidance and consultation on Pharmacometrics for investment firms, legal cases, due diligence, market research