As an aspiring or professional medical writer (MW), your expertise has the power to shape the future of healthcare. Whether crafting compelling content or strategising impactful messaging, a MW’s role is pivotal in healthcare.
But here’s a hard truth – whilst technical proficiency is vital, it’s not enough to propel you into senior-level roles.
As you advance in your career, the expectations change dramatically. Senior roles demand more than writing skills, they require leadership.
In a senior position, you’ll find yourself leading projects, mentoring teams, managing client relationships, and possibly even driving organisational change. At this stage in a medical writing career, it’s no longer just about delivering exceptional work, it’s also about ensuring your contributions resonate with the diverse stakeholders involved in your projects (be them internal or external to your team).
From expert writer to leader
This evolution from MW to leader hinges on your ability to inspire trust, foster collaboration, and make decisions that enhance your team’s output. Leadership is about connection, empathy, and inclusivity, and it’s these qualities that will ultimately determine your success.
When I transitioned from a senior medical communications writer to leading a team of MWs working on oncology projects in big pharma, I found myself on a steep learning curve.
MedComms projects are varied and interesting, but at times they can also be complex and demanding. Managing a team across a diverse range of projects presented unique challenges. Suddenly, I wasn’t just responsible for crafting my own high-quality deliverables, I had to guide a team of skilled individuals, each with their own perspectives, working styles, and strengths.
Balancing the technical demands of the role with the interpersonal elements of leadership required quick adaptation that on reflection, I hadn’t fully considered before stepping in to the role.
It wasn’t easy. I had to learn how to build trust within my team, encourage open communication, and foster collaboration across diverse backgrounds.
The actions I took were important. Actively listening to my team’s input, even when it challenged my instincts, often led to innovative solutions and strengthened the overall quality of our work.
Why inclusive leadership matters
Failing to embrace inclusive leadership responsibilities can lead to serious consequences:
- Demotivated teams: When people feel unheard, their enthusiasm wanes, and their input diminishes
- Missed innovation: Without fresh perspectives, opportunities for ground-breaking ideas slip through the cracks
- Stalled growth: Potential advancements (for both you and your team), remain unrealised
Failing to do this will hold you back as a leader.
One of the most impactful ways to lead effectively is by championing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). When done right, DEI is far more than a corporate checkbox (although this is how it’s treated in some organisations). But when embraced, it’s a powerful strategy to amplify the strengths of your team to achieve better results.
Diverse perspectives help you see round corners as a team, generate more ideas (enhanced creativity and problem solving, improve audience understanding. It also provides a broader range of expertise and strengthens accuracy by helping to identify biases, gaps and errors that might otherwise be overlooked.
However, true inclusion requires effort. It goes beyond just assembling diverse teams to also ensure that every voice is heard and respected. Leaders who embrace this mindset differentiate themselves in their fields and unlock new career possibilities.
Learn from an expert
If you’re wondering how to begin integrating DEI into your leadership style, you’re not alone. It’s something that employers often fail to train their staff well in. The good news is that you don’t have to navigate this alone.
DEI expert Autumn Huffman recently shared practical strategies for fostering environments where diverse teams thrive, discussing:
- How to create spaces where diverse perspectives are genuinely valued
- Strategies to set yourself apart as a leader who listens, learns, and inspires
- Practical approaches to embedding DEI into your day-to-day work
Whether you’re just starting out or already managing teams, this conversation offers actionable advice for anyone looking to elevate their leadership skills.
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