Real World Leadership

Covid has taken a terrible toll on minority communities, and brought the issue of health disparities into sharp focus. Gary Puckrein of The National Minority Health Forum says that data analytics, down to the zip code level, can help address the discrepancies.

As important as both corporate and personal branding have been across most industries in the last half-century, they’ve been something of an afterthought in life sciences, where the focus is always on the product over than the company or the people. That may have something to do with the public’s famous distrust of the industry in recent years. But as Vanguard Principal Ken Banta notes in this conversation with branding expert and Straightline CEO Michael Watras, the pandemic and the race for vaccines has created an opening for something different.

What are the leadership skills that senior life sciences executives need to master? Matthew Meyer, Chief Client Corporate Development Advisor for Wilson Sonsini, and Ken Banta, Founder and Principal of the Vanguard Group for Leadership, discuss the critical skills needed in life sciences, and the ways advisors like Ken and Matt can help.

Atria Senior Living CEO John Moore made a bold decision early on that the 21,000 residents, and the staff who serve them, deserve to live and work in a vaccinated environment. His leadership stance, while controversial at the time, has paid dividends in safety, customer confidence, trust and employee satisfaction. Atria's experience is a classic example of "doing well by doing good." Learn more about the vision and execution here.

It may seem that serving on a board is a natural extension of organizational leadership. Yet, there are key differences in the roles, and a unique selection process. Are you ready to serve on a board? Do you know how to select the right board? Mark A. Pfister and Ken Banta share some of the key questions you will be asked -- and should ask yourself -- in the process of become a trustee. Looking to join your first or additional Boards? Our colleagues at M. A. Pfister Strategy Group have just the thing for you. Follow this link: https://www.thevanguardnetwork.com/board-education.

Unconscious bias can hinder decision making in the workplace, including who to hire. Dr. David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute shares techniques grounded in brain research to overcome these attitudes.

Who hasn't heard sinister rumors about COVID? Not just the origin of the disease, but the alleged dangers of vaccination from government control to sterilization. Business leaders need their workforce vaccinated and back in the office or in front of customers. Rumor-fueled resistance to vaccination presents a big problem. Anthropologist Heidi Larson, heads the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her team, which includes psychologists and data analysts, operate like detectives -- tracing the origin of rumors and developing means to combat them. She says that rumors arise from deep anxieties and a need to blame or make sense of a frightening reality. Listen to her conversation with the Vanguard Vaccination Project's Ken Banta.

Legendary CEO David Pyott explores the nuances of decision making in this excerpt from his "Leading From Experience" session with LIfe Sciences leaders. Pyott explains the critical differences between leading a startup and an established organization, and how to prepare an organization for "courageous" decision making.

Understanding your audience, and using language that resonates with them, is important in any communication -- and critical when it comes to vaccination. Psychographics expert Casey Albertson of PatientBond, demonstrates how to motivate behavior, from "self achievers" to "willful endurers."

Corporate leaders need to be as concerned with ESG as their investors and regulators. Environmental, social and governance covers a broad range of critical business factors and is not "just" sustainability. This Vanguard Dialogue with ESG expert Sally Curley and Eastgroup Properties CFO Brent Wood, offers practical advice on catching up to ESG needs and expectations for leaders and boards.