From Red to Real
Photo credit: Genzyme Center, 500 Kendall Where the Magic Happened!
When my boss left Genzyme for a new role, I was promoted to lead the Commercial Assessment team, a group that might best be described as an internal consulting think tank. We were a small, mighty band of analysts who provided due diligence for Business Development, New Product Planning for clinical-stage assets, and commercialization guidance for R&D teams trying to find their market footing. Our work was visible, valued, and essential. Honestly, if I could have recruited all of them to my next gig, I would have, but I did successfully convince one! Over time, everyone from that team went on to do amazing things, which makes me immensely proud, and I try to stay in touch with their career journeys.
Lesson #1: Managing Insights Teams Is Different Than Managing Sales Teams
At Bristol Myers Squibb, I managed sales teams; goal-driven, high-energy extroverts who thrived on competition and applause. Managing them felt intuitive. Then came Genzyme, where I learned managing an insights and analytics team was…different.
Through a personality profiling exercise called Insights, I discovered I am “red” with a heavy dose of “blue.” Translation: action-oriented, direct, and fond of efficiency. My team? Mostly “yellow,” “green,” and “blue” with some “red”, they were thoughtful, collaborative, reflective. Opposites attract, but they also occasionally collide.
My instinct in a crisis has always been to jump in and fix it, fast! However, that is not always best in a team environment and one of my employees candidly told me that when I took over her work, instead of helping her problem-solve, she felt demoralized. That conversation, among others, helped to change my management style. Over time, I learned to pause, to listen, and to coach instead of correct. By the time the Sanofi acquisition happened, I’d like to think they no longer dreaded my brand of “helpfulness.” (If you were on that team and disagree, feel free to let me know…gently.)
The big takeaway: not all management experiences are equal. What works for one team might completely flop with another. Great managers don’t just lead; they learn especially from those they lead.
Lesson #2: Not Everyone Is Your Friend and That’s Okay
This one took me longer to learn than I’d like to admit. If you’re a natural networker or “people person,” you assume everyone can be won over with good intent, teamwork, and maybe a home-delivered bowl of soup (yes, I really did that).
But here’s the truth: not everyone will like you, no matter how kind or competent you are and that’s okay. Work is about collaboration, not popularity. You can work effectively with someone without being friends. Sometimes, the healthiest (and most productive) relationships are professional and bounded.
Harvard Business Review and Forbes articles often emphasize that strong professional relationships don’t require friendship, but they do require respect, shared goals, and trust. For leaders, preserving that boundary helps avoid burnout and disappointment when interpersonal chemistry just isn’t there.
So, stop trying to make everyone like you and focus instead on being credible, consistent, and collaborative.
Lesson #3: Be Invaluable
The Commercial Assessment team built a reputation that punched above its weight. We were trusted partners to Business Development, Corporate Strategy, and R&D, and even our CEO, Henri Termeer, expected to see our work represented in important meetings. That level of visibility wasn’t luck, it was earned!
Being invaluable is about more than doing your job well. It’s about embedding yourself so deeply into the organization’s rhythm that your absence creates a noticeable void. You don’t just deliver; you advise, anticipate, and elevate. People don’t come to you because they must, they come because they want your involvement.
The business author Seth Godin put it best: “You don’t become indispensable by being perfect. You do it by being generous, connected, and human.” That spirit defined our team. We built credibility by giving honest guidance even when the message wasn’t what others wanted to hear and earned respect by doing so constructively.
When the Sanofi acquisition ultimately dissolved our group, almost everyone landed new opportunities quickly, often through referrals or direct recommendations from those who had worked with us. That’s not luck; that’s reputation capital.
Growth, Grace, and Gratitude
Looking back, this phase of my career taught me three enduring truths: leadership style is not one-size-fits-all; respect doesn’t always mean friendship; and being invaluable isn’t about being needed, it’s about being trusted.
Genzyme was where I learned humility, sharpened empathy, and discovered that leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room, but the one that listens, learns, and lifts others up. So, here’s to Red-turned-slightly-more-Green me and the team that made it possible. Up next, the Consulting experience for Career Series 7! Until then, Happy Holidays and please stay safe!