A fresh, new start…a brand new you? What kind of consultant are you and who would you like to be in 2015?
As we approach the last week of the first month in 2015, if you’re like us, you may have done some self-reflecting, both professionally and personally over the last several weeks. New Year’s resolutions might be in full swing or could have possibly even been forgotten by now. A major question people ask themselves each New Year is: Who do I want to be in 2015? As a pharmaceutical consulting company, we encounter a vast array of personalities within our client/business relations. From there we began to ponder: What kind of consultants do we consider near and dear to our heart?
Is it the cruise ship director? The person who is likely to sit back and watch their team assign roles and work for each other while they help to boost the overall team’s morale? Although keeping it positive is an amazing and sometimes hard to find trait among people in this industry, there is more to the job than being the team cheerleader. Don’t be a cruise ship director this year!
If the person above sounds a lot like you, perhaps it’s time to get a bit more hands-on in your consulting work in 2015. Refine and sharpen your skills. Focus on having more of an action role on your team. Positivity is key, but without your expert insight and a hard work ethic, you’re merely just a cruise ship director whose sole focus is to ensure that everyone is having a good time. That will not go over well and we’re certain that your consulting career may take a turn for the worse if your work attitude does not change.
There are so many different personalities out there. Perhaps you are the professor…Are you the person on the team who enjoys giving a brief lecture to nearly anyone and everyone around you? News flash: You’re working with many highly skilled, senior-level consultants… you can spare them the lecture. Yes, it’s great to show your interest and knowledge of the assignment, but we advise against the long-winded lectures.
What to do if this sounds like you: Be the action maker, the one who raises the questions that no one else may think of right off the bat. Take your love of the industry and channel it into thought-provoking suggestions to better move your team forward. Your team and client, for that matter, will thank you!
If you’re not the professor of your squad, but have a secret desire to constantly fact-check your team you run into a whole new set of problems. You are the team’s fact-checker. And if that’s the case, your team may feel belittled by you. Instead of constantly fact-checking your team, have a little faith in their expertise. Of course, if you know that something looks off, question it, but realize that you were all put on the team to add different levels of insight. Trust in their knowledge and perhaps you may even learn something from them…
Save the drama for another industry. Don’t be the drama king or queen of your project. No one likes gossip. If this sounds like you, you might be the team Gossiper. Focus on the task at hand and do not complain about your fellow consultants to each other. Not only is it unprofessional, but it’s not nice. Why not be a better you this 2015?
Disclaimer: This piece wasn’t meant to poke fun at stereotypes, but rather shed light on personalities that practically anyone, no matter what the industry, can all agree are not acceptable work practices to ensure success! You want to be the consultant whose phone is always ringing because people want you on their team. Why? You ARE the right person for the job because you are prompt, dedicated, forward thinking and have the right kind of expertise. That’s the ideal consultant. You work well with your teammates and have an easy going spirit.
You’re a pharmaceutical consultant, be proud to work in such an exciting industry! And you’ll find that once you take a step back and truly look within yourself as a consultant, you will receive a plethora of job opportunities and gain more long term consulting work. Trust us!
To join our dynamic team, contact [email protected].
