A Forward View for Leaders in Compliance

7 minute read

Tim from FiveAndCo. unpacks the compliance leadership challenge for the future.

After years of working with senior leaders in pharma, we don’t often feel the need to speak into specific aspects of the industry. We have picked up insights, deepened our knowledge, and become very well versed in the structures, cultures, and the people of pharma to be sure, and there’s always important context and language for leaders to understand. However, we avoid trying to be ‘industry experts’ as our talent is helping leaders and teams thrive, whatever their context. We often say to clients, “You are the subject matter experts in pharma, we are the experts in helping you thrive in your current context”.

However, with the pace of change faster than ever, and signs of new levels of innovation and disruption on the horizon, it seems right to share some observations based on our ongoing relationships with leaders in one particular part of the pharma industry – Compliance. 

Our observations are aimed at creating a moment of inspiration or information for leaders, and by getting in touch with us here at FiveAndCo. we can create some momentum for change for you and for your team. 

Here are three things we think every compliance leader should keep in view for them and their teams in the year ahead: 

Value 

If you have worked with FiveAndCo. before you won’t be surprised to see this at the top of our list. Everything we do is aimed at helping teams add value to the business. We think the way compliance leaders need to add value is changing. Legal adherence processes, effective governance, and reporting are always a fundamental part of the leadership role, but the importance of patient centricity, rapid changes in technology and the changing regulatory market mean that compliance leaders can add value in three other ways. 

Firstly, they can help businesses understand and adapt to new risks as they emerge and change the level at which old risks are handled by the business. Are your teams operating at the right level? Are you taking full advantage of automation and delegating decisions? 

Secondly, as they address the first, they can add value as advisors: enterprise leaders who help the business see the bigger picture from within and across the compliance sector. 

Thirdly, they can add value as global citizens. Compliance leaders and their teams are a vital part of getting life changing therapies and technologies to people across the world. By staying in touch with developments in society, commerce, and culture, compliance leaders can help the business see, and connect with groups who may have previously been marginalised.  

Virtue 

Ethics and behaviours have always been a focus for forward looking compliance leaders. For the future, as new markets emerge, and as new communication or engagement channels are deployed, being seen to do the right thing, and doing it honestly, will be critical.  

We use the words virtue here to signal a broader perspective than a focus on systems for ethics and behaviour. The frontier between what we do and know now, and what we need to know next will move quickly as technology enables broader engagement with health care professionals and patients in different markets.  

It will be essential for teams on this fast moving frontier to feel fully able to call out concerns, challenge assumptions, and celebrate innovation. They can only do that if the leader sets the tone and personally leads them into a healthy balance between support and challenge for new and innovative ways of working. 

Voice 

Here we think voice means two things. Firstly, it’s about the voice of the patient. Not just those who already access therapies from your business, but also those who are hidden from view by systemic inequalities or economic conditions. We believe the forward looking compliance leader is interested in how access teams in regions and countries work in partnership with regulators, payers, and communities to deliver innovative solutions that enhance access and reduce inequality. 

The second voice is yours as a leader. What do you know about yourself and how you come across to others? How are you committing to ‘mastering’ your self-awareness in service of bringing a new perspective for compliance in the business? 

We have worked with countless leaders who have benefitted hugely from being more intentional in how they deploy their voice, and how the teams they lead grow to appreciate diversity of thought, experience and background.  

This is the essence of the compliance leadership challenge for 2024 and beyond – how do you create a culture in which everyone does well for the business and feels well? How do you help them thrive? 

More from the Knowledge Hub