biomedicine

May 5, 2017 by ken@prime-core.com Ken Dropiewski

What Single Trait do All Successful Managers Share? And Do you Have it?

Suzy Welch, author, and CNBC contributo r says that all effective managers have a unique weapon at their disposal which they have used to take their management skills to the next level. What is it? Candor. She advises that managers who speak to their team members frankly, tend to earn respect more easily.

This may sound simple and even counterintuitive considering today’s increasing “p.c.” business environment. However, research shows that candidates want to work for people they respect and trust. By adopting a culture of candor, management can improve their employee’s overall satisfaction.

What is Candor?

Candor is synonymous with purity, fairness, unreserved honesty, forthrightness and sincere expression among others. A manager who uses candor is an emotionally intelligent leader who gains the trust of his team through transparency and openness.

Candor Facilitates Transparency and Trust

In a 2014, American Psychological Association survey of more than 1,500 U.S. workers, it was found that distrust was pervasive among most employees. More than 25 percent of employees stated that they did not trust management or the company for which they worked. Only half of those employees reported that they felt their employers were “up front” with them on all matters. This lack of trust may be due to either perceived or actual transparency issues. Following the financial collapse of 2008, many have become cynical toward corporations and management, assuming that they are being kept in the dark about at least some issues.

Three Tips on Being More Candid with Your Team

The first step is to make it a point to have regular meetings with your team where corporate goals are discussed. When an employee can see the big picture they can understand their role and how it fits into those aims. Understandably, they will be more likely to place trust into management that keeps them in the loop.
Encourage open discussion. Whether you introduce a team forum or simply make it a point to invite commentary, it is important to keep the channel of communication open.
Avoid censorship. This is a tough one. We all know that a disgruntled or unhappy employee is like a disease that spreads. However, as part of your commitment to open discussion, refrain from censoring negative comments on Slack or message forum. Instead, take the opportunity to show yourself responsive and address the comments personally. Take note of the criticism as if there is no ulterior motive, even if you suspect otherwise. Inquire if others have had the same feelings or experiences. By keeping open communication, you have the opportunity to address the smoke before it becomes a fire.

Proof Candor Works

There are several clear advantages a manager enjoys once they cut out the corporate jargon and talk straight with their team. Employee alignment occurs when you take the time to look at the big picture goals and help each member understand their role within the organization. Candid leadership fosters employees who understand the company vision and want to be a part of helping achieve company-wide goals.

When leaders show transparency and openness to ideas, problems are solved faster. Be open and honest with your teams about company challenges. Utilize your employees to help provide solutions. This simple act will breed employee engagement, which we all know is key to employee satisfaction.

Our strategy focuses on enabling our clients to recruit the right people for the structure in which they will perform. Please contact us to learn more about our expertise in Executive Search for Commercial Leadership positions in Medical Device and Biotechnology; including Marketing, Strategy, Sales Leadership, Training, Development, etc. We look forward to the opportunity to help you consistently improve your performance and your business!

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May 1, 2017 by ken@prime-core.com Ken Dropiewski

New Study about Fish Oil and Cardiovascular Disease

Many people take fish oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids with a goal of warding off cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association has recently released a study that has drawn a number of conclusions about the supplements.

First, the AHA has found no evidence that fish oil supplements have any benefit for warding off cardiovascular disease in healthy people, which includes heart attacks and strokes.

However, the same study concluded that individuals who have had a heart attack or have heart failure are less likely to die if they take 1000 mg of fish oil supplements per day. Taking supplements can reduce the chance of death after heart failure by nine percent.

According to the National Institutes of health, omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil have some benefit in warding off cardiovascular disease. However, many researchers have concluded that the effect is better obtained by eating fish rather than taking supplements. The reason may be that people who include fish in their diets often use the fish as substitution for less heart-healthy food, such as red meat. Individuals who take supplements can still have an unhealthy diet that is too light on fruits and vegetables and too heavy on less healthy food. Seafood also has other healthy nutrients that are absent in fish oil supplements. Many people who eat a lot of fish also pursue other healthy lifestyle choices, such as frequent exercise.

If someone is considering using fish oil supplements as part of a dietary regimen, he or she should consult with a physician before doing so.

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April 28, 2017 by ken@prime-core.com Ken Dropiewski

Leadership: How to Act Like a Leader

Leaders show certain traits, skills and habits to those they lead. Some leaders exhibit some of them more than others, but all leaders consistently behave like leaders. In short, they do what leaders do.

Like any role, leadership is based on knowledge, skill and attitude. We can all gain new knowledge and learn new skills – or hone what we already have. In this series of articles we will explore the knowledge and skills that define leadership.

Leaders Know Where They Want to Get to

The origin of the word leader is the way. Leaders know where they want to get to, and they know they must bring their team and their customers with them. They then work out the best way to get there. This is the power behind a corporate philosophy, vision and mission statement.

Too many mission statements are words on a sheet of paper. A corporate philosophy, a company’s vision of its own future, and the mission everyone sets out on to make that future a reality must be a living, breathing, encompassing, defining, set of standards, goals, acceptable practice and actions. Leaders are on a mission. Leaders know where they want to get to.

Leaders Stay Focused

Once the vision is clear, the end goals, performance goals and process goals for the company, for each department and function, and for each individual team member become powerful things. Leaders focus on them, and they stay focused on them. Every project, activity and action must meet those standards the leader has set out. The leader puts systems in place to monitor, manage, review, improve or (where needed) correct each of them. Leaders also make sure the systems can all be justified in terms of those standards, so everyone buys in and adopts them in their daily actions. Leaders focus on keeping the whole team on track.

Leaders Are Believed and are Believable

Anyone can fake it, but not everyone makes it. Leaders who really believe in their vision of how they want their company to be, and how they want their team members, customers, prospects and competitors to see them, are believed when they speak and act. Leaders who stay focused on their “Big Why” and who show a level of integrity that endures, are totally believable. When they praise, coach, counsel, criticize and discipline, and when they announce new plans and new challenges, they are believed. When they relate everything they say and do back to the company’s standards, and the customers’ expectations, then everything they say and do is taken on board by others.

The Take-Away

Leadership is not inborn. Some people may, as Winston Churchill said, be born great, but most of us achieve greatness. We achieve it by behaving like leaders – by knowing what constitutes leadership, and by honing the right skills.

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April 26, 2017 by ken@prime-core.com Ken Dropiewski

Fluctuations in Weight Leads to Dramatically Increased Risks for Cardiac Patients

Weight loss has always been suggested for those with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 in patients with cardiovascular disease as we know that obesity contributes to poor cardiac outcomes in that segment. However, a new study suggests that patients who experience a fluctuation in body weight may be at a higher risk for certain diseases and conditions, including coronary events, CV events, and stroke.

Body Weight Variability and Risk Factors

The study, published this week in the NEJM looked at 9509 patients with an established diagnosis of coronary artery disease, explores the relationship between fluctuations in body weight and the incidence of cardiac events. After adjustments for baseline lipid levels, mean body weight, other risk factors, and weight change, each fluctuation equal to at least 1.5 kg in body weight variability was found to be associated with an increase in risk for subsequent events.

Compared with patients having fewer fluctuations in weight or less than .93 kg on average, patients with the most seesawing exhibited the following increased risks:

64 percent for coronary events
85 percent for cardiovascular events
124 percent for death
117 percent for myocardial infarctions
136 percent for strokes

Sripal Bangalore, MD, MHA, the lead investigator for the study, warns similar fluctuations in weight also increase risks for developing adult onset diabetes at a rate increase of 95 percent.

Baseline Weight is an Important Factor

It’s important to note that patients with a normal weight at baseline who experienced similar body weight fluctuations did not appear to be at an increased risk for the same events. Therefore, those patients who are already overweight at when diagnosed with CAD and CVD are in the danger zone.

What This Means for Weight Loss

Obesity remains one of the greatest risk factors for many disease processes. Dramatic weight loss for curing obesity is still the best approach for lowering risk factors across the board. However, for this subset of patients, it is important that the weight loss is sustained. The goal should always be to achieve a healthy weight as this reduces the risk of developing cardiac disease to start with.

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April 21, 2017 by ken@prime-core.com Ken Dropiewski

Leadership When Your Organization is Changing

When your organization is in flux, your leadership skills may feel tested. Even if you know exactly where your company is headed, members of your team may feel insecure, worried, and apprehensive. It takes real leadership skills to keep those emotions from affecting productivity. Not only does it take a lot of skill to lead through organizational change, but it also takes having a realistic understanding and application of the change itself as it applies to your team specifically.

Embrace Change

You can’t lead change if you do not embrace it. There are likely things that you are apprehensive about, worries you have about the future; all of these “what ifs” that keep you awake at night. At some point, you have to let all of that go and commit fully to the change that is happening in your organization and of which you have no control. Don’t beat yourself up about having doubts. There is a well established “grieving” process associated with corporate change. When graphed out, it looks something like an upside-down bell curve and progresses like this:

High Expectations > Shock > Mourning > Nostalgia > Anxiety > Guilt > Depression > Letting Go > EMBRACING CHANGE> Focus > Structure > Hope > Attachment > Excitement > Realistic Expectations

Convey the Goals for Change

There is no debate that change within a corporation can lead to the creation of opportunities and competitive advantage, while companies that refuse change are inching toward a slow painful death. This isn’t to say that all change is positive, just that the goals of change most certainly are. The idea here is to focus on and convey how the changes will help your company innovate, disrupt, and improve your industry, the lives of your customers, and the company culture. Don’t assume that team members understand the reasons for the changes, the ultimate goals, or even the extent of the changes being made and how it does or does not affect them.

Model the Desired Behavior

Whether your team needs calm, enthusiasm, or encouragement, they will expect to find it in you. Even if you aren’t quite there yet, model the behavior your team needs to progress through the change. One quote comes to mind as I write this:

“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.” John C. Maxwell, author and leadership expert.

If your team trusts and believes in you, they will follow your vision through the many ups and downs of change. This is the mark of your leadership.

Create a Vision You Actually Believe In

No matter what the corporate expectations are, develop realistic expectations that you and your team can get behind. Only when you are grounded in reality, can you have hope and believe for the best. If you are riding the rollercoaster of corporate spin it ‘s hard to find footing, stabilize, and move forward.

Align Your Vision with the Corporate Vision

When you are dealing with a truly realistic corporate vision, your job of leading change is made simpler. However, it is not uncommon for corporate to have lofty or far-reaching, long-term expectations. These expectations aren’t necessarily unreasonable but may take time. Make sure that each team member feels connected to the big picture goals. To facilitate this, create goals for your team that are incremental, realistic and that align with the larger corporate goals and vision.

When organizational change is occurring the unsettling ripple effect impacts, everyone. Effectively leading through change requires an understanding of what your team needs to feel secure. This is especially important because we know that uncertainty and inefficiency often go hand in hand.

Sure, leadership who successfully creates change are seen as visionary, change agents, and forward thinkers. The less glamorous reality is that effective change leaders simply find ways to keep their team motivated, secure, and focused on creating a vision everyone can believe in.

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