August, 2009

For Merck Serono executive Glen Pearce, IMD’s High Performance Leadership (HPL) and Advanced High Performance Leadership (AHPL) programs were literally life-changing experiences.

The “power of positive thinking” may sound like a cute cliché for the optimists of the world. For Pearce, it is a powerful mindset for success. “I’ve always been a very positive person, but about six months before coming to HPL I became negative,” stated Pearce, who currently is Head of Commercial Development and Regional Medical Affairs in Europe for Merck Serono – the division of Merck which discovers, manufactures and markets innovative prescription pharmaceuticals. “The team environment I was working in was toxic – mainly because of leadership issues and a lot of uncertainty. There was this negative spiral – everyone was whining and complaining – and I found myself getting sucked in. It had just been announced that our company was going to be sold – we were to be taken over by a big German pharma company and we had no idea about them. We were a small, entrepreneurial, biotech company, so we were worried. The team's main concern was would we survive the takeover?”

Pearce is the first to admit that he came to HPL with an agenda. “I wanted to learn ‘CEO 101’,” he says. “I thought the program would give me the tools to become a future CEO.”

What he discovered, however, is that leadership training is an emotional and personal journey – a journey which teaches you about life, the effect you have on others, and the connection between work and home.

“In HPL, we did a lifeline exercise where you map both your personal and professional life. From doing this I saw that I’ve been most successful at work when my home life has been stable and happy. Likewise, when there’s been a major upheaval in my personal life, a month or so later there’s been a sense of dissatisfaction or underperformance at work. This was eye-opening for me. In the past I’d always compartmentalized my life, but working with the HPL coaches and Professor Kohlrieser made me realize that work, home and sport are interconnected and dependant on each other. Professor Kohlrieser encouraged me to take the ‘play to win’ attitude I had enjoyed through a successful sporting career and apply it to my business and personal life as well.”

HPL also gave Pearce strategies for improving the atmosphere back at the office. On returning to his company, he became a quasi-leader for his peers. He ran a workshop where he shared his experiences about the HPL program and addressed his concerns regarding the negativity and how they would be perceived by new management if it continued. As a result, the team agreed not to be drawn into negative conversations in future. They also came up with a vision and goals, and devised a plan for getting their unit to a better, more positive place.

The results speak for themselves: since the merger Pearce has had two promotions and now heads a team of eight and through strategic projects, events and European programs influences thousands with his “play to win” attitude. He has also made changes in his personal life. With the demands at work, Pearce had little time to dedicate to his wife and three children. Even while at home, he was often pre-occupied, spending more time on his blackberry than connecting with his family.

“One of my fellow HPL participants gave me a tool for improving my work/life balance. His strategy was to remove his tie and ring the doorbell when he arrived home. His kids would answer the door and from that point on work was on hold, until the kids went to bed. I’ve been doing this for three years now and you should see the change in my daughter’s eyes. She knows that I’m interested in her and her day. When I’m home, I’m home, and I dedicate my energy and my attention to my family. It’s a simple but powerful tool – if you’re in the room, be in the room.”

With HPL having such a profound effect on Pearce, what could Advanced HPL offer as an encore? Taking the program in 2007, Pearce gained valuable insights on understanding others – particularly grief and traumas.

“Listening to people’s stories made me realize that these individuals are potentially the same people that are reporting to me. Everyone in their life has experienced grief and traumas at one stage or another, and if they haven’t dealt with these issues, it will affect their performance. This was a new concept to me. I had always classified people as ‘under-performers’ or ‘over-performers’ and although I tried to encourage performance, I’d never tried to understand the root cause.

“As a result of AHPL, I now have a more personal leadership style. I want to know the people working for me – what makes them tick, what’s important to them, what drives their performance. It’s an evolution, I’m not perfect, but for me just to be aware of people’s differences, strengths and backgrounds – it’s important.”

This new leadership style has had a significant impact on hundreds of people, not just Pearce’s direct team. Last year his company made a strategic decision to focus on specialists, and as a result the sales force targeting general practitioners (GPs) became redundant. Pearce suggested that rather than put hundreds of people off, the company should try to find a role for them elsewhere. Pearce managed to find a company that was looking to expand the GP side of its business and negotiated for them to take on the staff. “The new company was happy: they had a new sales force with the structures, relationships already in place,” says Pearce. “It was a win for both companies and a win for the individuals concerned. In the end, there was a standing ovation given to our General Manager when he announced the change. I’m very proud that I could bring this type of positive solution to the table.”

In conclusion, he said: “After HPL and AHPL I’m always looking for the positive. I’m looking for these types of solutions. When there is a negative situation I’m trying to turn it into something positive. This is what drives me.”