Helping Quiet Life Science Leaders Be Seen, Heard, and Valued

By Joel Garfinkle

The meeting ended. The decision was made. And once again, you had the answer but didn’t say it. They moved forward without your insight.

You saw the flaw in the trial design. You recognized the risk in the regulatory timeline. You understood the scientific nuance others missed. But when leadership asked for input, you stayed silent. Again.

Now you're walking back to your desk, replaying what you should have said, knowing that silence just let a flawed decision move forward. One that could waste resources, jeopardize approval, or set your program back by months.

Sound familiar?

If you're nodding along, you're not alone. For over two decades, I’ve coached senior leaders and technical experts just like you across biotech, pharma, and life sciences. I’ve seen brilliant minds, skilled in drug discovery, regulatory strategy, and clinical development, passed over for promotions, excluded from key decisions, and left out of critical funding conversations. Not for lack of ability, but because they struggle to be seen.

The High Cost Of Staying Silent In Life Sciences

You may spend more than half your week in meetings: don’t waste them staying silent. Some may feel routine, but many aren’t. They’re portfolio reviews, regulatory strategy sessions, clinical updates, governance forums, and executive briefings. These are the rooms where decisions are made, pipelines are shaped, and careers either accelerate or stall.

And the financial impact is staggering. When technical leaders fail to voice critical insights in these high-stakes conversations, companies make preventable mistakes, resulting in regulatory setbacks, project failures, and competitive disadvantages that cost millions.

And yet, I've seen too many brilliant professionals fade into the background in these high-stakes conversations, despite having the insight their organization needs most.

The cost of that silence shows up in moments like these:

• The strategic voice who watches senior leadership debate a plan they helped create, saying nothing.
• The regulatory expert who spots a compliance risk but never speaks up.
• The clinical lead who knows a trial design is flawed but waits to be asked for input.
• The program owner who sits through a governance review without advocating for resources.
• The functional expert whose insight could change a million-dollar decision, but disappears in the discussion

Quiet professionals often get stuck in a cycle: they stay silent because they doubt their voice will add value, and that silence makes them less visible, deepening the doubt.

The way out isn’t about being louder or more extroverted. It starts with recognizing the value you’ve built over years of experience. You’ve led clinical programs, solved complex regulatory challenges, and developed expertise others depend on. When you truly own that, not just in your mind, but in how you show up, you stop waiting for permission and start leading with presence. That’s when your voice starts to carry.

That confidence is critical, because I’ve watched too many technical leaders become invisible in the very moments where their expertise matters most. They know the regulatory pathway. They see the competitive risks. They understand the clinical implications. But when it counts, when leadership is making important decisions that affect millions in investment, they stay quiet.

The brutal truth? Your expertise got you into the room. But if you don’t speak up, you’ll stay invisible forever.

7 Power Moves That Make Quiet Leaders Impossible To Ignore

1. Make Your Voice Heard in EVERY Meeting You Attend.

Commit to speaking up at least twice in every meeting. A clarifying question, a strategic insight, a summary, anything that shows you're engaged and thinking strategically. Every time you speak, you build visibility and shape how others see your value.

2. Speak Before You’re 100% Sure

If you're waiting for the perfect phrasing or airtight certainty, you'll miss the moment. In fast-paced meetings, the sooner you contribute, the less time you have to overthink. Speak up, even if your thought isn’t fully polished. That quick contribution signals confidence, engagement, and presence.

​​3. Use Strategic Questions to Stand Out

You don’t need to talk more, just smarter. The right question can show insight, elevate the conversation, and boost your visibility. Try these:

• Clarifying: “Are we referring to the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway specifically, or a broader regulatory strategy?”
• Connecting: “How does this timeline align with manufacturing scale-up?”
• Challenging (diplomatically): “What evidence would give us confidence in this approach?”

4. Signal Authority with Your First Words

In high-stakes discussions, your first few words set the tone. Quiet professionals often lead with disclaimers, “I could be wrong…” or “This might be a stretch…” which trains the room to discount what follows. Flip the pattern:

Start with clarity: “Here’s what I see.” Or ground your insight: “From a clinical perspective…” This isn’t about sounding bold, it’s about training others to take your insight seriously.

5. Prep for 3 Minutes to Position Yourself as a Leader

A few minutes of focused preparation builds confidence and helps you contribute with impact from the start. Before any meeting, take three minutes to prepare:

• One insight relevant to the discussion.
• One question that moves the conversation forward.
• One brief example from your experience that adds context or clarity.

6. Use the 24-Hour Follow-Up to Reinforce Your Voice

After a meeting where you contributed insight or moved the conversation forward, follow up briefly within 24 hours. This small move shows strategic thinking in action and keeps your voice present even after the meeting ends.

Example: “Hi team, following up on today's discussion around the clinical timeline. After reviewing the latest data, I see an opportunity to streamline our approach that could move up our target submission date by a quarter. Happy to share the analysis and walk through the rationale."

7. Don’t Assume Your Work Speaks for Itself — Speak to Its Impact

Make it a habit to connect your work to business impact. When sharing progress or results, don’t just describe what you did, explain why it matters to the pipeline and competitive positioning.

Say, "This biomarker analysis strengthens our differentiation strategy for regulatory submission," or "This clinical update puts us six weeks ahead for FDA filing and positions us to launch before our main competitor." When you speak to business outcomes, you position yourself as a strategic contributor, not just a technical one.

Let Them See The Leader You Already Are

Here are a few final reminders for the quiet biotech leaders currently sitting on the sidelines:

• You're already in the rooms where decisions are made. The gap isn't permission, it's participation.
• Your voice belongs in every meeting. Use it. Your insights shape outcomes. Let them be heard.
• You’ve earned respect through your expertise. Now let your voice expand your influence.
• Leadership isn’t just what you know, it’s how boldly you choose to be seen.

About The Author:

Joel Garfinkle, author of Executive Presence: Step Into Your Power, Convey Confidence, & Lead With Conviction, has coached over 2,500 leaders, helping quiet life science professionals become confident, commanding, and visible. Executive coaching for pharma/biotech leaders.