There's something about 100,000 people turning a stadium maize that puts things in perspective.

I was at Michigan Stadium last fall watching the Wolverines, surrounded by the kind of collective energy you only get when everyone — from the starting quarterback to the third-string lineman warming the bench — is locked in on the same mission. And it struck me: this is exactly what drug development looks like when it works.

In biotech and pharma, we celebrate the scientists who identify the breakthrough target. We honor the clinical leads who shepherd a molecule through trials. We recognize the executives who close the deals. And rightly so — these are hard-won accomplishments.

But what about the regulatory operations specialist who caught a submission error at 11 PM? The data manager who rebuilt the EDC database when the vendor's system failed? The procurement lead who negotiated a CRO contract that gave the team six months of runway they didn't know they needed?

In football, a star wide receiver only scores if the offensive line holds. In drug development, a successful NDA only crosses the finish line if every function — clinical operations, biostatistics, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, supply chain — executes its role with precision.

I spent 14 years at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine watching this dynamic play out across programs worth billions of dollars. The therapies that made it to patients weren't just the product of brilliant science. They were the product of hundreds of people who understood their role, took ownership of it, and trusted their teammates to do the same.

The Lesson for Leaders

If you lead a team in this industry, your job isn't just to manage the stars. It's to make sure every person on your roster understands how their work connects to the patient waiting for that therapy.

When people see the full picture — when they understand that their contribution is genuinely load-bearing — performance transforms. Not because you told them to try harder, but because purpose is a more powerful motivator than pressure.

Every position matters. Every function is critical. And the organizations that internalize this truth are the ones that win — both in the stadium and in the clinic.

Originally published on LinkedIn

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