Oh, the places you'll go! You most likely have heard that quote, perhaps on a graduation card, and may know that it comes from Dr. Seuss, pen name of the famous children's author Theodore Geisel. He is known globally for his creativity and tremendous ability to engage people with storytelling and doing so in rhymes. His stories are often about characters on a journey.
I selected it to start this column because it relates to the journey all of us embarked upon when we first decided to join a training and development team. As we thought of what may lie ahead of us in our careers, often moving from sales to sales training as a first step, we had hopes and aspirations. Wherever it would take us, that first training position was an inaugural step forward.
Oh, the places you'll go.
Start Here, Step One
In the more than 20 years that I have been a pharmaceutical training professional, I have certainly gone many places! My career path was paved with many opportunities as I traveled alongside great mentors and amazing colleagues. Hopefully a few of you may be reading this now!
Over the years, my training peers, direct reports and supervising managers have gone on to become sales leaders, account managers and executives, market access leaders, marketers, medical affairs managers and leaders of training organizations. Some of them grew to senior C-suite roles. Training is a good place to be if you want to go places.
The Journey's Begun
The quote also applies to the journey that our shared network has been on. Over the years, I have volunteered to become involved with a number of projects and one of the first was deciding on our new name in 2014. That was the year we switched from the Society of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Trainers (SPBT) to LTEN, the Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network. Together, we've built an even more diverse training community.
Other places I've gone with LTEN have included helping to create the LTEN Excellence Awards and our scholarship programs. Every year I raise my hand to judge these, as well as vote on selection of the workshops at the annual conference. It's a great opportunity to see some of the best practices in our industry and it's also very exciting and rewarding to be involved and then to be beside colleagues who have won awards.
Now Off We Run
I've also had the pleasure of sitting on committees as they were either created or evolved, including the charity, membership and field trainer advisory groups. I was honored to help develop the original content for the LTEN eLearning Lounge, another step of my LTEN journey. I found all this work fulfilling, helping individuals, typically new to their role within LTEN, and those in need outside of our network.
Hosting LTEN Networking Mixers also has been a rewarding experience. We had the pleasure of holding an LTEN mixer at Eisai where we showcased our learning journey. Recently I enjoyed a mixer event at the exquisite new headquarters for Sanofi! It's very nice, whether at a corporate office or a hotel, to enjoy an evening catching up with and meeting new like-minded professionals in a relaxed social environment.
People often come up to me at the annual conference and ask how they can be more involved with LTEN. My list gets longer as I start telling about writing articles for LTEN Focus on Training magazine and being on the Advisory Council. I share how volunteering to staff the LTEN booth, leading a workshop and guiding a tour to help orient new attendees at the annual conference all make the event more meaningful for me.
You'll Sure Have Fun
Of everywhere I've gone with our network, earning an inaugural LTEN Member of the Year award in 2016 was by far the most exciting, and extremely humbling. I am thankful for all the LTEN community members who I've traveled with so far.
In every issue of Focus, I make a point to look for the Volunteer of the Month. These committed members help keep the LTEN engine running. Reach out to me or connect with any LTEN team member for tips on getting more involved.
With everyone's work — including yours — I can't wait to see the places we will go next!