The Best Leaders Know When to Change the Playbook

Is having done it before always an advantage?

In executive hiring, previous experience is often treated as one of the strongest predictors of future success.

Has this person built a function before? Led a program through the same stage? Navigated a launch? Scaled a team? Worked in this therapeutic area?

Those questions matter. But there is another one worth asking: Can they succeed when the circumstances are different?

The same challenge can look very different inside a global pharmaceutical company than it does inside an emerging biotech. The resources may be different. The team may be smaller. The infrastructure may not exist yet. The science, competitive landscape, or expectations of the role may require an entirely different approach.

The strongest leaders do not simply repeat what worked before. They understand why it worked, recognize what has changed, and adapt accordingly.

Experience matters. So does the ability to know when the old playbook no longer applies.

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