Ana Lorena Flores

It goes beyond monitoring; it ties back to my earlier point about building a strong team foundation. This foundation ensures that conflicts rarely jeopardize the team's unity and sense of belonging. Of course, follow-up is important, but by working early on the foundation, monitoring conflicts becomes a much easier endeavor.

I believe that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to conflicts. However, when a team shares a common vision and values, and its members trust each other, conflicts arise less frequently and are resolved more swiftly. Ultimately, it all comes down to building a solid foundation of trust to minimize conflicts and facilitate their resolution when they do occur.

I see conflicts as opportunities for growth and unity. They bring us together to address issues and learn how team members handle stress, focusing on future solutions. In today's fast-paced corporate world, we must seize these moments to better understand each other and ourselves as leaders. We should ask: How am I coping with this conflict? How does it impact me and the team emotionally? What are the potential outcomes, and how can we resolve issues from different approaches? As leaders, we must be open, using body language to ensure people feel comfortable and safe, resolving conflicts swiftly.

I focus on the root of the problem only if it contributes to the solution. Hunting for culprits is unhelpful, time-consuming, and damages team morale. I've seen this approach fail repeatedly. Instead, I believe in collaborative problem-solving. We should sit together, write the problem on a whiteboard, and brainstorm solutions as a unified team. As leaders, we must create a safe space where everyone feels free to speak up, explain their ideas, and suggest potential combinations. This inclusive approach fosters creativity and drives effective solutions.

I believe success starts long before problems arise. It begins with building a team's trust foundation by creating a space where everyone feels heard and valued. During my time at Sanofi, I was known for my legendary Global Medical Team meetings, which relied on a well-structured model. Each meeting began with an introduction and icebreaker activity, followed by an execution section. We had a "Drop the Mic" segment where colleagues shared best practices, challenges, and new features. Finally, a brainstorming activity encouraged us to think collectively about job improvements. Although the participants did not report to me, and many I had never met face-to-face, we operated as a unified team in times of need.

I was offered at some point to take a few trainings to enhance my launch proficiency. After completing the trainings, we created a program to cascade these learnings to the rest of the team. It was really encouraging to me that I was given this opportunity. It not only allowed me to receive a great training, but in addition, it helped me build on my leadership qualities with the rest on the team.