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3 Learnings from My Long-Distance Hike That Will Help Medical Affairs Excel
This summer I spent several months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). This big adventure made me realize that many of my big aha moments on the trail are also applicable to Medical Affairs 💗. Here are 3 learnings from my long-distance hike that will help Medical Affairs excel:
1. Continuously communicate expectations to stakeholders

When you are hiking the PCT you are often in remote locations and rely on trail angels (folks that help hikers) for rides into town. Normally trail angels don’t charge anything for the ride but in some cases they do. Often these prices are not discussed ahead of time and then unexpecting hikers are asked to pay before they get out of the car. The hikers grudgingly pay and then complain about it later on. Word travels fast on the trail and soon the trail angel gets a reputation.
If the trail angel discussed what they were going to charge ahead of time, this would have prevented the frustration and led to a lot more happy hikers.
Just like trail angels that drive hikers around, Medical Affairs teams also work with stakeholders with various expectations. It gets extra challenging when you need to merge the expectations of the stakeholders with the expectations of the organization. Medical Affairs can avoid unhappy customers by continuously discussing expectations.
Here is an easy way to help manage expectations:
Create a roles and responsibilities table with columns for the task, the purpose, the due date, and everyone’s responsibilities (download the free managing expectations resource here). Continuously review this table and mark things off as the project/relationship progresses. This is a great tool for avoiding unhappy stakeholders, stalled projects, and conflict.
2. Keep things simple to stay motivated

Life on the trail is so simple. Every day you have one major task:
💦Figure out where you will get water from
You don’t have a ton of stuff or have to make 1000 decisions. I loved only having one thing to wear because then I didn’t need to think about what to wear. All of my food was in my backpack, so I didn’t stress about what to eat. This simplicity was so motivating! I wasn’t bogged down with making a ton of small decisions and was able to really focus on my major task for the day.
Keeping it simple will also help Medical Affairs teams stay motivated. Get rid of all the fluff and focus on one core mission. There’s no need to overcomplicate things. Step back and think about what you can take away to focus on what matters. Can you make a process simpler by eliminating steps? Is your team spending more time on low-value tasks than with customers? Can you delegate those tasks or eliminate them altogether?
Eliminating complications will help you and your team stay motivated by not having to wade through a ton of info or make a lot of decisions. This will also make your customers happy. They have information overload and will appreciate the simplicity. We forget how easy it is to get bogged down in decisions and how this kills motivation.
3. Unite people with a ridiculously clear mission and strategy

When hiking the PCT, you have a very clear mission and strategy:
Mission: Get to Canada
Strategy: Walk there
It was amazing how this simple mission and strategy brought everyone together on the trail. It was inspiring to see how hikers would help each other.
“You need a Band-Aid? Here’s a Band-Aid.”
“You running low on snacks? I have some extra. Take mine.”
This sense of comradery was infectious. PCT hikers are so helpful and encouraging! It wasn’t because we were living a super simple life in beautiful nature. The clear mission and strategy united everyone and created an atmosphere of “we are all in this together and will help each other succeed.”
This uniting element of a clear mission and strategy also works for Medical Affairs teams. Imagine everyone working together in harmony towards a common goal. That’s possible! Get everyone on the same page with a crystal-clear mission and strategy. Then just watch Medical Affairs teams become unstoppable and more patients get the therapies they need.
Follow Along on My Hiking Adventures!
Follow me on Instagram or check out my hiking blog, Get Outdoors Get Happy 🌞.

Written by Patrina Pellett, PhD
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