220 How Senior Women Leaders Really Create Work-Life Balance, Confidence, and Influence with Pharma Director Niamh Byrne

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the 360 Leadership Podcast. I am absolutely thrilled today to be joined by the fantastic Niamh Byrne, or Rooney? Cut, Ali, cut. 

Byrne. Because I have you in my phone as Niamh Rooney Byrne. I know, yeah, because that's me. 

Niamh Byrne, right, we'll go again. Okay. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the 360 Leadership Podcast. 

I am delighted today to be joined by a fantastic woman in senior leadership. Her name is Niamh Byrne, and Niamh is a director in the pharmaceutical industry over corporate governance. She has significant experience in industry over the last 25 years. 

And today, Niamh is here to share her journey as a female leader and how we have supported her in 360 Leaders Club in her career. Niamh, you are so welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today? I'm good. 

Thanks very much for having me, Lucy. I'm delighted to join you here today. So we were just saying before Niamh came on on the show here, like she's kind of been one of my long-term clients who's got away lightly without being on the podcast. 

So Niamh, how long have we been working together now at this stage? Oh, wow. It's probably about four years, is it? It is, yeah. It's after COVID, like, yeah. 

Yeah, it's about, yeah, about three and a half or something like that. So we've known each other for a while. So how did you slip the grip of the podcast? I don't know, since you listen all the time. 

But you're here now. So do you want to introduce yourself to our listeners? Tell us a little bit about you in terms of who you are and what you do. And obviously, I know you're a mom as well. 

So feel free to bring in your personal life as well. Yeah. So I'm a mom of one. 

So I have a daughter. She's 12 and in sixth class. I also am working full-time. 

I work in Alexion, the rare disease unit for AstraZeneca. I'm a director there in the corporate governance area. I've been in that role for just over a year now. 

And prior to that, I've worked in various roles, mainly manufacturing across the difference between Pfizer, WuXi Biologics, and a few other companies. And I also did global project management as well for a little while with Teva in the generics world, generic pharmaceutical. So I think when I met Lucy, I think we met, well, it was through LinkedIn first. 

And then I was the Women in STEM lead for WuXi Biologics. And we were just getting set up for Women's Day that day. And I saw you on LinkedIn and I said, oh, we were looking for a speaker. 

And I think I contacted you then. And then you came and you did a presentation for us on that day back in March a few years ago. And then I think it was after that, then we kind of clicked and we talked, started talking. 

And you mentioned that you had a retreat coming up. And then you mentioned as well, the 360 leadership club that you had running. And I was kind of very intrigued by that. 

And I had a coach before that, prior to that, I had an executive coach, but it was good for six months, but we didn't really gel and get on. But when I met you, I think I had an immediate connection with you and we got crack and a bit of banter and a lot of the same wavelength, like with family stuff and trying to get doing your career and kind of busy, busy, busy. So I went on your retreat. 

I remember down the Lyre Athens, fabulous. And we did a little bit of coaching work and a little bit of leadership development. And then I remember we had as well, we had a little bit of personal work as well, you know, around, I think we did some yoga.

Yeah. I remember I kind of different exercises for women of a certain age. We'll tell what the age is here. 

And it really, it really was kind of like an all round kind of house for me. You're not just getting your executive coaching. You're also getting a little bit of me time and kind of getting a bit more in the exercise. 

And, you know, those kind of fundamentals for life as a woman of a certain age in the perimenopause, menopausal era. Yeah. Oh, my God. 

I still remember, Niamh, when Niamh and I met, like we, as Niamh said, obviously, you know, I went to your site and usually the women who tend to work with me, the majority will usually come because they want to work on their confidence in high stakes situations or they might be struggling with self-doubt or, you know, really burnt out work life balance might be a challenge. But Niamh, you were a little bit of an outlier in that Niamh seemed to kind of have it all together. And I was like, this, this lady is not going to be a fit because she doesn't really have a problem.

She seems to have it all. You know, I loved her. I loved you. 

Obviously, you know that. And then you came on the retreat and I think you got to experience, you know, what I always say is like the 360 magic on the retreat. So I'm curious to understand what, you know, what was happening in your career around that time that made you go, OK, I need to get involved in this. 

This is different. Well, I'd been recently promoted about three or four months before that to director level in the role and kind of had gotten, you know, it was kind of the same role, but a bit more strategic and, you know, a lot more visible presence at that time. And I was like kind of going, OK, I need to probably up my game and do something a little bit different. 

And I remember going on the retreat and kind of thinking, OK, I have to be open to these kind of things, you know, can't be all just like I did a master's during COVID a couple of years beforehand as part of that kind of, you know, upskilling myself. But I just felt that I needed to do something more kind of in terms of my strategic presence and executive presence as well. And so I thought, you know, I'll give this a shot, this retreat a shot and see how it goes.

And I remember one of the items that we did there was conflict management and conflict resolution. And I had found, you know, that I was perhaps not and maybe not as strong in conflict management as I could be. And I think we did a lot of work on that on the Saturday, I believe it was, in terms that you give some coaching tips and kind of one of your little what was it? It was one of those little acronyms that we had for the coaching as well.

And I just found it very easy to use. And I did use it actually in the following couple of weeks. And that was one of the items that kind of made me want to kind of go, OK, I think this is good.

The other thing was then the community that I met. So I met a lot of women, similar age, similar positions, you know, from director, senior director and up to vice president, I think, as well. And I kind of give a really good understanding, you know, of all the different roles women can play within the pharmaceutical workforce.

There was also a few entrepreneurs as well. And that, you know, sparked an interest as well that there's lots of different roles that you can play and you can you know, you can change your career trajectory as well. And I thought that being in that community, you know, you can tap into that. 

You can hear the issues or the the conflicts that other women are having. And you're kind of going, oh, I did that or, you know, you kind of may have experienced it or the opposite, like in a couple of months time, you might be experiencing that yourself. So it's great to have that person that you can tap into and reach out to and kind of ask them questions. 

How did they resolve it? Or, you know, had they any advice and X, Y and Z? And so I think that was, yeah, that community feel was one of the key things that made me join the 360 leadership once that retreat was over. Yeah, I'll never forget, actually, was it that retreat it was because Niamh has come all the way to Portugal with me as well. Let's just say Niamh likes her retreats and we do one every year.

We even went to Portugal last year. But I always remember actually that retreat, I think that was back in 2022, actually, which is just wild that it's so long ago. But I remember at the, you know, I always like to like, you know, do a nice dinner and it's always very, you know, I like my nice thing. 

So I like to coffee. And I remember I was leaving about half ten because I was wrecked after the day. And I remember looking over and just seeing you all cackling, laughing. 

And I remember I think it was Catherine at the time said, you know, I haven't belly laughed in such a long time. Like there was just belly laughs happening with you. And I just made me made my heart so full because obviously I do this to help, you know, develop, develop these leaders and to help you to reach your potential.

But to see the friendships being formed and like it's very rare that you find women that you can actually really click with. So, yeah, like what were those belly laughs about? Can you remember or is that like censored? Probably some of it was censored, but I think just even chatting about the kids and family life and then being able to switch into work mode as well. Like we had a good discussion, I remember that night about pay, you know, and kind of what was the pay scale for each of the different roles in each of the different areas and things like that. 

And I think a lot of us kind of went, oh, wow, that'd be, you know, money mindset kind of changed as well. I think a lot of us kind of thought about, you know, putting our value there as well. And I think women in general don't put value sometimes on their skill sets and on, you know, what they can offer companies. 

It's more about what the company can offer you sometimes. And I think it's like we're quite backwards in selling ourselves, I suppose. And I would have been one of those people as well. 

So, I think chatting that night, you know, with different range of people across different positions, we did have a bit of discussion as well about the money and kind of pay levels, et cetera. And I think as well, you did a coaching session, I think it was a few months after that, about how to put your value, you know, if you were going into a new role or if you were looking for, you know, a pay increase, et cetera, you know, and I think that really helped as well. That was kind of part of that, kind of like a little thread that ran through some of those discussions that we had. 

I'd say there's a bit more to it anyway, but we'll take the PG version. But in all seriousness, like, let's talk about that money piece, because I know we were chatting about this before we came online. I think you're so right in what you said.

And guys, if you're multitasking, come back to me on this one, because I think it's a huge mindset shift that's like, oh, you know, what can the company give me? And aren't I so lucky? I can't believe I'm getting promoted to director or vice president. Like, wow, like, you know, they must be stuck or imposter syndrome comes in. But when you actually look at your skill set and your experience on paper, and then you can actually put a value on that, you will very, very quickly see that actually they need you way more than you need them in most cases. 

So it's something that obviously we talk about a lot in 360 is owning your value, owning your worth and investing in yourself. But I remember myself before I started investing in myself, and I don't think you had ever invested in coaching or anything like that before 360. It was more work, wasn't it? Yeah, work and investment. 

Yeah, I'd never done it personally. Yeah, it was a big step. Yeah. 

So like, let's talk about that a little bit, because I do think that's a big thing, like whether people this is by the way, guys, this is not a sales pitch. I would just love for all women to be okay with spending your own money on yourself. So what's what were you thinking before you started investing yourself? Because now you've clearly got the book because you've continued versus your mindset now, like what's different? So I think I was reluctant, I'll be perfectly honest to invest myself, it's always has been work, you know, kind of development or that type of thing. 

Like even the coach that I had prior to this, that was a work, it was actually my boss suggested it because she had gone through coaching. And she said, you know, I think you should try this and see how it goes. And so I did six months of that. 

And it was good. But I don't think I got the value out of it, that work had paid for, if you know what I mean. So then I was kind of starting to have a look around. 

But I never thought of actually spending my own money to invest into myself. And only and it's now I think that's a crazy idea, because the few pound that I did invest by going to that retreat, paid off a lot, like even just in the conflict management, and also the exercises. And even the chats with the women as well, you know, like that small amount of money really paid off, I feel in the following few months. 

And that was one of the reasons I went on I invest myself, I think for the first, I think for the first year or so, and I invest myself in 360. And then I got the company to invest then after that. Yeah, because they could see the benefit in it. 

And I believe that's, you know, that was one of the reasons. And we also the CPDs, like that wouldn't be something that I would do myself. I never think of that. 

And coaching and the leadership development, you know, to invest in myself. Yeah. And I'd love to know, like, I love that. 

I love I actually think it's way better if you invest in yourself first. But then, you know, I'm all about like, if you want to stay, I will help you to get from your company. But there's something so it isn't or something so empowering. 

I don't want to lead you. But like, when you did that for the first time, the feeling of like, actually backing yourself and investing a few thousand euro in yourself, like, what does that do to your own value? I suppose yourself instantly, I feel. Yeah. 

So it made me feel valuable, you know, that I was spending my own money on my own and personal success. Because that's that's essentially what you're doing, you know, you're paying value forward. So then the next step in the ladder, you know, whether it's a yearly review or whether a new role, et cetera, like this all investment kind of helps you build up your own presence, your executive presence. 

And I just felt, you know, right, I'm paying for this. I'm going to make take value out of it. I use the workbooks.

I did the whole the whiteboard and did all of the various activities, you know, kind of just to try and kind of get the best value out of that because I had put my own money into it. So I was determined to use this kind of thing. And I went to all the I've been to most the majority of the calls, any of the workshops as well, as much as I can possibly work or else I'd listen to the recorded version as well. 

And simply because, you know, that was my money at work for me. But you've continued that as well, which is something that I love about you. You know, like you've been very diligent in terms of like your commitment to your development. 

So I'd love like what what are you getting? You said that, you know, you saw the benefits from the retreat, obviously, that, you know, we was only a couple of hundred euro for the retreat or whatever. And then you got all of these benefits in terms of, you know, for a few months after. And then you were still on the fence and you were still sussing me out. 

And then you then you come in, you join 360. But what benefits did you personally see when you joined 360? Can you think about any benefits or what did your employers see, would you say? Can you hear me? Yeah, I can hear you now. My internet went.

Oh, that's all right. I was like, oh, shit, did my internet go or something? I am hotspotting on my phone right now. My Wi-Fi has just gone.

Oh, no, Lucy. I know. I actually look. 

The other bit will be will hopefully have recorded. It'll be OK. Yeah, just let me just double check. 

Sorry, we were on total flow there, but I think it cut off right as I was just finished asking a question. Yeah, you were just talking. Yeah. 

And it just went blank. And I was like, hello, hello. Oh, my God. 

My my Wi-Fi is literally gone. I can see the box here. OK, just give me a second. 

I just make sure that this one has is recorded. Fucking typical, isn't it, Niamh? This is the story of my day. Oh, OK. 

So what did I just ask you? I was asking about benefits. So I'm just hoping and praying that this recorded. OK, it's recording.

Recording. Yeah. Yeah. 

So maybe it's the same one. OK. So I didn't leave. 

So hopefully. OK, grand. OK, so Ali, I'm just going to go back and I'm just going to ask that question again and see what you can edit out.

So are you ready to go? We'll just get back on the flow of the benefits. Yeah. So, Niamh, I'm really curious.

Then you were saying that you saw a lot of benefits from joining 360. And then also you also mentioned that you you think your employer saw benefits. So for you personally, what benefits did you see, I guess, within the first six months being in 360, do you think? And I think I was able to identify kind of the top priorities for myself and to prioritize my workload. 

And that was one of the things at the time, because we were doing a startup. And it was just mental because we're going from a greenfield, starting it up into GMP production. So not only were you doing commissioning, validation, qualification, equipment, but you're also hiring people.

So we were hiring up to a team of 150 people within my team. And then you were training people and, you know, trying to get the show on the road. And it was just pure chaos. 

So I think at that time, I used a lot of those kind of the tools that you had, the prioritization matrix to figure out, you know, what I needed to prioritize, what I need to work on today, what could I delegate, what the team could do as well. So we did a good bit of the work with my direct reports at the time to try and identify, kind of, you know, what's the top priorities for this week and what can actually shift the needle rather than, you know, kind of just firefighting and a big to-do list. So that was kind of one of the key things, one of the key benefits I found at the time. 

And I still carry that on to this day to identify, kind of, what's going to shift the needle versus what is something, you know, kind of routine work that just kind of comes in and that we can automate now at AI. But that's another... That's another podcast. Maybe the AI conversation.

Yeah, definitely. And, you know, there was a lot of that at the time. And then personal benefits as well. 

So at home, kind of, the work-life balance. Also, I made some non-negotiables in regards to my health and fitness. So I started walking the dogs a couple of days a week.

And I also started going to the gym and cycling as well. I started cycling back in 2018. And then with COVID and that, it kind of slowed down a bit.

But then when I came back, then I was into the cycling. And myself and my husband did that together. And we actually got a babysitter in a couple of days a week so we could go off doing our cycling on our date nights.

And, you know, things like that, wee things like that. I don't know that I've done it myself, but I think the community spurred me on. And writing your intentions on a Monday morning, you know, kind of what you were going to try and get done that week.

So this is something that you do, Lucy. You do intentions and then you do a Friday celebrations. And I try and do that most weeks as well.

And what do you feel that gives you actually, Niamh? Because I think sometimes it's so alien for people, guys. If anyone doesn't know what we're talking about. So basically in 360, obviously, like we said at the start, you know, we are all about conflict management and change management and giving you tools for your executive presence and all of that and giving you coaching so you can come with challenges and we can help you to, you know, give you guidance in real time so you can move forward and all of that stuff.

But like, I care about you guys because I am a woman leader and I couldn't be without my coaches who remind me, hey, you know, don't forget about your marriage. Don't forget about your health. And that's why I do what I do.

But in terms of the weekly wins and celebrations, one thing I noticed, obviously, I was exactly the same, is that when you're working in an organization, it's just all go, go, go. It's fire, fire, fire, to-do list, to-do list. And as soon as something's done, what do we do? We go on to the next thing without pausing.

So a huge part of 360 is providing the space so you can actually set intentions for the week and have that accountability for what you want. And we're all there to help hold you accountable. But then the celebration on a Friday is like, hey, I got this thing done.

Or I actually went to the gym three days a week. And it might sound a bit juvenile, but it's just so effective. So what do you like about that? And how do you think that even doing those two small things are helping you three years on that we're working together? I think it's being accountable, being held accountable for stuff.

You don't always get to the gym. It's like being in the gym and you have a personal trainer and they're keeping you accountable and they're keeping you going or getting physio or doing your exercises. They'll always know you didn't do it because the next time you come, you won't be fit to do the exercises or you won't have as much fluidity to your movements or that.

But I think it's similar to that. This is not just for your home life and your personal exercise, et cetera, but also for work life as well. If you don't keep stretching yourself and keep that fluidity into both your own leadership styles and keeping yourself held accountable for different items every week, you won't do them.

Well, I won't anyway. I need something like a kind of a goal in mind before I do something and I can keep going with it and keep it active like that. And I think just doing the intention every week, whether it's, you know, what I try and do is like do two work things on a whole thing and just to kind of, you know, make sure that I kind of have a nice spread so that I'm doing something for work and then something for myself or my family because family for me is one of the key values that I have as well.

Love that. And how would you say then, Niamh, like obviously you're in industry, you know, a couple of decades like myself, we're not getting any younger, but obviously you've done a lot of different training and I know you've done your, obviously your master's and obviously you've done a lot of different, you know, you had coaching work and you've done leadership training. How would you say 360 is like different to anything you've ever done? I think it's the variety.

So it's not just we're working on executive presence and leadership skills and conflict management. And I think the fact that you kind of, you've brought in the CPDs as well. You're also working on mindset.

Like one of the ones that we did was the finance mindset. You did a call with a special guest one day and it was all about finances and, you know, pensions and security and shares and all the different things. And it hit me that day when I, we were on that call with that lady, I think it was Karen was her name.

And I realized, sure, I have four or five different pensions with different companies. I had different logins. I didn't know what was going on with them.

You know, and things like that. It's just to try and be aware of your financial circumstances as well. And then another day, you know, change management training.

We've done showing up, you know, to an executive presence and doing the retreats as well. Because there's a little bit of difference. Everything's a little bit different.

It's not your standard run of the mill. You come in, step by PowerPoint and you go home again and you never think about it again or you get a nice wee booklet. Like, you know, this is different.

It's kind of, it's ongoing. It's interactive. It's thought provoking.

We also have the little community as well where we can see what events are coming up. We can put in the chats and ask people questions. You know, if you're having issues at work or if you have a particular problem, you know, has anyone gone through this before as well? So the community is kind of what sells a lot for me as well.

It's having other women in similar circumstances as what I'm in and having someone that you can just reach out. A couple of wee chats on the phone and someone comes back to you probably within a couple hours saying, oh, that happened to me or did you ever try this? And I've done that as well for other ladies who've put in questions as well. You know, if they've been asking questions.

And like one of our hot topics at the minute is AI and artificial intelligence. You know, we've got a couple of super users, Lisa and a few others. And it's great to be able to kind of ask questions or see what they're doing with AI.

And it kind of gets your head thinking about, jeez, I could do that too. And, you know, I used it like from a Paris perspective. I used it for a part of my Athens trip last September when I went to Hulls to kind of identify what's the top 10 places to visit.

And, you know, also in work then as well using it. So, yeah. Yeah, it's kind of like the whole experience.

Yeah, it's like, I mean, it's where it was called 360 Leaders Club or something, the whole 360 degree success. It's where I, that's how I designed it. But in all seriousness, though, that, like, I think you've hit the nail on the head in terms of my vision.

So it just gives me so much, like, joy back to hear how much of an impact it's having on you. And I'm curious as well, like, you know, like I said at the start, a lot of the women who join, first of all, guys is, hierarchy. Is it a thing in 360, would you say, or not? No, God, no.

I don't think so. No, because, like, I could ring up, like, Linda or Suzanne, like one's a senior VP and another's a VP, I think. Or they could be senior VPs, I'm not sure.

But, you know, you could ring them up and have the crack of them and chat with them and ask career advice or ask personal advice. From either of them. And the same with anyone else.

Like, you know, like, there's no, you don't think of what level in an organization they're at. You actually think, okay, this could be something that this person could help me out with because of their previous experience. Yeah.

Or, you know, kind of stuff that has come up in a call or a discussion point as well. If they've said, oh, I've had that experience in the past working with multinational corporations or like Lisa, who's in the States as well. You know, if you have questions around kind of cultural differences, et cetera, if you want to kind of check on something as well.

Yeah. I think it's that diversity as well. Like, I love the fact that, you know, we have women from industries like yourselves, the pharma.

But then, Linda, you mentioned one of the ladies, she's in marketing. Then we have other people who are in the financial services. We've got other people who are in startups or people who are entrepreneurs.

So it's having that, like, that kind of diverse kind of input into everything. I think that's really, really valuable. And obviously you mentioned AI as well.

We've a lot more coming in AI next year, which I'm very excited for. I won't give it all away. Okay.

So I suppose, is there anything else I wanted to ask you? Like, I guess, I mean, I just think you're such an amazing woman, genuinely. I've told you this before. And guys, anyone who's listening, who is considering joining 360, if you just head over to 360leadersclub.com, you can join our priority wait list.

And we will let you know when a spot becomes available. We do usually open up a couple of spots every month-ish, dependent on the numbers and timing and all that kind of stuff. So you can head over there.

And obviously, Niamh will tag you in the show notes anyway, your LinkedIn, if that's okay, if anyone wants to reach out to have a chat with Niamh about it. But one thing I do want to kind of just get across as well is even though we're talking a lot about Niamh has been in 360 a long time, all women who are high achieving, who are warm and have the right vibe are welcome once your goals align with what we're doing. So I don't want anyone to think that we're all clicky or anything like that, because it's not like that.

We're very welcoming, I would say, to new members. But you Niamh, and I know you are anyway. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, no.

And it's lovely meeting new people. Like I'm actually some of the members are people that I worked previously in my same, in a different company as well. And it's great to see how they've come on too and what different roles they've done and experiences that they've had as well.

So I love that part of it. Like you meet people from all different sectors and different backgrounds and everything. Like it's great fun.