In 2016, already 20 years of working in life sciences in several management roles responsible for quality, operations and projects, I faced the opportunity to become a consultant. Reflecting on this period, making the decision to join Progress brings a smile to my face. 

Why did I make the decision to become a Progress Consultant? It was not an easy decision. The proven examples of the Progress range of customers, the diversity of responsibilities within assignments and the multi-disciplinary Progress team, convinced me of my ability to fit in with the Progress team and together help organizations, their teams and employees. 

Today I’m looking back on my assignments as a Progress consultant and I’m proud to conclude that I was able to expedite GMP manufacturing of IMPD vaccines during my 1.5-year assignment as Head of Manufacturing. Another meaningful assignment was operating as a project manager for several years. The goal was to make a manufacturing site FDA compliant, including the QMS. It is wonderful to realize now that this has been successful. 

The variation and challenges are for me also in performing gap assessments (e.g. on ATMP, CCS, Annex I), making improvement proposals, or presenting a business case. When these are embraced by clients and the added value is experienced in practice, that is the absolute cherry on top for me.

As a consultant, you regularly start in a new organization, a new team. This means that you must be very adept at handling changes, being flexible and understanding. You not only enter a new organization/team with its own culture and habits, but often the assignment involves a change or improvement. It is important to find out where the help request comes from and whether all parties involved are enthusiastic. 

It is not just about the hard skills, the knowledge and the field of expertise. But much more about soft skills. Now I know that. Today, I am convinced that a consultant can only excel if not only the hard skills are at a sufficient level, but you can truly connect with the client. At Progress, we shape our identity with the so-called Progress Jacket. Since the founding of Progress, this Jacket is a metaphor for a distinctive set of soft skills such as connectivity, decisiveness and flexibility. 

Today, ‘helping’ is an absolute driving force for me. We do this not only with our clients but also internally. Regularly, we come together as a Progress team to share knowledge and experiences. Helping each other, sometimes, just with a quick question, but also with a mentoring or a coaching trajectory. Three years ago, I experienced the added value of being coached by a colleague. This increased my awareness of my strengths and where I can and may apply them. This process has boosted my self-confidence.  Nowadays I’m pleased to be a coach/mentor for some of my colleagues.

To the top together.