Welcome to Leadership Lab, a column dedicated to biopharma executives aiming to enhance their leadership skills and advance their careers. Every other month, Michael Pietrack, the practice lead for Kaye/Bassman’s pharma and biotech recruiting team and host of “The Pharmaverse Podcast,” shares a valuable leadership insight. 

In biopharma, people are every bit as valuable as the science. You can have the most promising pipeline in the industry, but without the right leaders, scientists and field professionals to bring it to life, progress stalls. That’s why turnover hurts so much. Losing a key person at the wrong moment can disrupt the delicate balance of a high-performing team. This article shares how you can spot the signs early enough to do something about it.

Most employees don’t leave on a whim. They wrestle with the decision for months. If leaders are paying attention, they can usually spot the signs of restlessness before a resignation letter hits their desk. A helpful way to frame those signals is through the CLAMPS framework. The acronym stands for challenge, location, advancement, money, people and security. Each of these six factors plays into a professional’s decision to stay or go, and each can be proactively addressed by leaders who are serious about retention.

High performers thrive on being stretched, yet they’re also the ones who can do their jobs on autopilot once things get too predictable. When someone who used to light up with enthusiasm suddenly disengages, it may not be laziness. More often, it’s a sign that they