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Spotlight on WILL Graduate - Pam Griffin

Pam Griffin, WILL graduate in 2005, is a medical doctor by training and is currently a Senior Director at MedImmune. Her role is to direct clinical research projects, evaluate new drugs as business opportunities, and work with the people in the research lab to develop new drugs. One of the current projects she is working on addresses clinical studies of an antibody to prevent and treat the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which can cause serious illness in young children and the elderly.

 

But Pam has also added author to her list of accomplishments, having recently completed a novel. For more, read on…

 

What is your favorite memory of WILL?

 

Building friendships with other women in leadership roles and getting to hear about their experiences. One favorite memory was the exercise where we drew our representation of our lives. We got to learn about each other’s business and personal background, and it was great fun.  And we found out who could draw and who couldn’t. I was the one who could not draw. The role playing throughout the course was also very helpful and a great way to learn how to apply the new skills in work situations.

 

How has the experience of WILL helped you since you graduated?

 

Well, when I am in certain situations at work, I think, “What would Becky do?” or “What would Becky tell me to do?”  Since WILL, I have gained more confidence and I am much more vocal about my opinions.  I now also have the confidence to ask for what I want. As Becky says in her book on asking for what you want, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”  I have adopted that attitude.

 

I also have become much better at networking. I have re-developed strong relationships with people from the past that I had lost touch with and have established new far reaching networks with recent acquaintances. As an example, through Becky, I met a literary agent.

 

What’s new and exciting with you?

 

I have written a novel about a medical student in her third year of training. The story takes her and her friends through the whole third year and through every specialty rotation that a student moves through during the year. I have tried to portray the experience in a very realistic way, and of course, you laugh a little and then you cry a little. During the OB rotation, the heroine, who has never even seen a baby delivered, is caught in a situation where she has to deliver a baby to parents who are both attorneys. That is one of my favorite bits in the book.

 

As an author, what’s the best business, or non-business, book you’ve read this year?

 

Okay. Is this a trick question? Of course the best business book is “It’s Not A Glass Ceiling, It’s A Sticky Floor.” 

 

What’s your favorite part of the book?

 

I love how the book is written in a way that we can all relate to. The advice is so practical but it makes you think about each point and say “yes, that’s right.” It’s also nice, the way that Becky has tied in her own experiences. It is an easy read, and I am recommending it to my three daughters and all of my friends. I have even been able to give advice from the book to my employed eldest daughter on how to ask for a promotion and a raise. She got both.

 

Are there any Sticky Floors that you’ve been challenged with? If so, how did you get, or how do you plan to get, unstuck?

 

There are 2 main ones for me. I am a shy southern girl. I have found it difficult speaking up in meetings and also asking for what I want.  Growing up in the south, I think it is common for women to have insecurities. The WILL program helped me immensely to overcome my insecurities and get unstuck. And you know, it works. You don’t know what is possible unless you ask.

 

I am also a bottom line type of person. I like to get to the heart of the matter, arrive at a decision, and then get on to the next task. I think that comes from my neonatology intensive care background. WILL reminded me that I also need to be patient and to be a good listener.  I sometimes have to make myself remember to do that during long tedious accounts of the facts by my team members.

 

And, before we forget, what were your non-business book favorites?

 

There have been many “best” non-business books. As crazy as this sounds, my girls and I have been big Harry Potter fans and so the last book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was a big hit for us.  “Peace Like a River”, “I Am Charlotte Simmons”, “Atonement”, and “The Other Boleyn Girl” were quite good reads. Just for fun, quick and easy reads are the Janet Evanovich books about a young woman who is a bounty hunter. I know it sounds weird but if you like humor, then these are good. The titles have numbers in them and start at number #1. The most recent book is “Lean Mean Thirteen”.