Hi and Happy Friday!

Before sharing reflections from this week’s inaugural T2B Biopharma Comms Forum, we wanted to take a moment to pass on our thoughts from the first community event that T2B’s Culture Connect Roundtable hosted just last week.

Here are our top takeaways on how to stay connected and clear-headed, even when external pressures and internal shifts collide:

1. Culture is built in the small moments. Teams respond best to authentic, human gestures – like leaders walking the floor or a spontaneous team moment, not performative initiatives or forced fun.
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2. Values serve as accountability anchors. During turbulent times, core values become the framework for decision-making and help employees and leaders understand how to show up, interact, and deliver.
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3. Transparency is the new currency. Teams want honest communication about challenges. They understand transparency has limits but need to know leadership acknowledges the situation and has proactive plans, not just empty reassurances.
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4. Simplicity beats complexity in messaging. Clear, concrete messaging prevents misinterpretation and ensures consistency if information leaks or gets shared externally. Avoid buzzwords that just make people roll their eyes.
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5. Embrace the volatility, vs. merely reacting to it. Instead of being purely reactive, focus on what you can control. Advance scenario planning and calm, confident communication are critical in helping teams stay focused amid uncertainty.
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6. Everything internal is now external. Write all internal communications assuming they’ll become public. Screenshots can end up on LinkedIn, and other socials and become viral. Use the "Would this look bad as a New York Times headline?" test for all messaging.
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7. Radical clarity in reorganizations. Be extremely specific about why changes are happening, what it means for individuals, and what’s expected going forward. Meet with people 1-1 when possible, and give folks time to process before jumping into the next steps.
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8. Line managers are your most critical communication channel. Corporate communications isn’t employees’ primary information source; their direct manager is. Equip managers with the right tools and consistent messaging.
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9. Diversifying messaging doesn’t mean subtracting empathy. With five generations in today’s workplace, employees ask different questions and seek diverse types of support. Teams feel scared and exhausted amid constant external noise, so tailoring messaging to meet varied needs with empathy and clarity is imperative.
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10. Self-care isn’t optional for communicators. Give yourself the same empathy you provide others. The crisis environment isn’t temporary, so taking breaks and downtime are essential for avoiding burnout.

Beyond traditional comms work, we are now serving as advisors, dot-connectors, and counselors to leadership and employees. It was a privilege to have such experienced speakers furthering this important ongoing dialogue.

Huge thanks to T2B Culture Connect Roundtable chair Meredith Kiernan for moderating and to panelists Monique Bobadilla (Frontier Medicines), Abenaa Hayes (Elysee Consulting), and Craig Wojcik (Millipore Sigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany).

Have a good weekend.

Lynnea & Michelle

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​P.S. - Usually, T2B Pro members can access replays of our virtual events afterwards but this session was governed by the Chatham House Rule and was therefore not recorded. If you’d like to look back on other past events, you can view them via your T2B Pro login:

​Access the T2B Content Archive​

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