Transparency doesn’t drive people away. It attracts the right ones and keeps them committed. Leadership coach Angela Justice discusses the problem with leaders only selling the upside and the value of setting accurate expectations from the start.
Biopharma is an inherently risky business. Clinical trials fail, funding dries up, programs get shelved. Everyone says they know this, but optimism is contagious. Leaders lean into the breakthrough narrative. Employees want to believe it.
The problem isn’t the presence of risk. It’s when risk goes unnamed until it’s unavoidable. That’s when trust shatters. People don’t resent setbacks. They resent discovering that the story they believed in was incomplete.
Trust doesn’t get built in the middle of a crisis. It’s built long before through the daily practice of naming risks and rewards side by side. That’s not spin. It’s leadership. And you build it through transparency.
Expectation-Setting Is a Filter, Not a Red Flag
When you’re transparent with job candidates and employees, the goal isn’t to scare people off. It’s to help the right people opt in and stay in. The best leaders don’t pretend the path is clear. They show the terrain and invite people to join anyway.
- “We’re still building the plane. If you’re in, you’ll help shape it and own a meaningful part of it.”
- “Cash is tight. The hours will be long. But your work will be visible, and you’ll grow faster here than anywhere else.”
- “This chapter is messy. But if we get it right, the impact will be real, and you’ll be able to say you were part of the team that made it happen.”
Some candidates and employees will walk away. The ones who join or stay at your company? They’re choosing the conditions you have, not the ones you wish you could offer.
Remember Shackleton? He Got It Right
An often-quoted (possibly mythical) recruitment ad from explorer Ernest Shackleton to recruit men for an expedition didn’t hide the risks involved.
“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”
Shackleton didn’t promise safety. He promised a hard road and a shot at something meaningful. Over 5,000 people applied.
Biopharma would do well to follow suit. We need to stop overselling the dream and start telling the truth. Let’s make sure the people who show up are the ones who want the work as it actually is.
Transparency Can’t Stop After the Hire
Telling the truth at the start helps attract the right people to your company. Continuing to tell the truth—especially when things get hard—is what earns their trust.
Leaders sometimes think transparency is a risk—that if people know about potential layoffs, short runways or shifting priorities, they’ll panic, disengage or leave. But the real risk isn’t in telling the truth. It’s in withholding it.
You won’t just lose people. You’ll lose alignment and credibility. When the story changes without warning, work gets misdirected, decisions misfire and even those who stay pull back. And in biopharma, word spreads fast. The next time you try to hire, the trust you need won’t come cheap.
Remember: The goal of transparency isn’t to create fear. It’s to create shared footing even when the road is uncertain. The question isn’t “What if we tell them?” The question is “What happens if we don’t?”
For Employees: Ask the Real Questions
Transparency goes both ways. Leaders owe it, but job candidates and employees should ask for it—and act on what they hear.
Whether you’re evaluating a new role or navigating change in a current one, ask your interviewer or manager:
- What are the real risks? What’s most likely to change in the next six to 12 months? Where are leaders still undecided? What is the company most concerned about competitively?
- What are the real rewards? What will I learn here that I couldn’t elsewhere? How will success be measured and by whom?
- What are the real challenges? What’s likely to be most demanding in the first year? What obstacles tend to slow progress? How do leaders respond when things don’t go as planned?
And don’t stop at asking other people questions.
Ask yourself:
- What story do I want to tell about this chapter of my career?
- Am I willing to sign up for the risks as well as the rewards?
These questions don’t eliminate risk, but they turn uncertainty into a choice—one you make with open eyes.
Final Thoughts: Tell the Whole Story or Break the Contract
No one joins biopharma expecting smooth sailing. We join because the work matters and the stakes are worth it. But the decision to commit, contribute and stay hinges on trust. Not just in the mission but in the people telling the story.
Leaders who name both the risk and the reward don’t scare people away. They attract the ones built for the chapter ahead. And employees who ask sharper questions don’t seem difficult—they signal that they’re ready to own the exchange.
This work isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for the bold—the ones who, like Shackleton’s crew, choose the hard road with open eyes, drawn by the possibility of honor in the work itself.
