As part of our ‘Female Leaders: Inspiring Together’ series, we interviewed Miranda Heining – General Manager Belgium & The Netherlands for Fresenius Kabi – about her journey, accomplishments and why you should never worry about trying to be perfect!
Thank you for taking part in this campaign, Miranda. To start with please can you tell us a bit about your current role and the company you work for?
I’m currently working as a General Manager for Belgium and the Netherlands for Fresenius Kabi, which is a big infusion company. We have medical devices, infusion pumps, as well as generics and biosimilars. We are big in clinical nutrition too, both enteral and parental nutrition, which is also by infusion, so, we have a broad range of mainly hospital products. We also have some retail activity with the enteral nutrition, but we are mostly focusing on the hospital part now, as well as many Covid products. It’s a broad portfolio and the role itself is also very broad. There are elements of HR, finance, sales targets and you also have to manage relationships with different stakeholders. So, the role is really broad, which I like.
What inspired you to start your career in the pharmaceutical industry to begin with?
Well, I started working as a qualitative researcher in a market research agency and there, of course, you see all kinds of different industries. I did some market research for pharmaceutical companies and it was very evident that pharma dynamics is never boring. It’s very innovative and it’s an industry where a lot of things are going on. I think it’s also important that you do something that really matters to you. By contributing to wider healthcare, it gives some level of sense to your working life.
What barriers have you encountered during your career growth and success as a female leader?
I have been lucky to have worked with many female leaders in my career so far, and while I don’t think I have had any specific barriers, I think it was good to have some female role models. In general, throughout my career, I have found men can be slightly more dominant than women, but as women, we can be just as strong verbally. I think it is important to stay true to yourself.
In general, throughout my career, I have found men can be slightly more dominant than women, but as women, we can be just as strong verbally. I think it is important to stay true to yourself.
You described your role earlier as being quite broad, how do you manage your work-life balance?
For me, when you do something you chose to and you enjoy it, it’s easier to achieve that balance. You don’t really feel stressed that you have to work over, because when you do something that gives you energy it feels easier. I think it’s really important that you work in something that suits your strengths and suits you.
For me, it’s also good to have something to look forward to, such as a holiday, a short break or a weekend away, which of course is more difficult right now with Covid-19. I also enjoy sports because however busy you are, you can do a bit of Pilates or some rowing, otherwise you can end up sitting at your laptop the entire day and evening. So, it’s good to always have something to look forward to and to break up work in some way.
What is an accomplishment that you are most proud of?
I have had some great achievements and achieved some good sales targets and, of course, there are so many products that I am proud of, but I think great achievements come from a team and I am proud of my achievements as a people manager. I enjoy building a strong team with different characters so that you have different views and different opinions, but this is not always easy. A lot of people like to work with people who are similar to them, with the same traits, but you need to have different people. I think it’s always been a team achievement to reach goals together, which gets great results.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced and how did you overcome it?
I think the biggest challenge I have found is staying close to yourself and recognising, at a certain level, that you cannot be perfect; you cannot be a perfect manager, a perfect friend, a perfect wife and a perfect daughter.
I think the biggest challenge I have found is staying close to yourself and recognising, at a certain level, that you cannot be perfect; you cannot be a perfect manager, a perfect friend, a perfect wife and a perfect daughter.
I think it’s important that you dare to make mistakes because when you make a mistake, you learn from it and it takes you to a higher level. For many women, they put pressure on themselves for everything to be perfect, or they have all kinds of ideas about what should be expected from them. I think it’s good to make mistakes, have your own opinion and focus on solving your problems your own way.
Yes, I know a lot of us are perfectionists at heart and don’t allow ourselves to make mistakes. Do you ever suffer from self-doubt, and if so, how do you manage that?
Yes, of course. I’ve had it in the past and I still get it now because you want to make sure you are doing things right and also, in sales and marketing words, you want to win. So, it’s not nice when you lose, for instance, a big tender or reimbursement process, because you always want to do it well. But I think in that case, it’s important again that you accept it cannot be perfect, you learn from it and you see the positive side of it. You learn from it and then you move forwards.
What do you think the main challenges are for women in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly for those working at a senior level?
In the pharmaceutical industry, fortunately, there are many women, which is a positive. With regards to challenges getting into those senior-level positions, I think it’s important that you have a role model that shows you that many women are struggling with the same things and cannot combine and be perfect at everything, especially those who may have family commitments or young children. This differs by culture as well; in the Netherlands people are more used to working part-time compared to Belgium where people work five days. But then those who make that decision in the Netherlands will find sometimes it’s not easy to have a career as well, and some feel they have to move back to five days because of the level of position they work at. It’s not easy when you are working part-time, but of course, for some positions, it’s still possible.
What’s the best advice you have received?
I have been told to ‘stay authentic’, ‘stay creative’ and ‘stay open-minded’, but I also had a moment 20 years ago or so where someone was saying to me, you have to stay relaxed. They would say ‘Is somebody dying? No – please stay relaxed, focus on the problem and focus on the solution.’ Normally the problems are not that big and by staying calm you can solve it. It always helps me to say nobody is dying so let’s solve this. Sometimes people may be angry or there’s a lot of emotion and it’s not always proportionate. I think it is better to think twice before you react. I always say to count to 10 and don’t send an email straight away, because that’s normally better than when you react immediately.
Which women have inspired you the most?
I’ve worked with many women in the past, including a female General Manager and it was good to see how she handled the role. In the Netherlands you have, of course, Neelie Smit-Kroes. I don’t know if you know her, but she is a minister who was also working in the European Committee. I think she’s now around 78 years old, and she’s still active. I think for the Netherlands and for many women, she was a good example because you could see how she handled it and she was also making mistakes and was very open about it. There is also, of course, Michelle Obama, who is also really inspiring and positive. She has a lot of energy and she is also authentic. I admire our authentic women.
What do you think the best way is to encourage more women to work towards senior management and executive-level positions?
I think women sharing experiences, like we are doing here and throughout this campaign is important. It’s always inspiring when you hear how women are handling different situations. Whilst everyone may have a similar kind of same experience, they are also all unique in many ways and everyone is handling it in their own way. It is comforting to know others struggle too. I find networking with female career groups also important for hearing from other women in similar positions. I am also currently part of a group supporting women with heart problems and we have meetings with inspirational women and share ideas and things we may be struggling with. It’s always good to hear from other women about what they are doing and combining it with something good for society as well.
I think women sharing experiences, like we are doing here and throughout this campaign is important. It’s always inspiring when you hear how women are handling different situations.
I think it’s also important to help each other and for us women to not judge each other. I think we should always be alert to ourselves and not judge too easily, because you cannot judge what is bad or wrong from the outside.
Lastly, what advice would you give to a woman looking to progress to an executive-level role?
For me, I would say stay authentic and stay close to yourself. I think what’s really important is that we have some guts. I am not sure if you know Pippi Longstocking, but she always says ‘I’ve never done it, so I think I can.’ I think that is really good because sometimes we don’t have the confidence to say we can.
Our ‘Female Leaders: Inspiring Together’ series is running throughout March with the aim of inspiring and supporting women to become future leaders in their respective industries. Follow our LinkedIn page to join the conversation and hear the insightful stories of our featured female leaders.
