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When a “Step Sideways” Is Your Smartest Step Up in Life Sciences

sharonshieldsconsu
Aug 23
2 min read

Strategic Insight on Lateral Career Moves


For years, the “ideal” Life Sciences career has been drawn as a straight line: brand manager to director to VP, each move a clean step up in title and scope.


But that picture no longer matches reality—or what senior roles actually require.


When you talk to leaders who make it to GM, franchise head, or the C‑suite in pharma and biotech, a different pattern shows up: sideways moves into new functions, therapeutic areas, or business models that didn’t look like promotions at the time, but turned out to be pivotal.


Yet many high performers still hesitate when a lateral opportunity appears. And many HR teams still treat lateral roles as places to “park” talent rather than accelerate it.


Deloitte has long described careers as more of a “lattice” than a ladder, where progress can be diagonal or lateral as well as upward—and where cross‑functional moves are a core part of growth and leadership development.


In a sector where complexity, integration, and cross‑functional thinking are now core to success, that mindset is out of date.


This Strategic Insight looks at lateral moves differently:


  • what they really build,

  • why they matter more in Life Sciences than ever before, and

  • how HR and hiring managers can use them deliberately to grow the next generation of senior leaders.


Q: Why are lateral moves such a hard sell for Life Sciences leaders?


A: Because most careers are still judged on a simple visual: upward steps on a CV.


So when a move doesn’t come with a bigger title or bigger team, high performers worry:


  • “Is this a step back?”

  • “Will this slow my promotion path?”

  • “Will it look like I stalled?”


In reality, in today’s Life Sciences and Specialty Pharma landscape, a well‑chosen lateral move is often the most strategic way to accelerate toward senior leadership.


Q: What do the best lateral moves actually build?


A: Breadth, credibility, and strategic value.


  • Breadth: Moving between franchises, geographies, or functions (e.g., Commercial → Market Access, Medical → Evidence/HEOR) expands your view of how decisions really get made.

  • Credibility: Executives increasingly need cross‑functional fluency. Leaders who’ve “sat on both sides of the table” are more trusted problem‑solvers.

  • Strategic value: Experience across models (big pharma, biotech, payer, provider, digital health) makes you more adaptable and future‑ready.


Q: What should HR and hiring managers do differently?


A: Stop treating lateral moves as holding patterns.


  • Design lateral roles as intentional stretch assignments that build the muscles future VPs and C‑suite leaders will need.

  • Signal in talent reviews that sideways moves are growth, not a lack of progression.

  • Support high‑potential talent to choose lateral moves that add real scope, not just more work.


In a complex, fast‑shifting industry, the leaders who can think across silos—not just up a single ladder—are the ones you will rely on most.


Reach out to discuss, click here.


References


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