Pharma Leader Unlocks $4M and 10x ROI with Coaching & Assessment

Introduction

In the competitive and regulated sector of Life Sciences, achieving high performance is crucial. Commercial teams must continually adapt, develop new skills and competencies, and execute strategic initiatives with precision. Recognizing this, a leading pharmaceutical organization sought a transformative approach to enhance coaching effectiveness and drive measurable business impact. Performance Development Group (PDG) introduced the Performance Matrix, a data-driven coaching and talent development tool designed to assess and enhance readiness for future business needs.

Challenge

The company identified several key strategic imperatives for the year for their largest business units:

• Accelerate results across business units
• Serve over 1 million patients in 2025
• Deliver the #1 customer experience in the marketplace
• Achieve the #1 spot for their product in market share

In order to achieve these goals, the leadership team had been tasked with elevating coaching effectiveness and execution across the business units but lacked the right tools and approach. They knew they needed a more effective strategy to achieve their future objectives, and these coaching gaps were directly impacting their ability to execute strategic imperatives and maintain competitive advantage in their markets.

Through PDG’s assessment, leadership uncovered their methods suffered from a lack of structure and consistency, limited transparency in talent evaluation, and minimal long-term impact on performance. PDG’s analysis also revealed that leaders were often influenced by unconscious biases when assessing their teams, used inconsistent coaching techniques, and struggled to maintain accountability in talent development efforts.

To achieve commercial success and maintain a competitive edge, they needed a scalable solution that would:

• Create a consistent coaching framework

• Provide visibility into talent readiness for future business demands
• Reduce leadership bias in evaluating and developing teams
• Drive accountability at all levels of the organization
• Focus on future-readiness rather than past performance

Solution

PDG began by conducting an advisory phase with the immunology business unit, ultimately recommending the installment of the Performance Matrix—a strategic coaching and development framework designed to assess and elevate team readiness. What truly captured the attention of leadership was the Matrix’s data-driven approach, offering clear insights into how prepared teams are to meet future business challenges. The impact of this recommendation was amplified when PDG presented historical data from dozens of client engagements, revealing a striking trend: 58% of field force representatives are not fully ready, willing, or able to execute on key strategic imperatives. This finding hit home for the leadership team, who recognized similar readiness gaps within their own organization.

During the first six months (Phase 1), PDG installed the Performance Matrix system, which focused on attitude and aptitude, helping leaders identify where team members stood in their ability to meet future business needs.

Key Components of the Program:

• Integrated Top-Down Leadership Coaching: Leadership engagement was embedded at every level, with third-line leaders coaching second-line leaders, second-line leaders coaching first-line leaders, and first-line leaders coaching the field teams. This top-down, cascading model was a cornerstone of the initiative’s success. Across three business units, approximately 130 commercial leaders participated in the Performance Matrix program, using it to assess and develop 679 team members—sharpening their ability to evaluate readiness and drive performance across the organization.
• Attitude-Aptitude Plotting: Leaders evaluated their teams based on a four-quadrant matrix, identifying where individuals needed targeted coaching and support.
• One-on-One Executive Coaching: PDG conducted 104 personalized coaching sessions to provide leaders with individual guidance on effective talent development. These confidential coaching sessions were a critical success factor in the program’s effectiveness.
• Monthly Skill Development Workshops: Each quadrant of the Performance Matrix was addressed through dedicated sessions, equipping leaders with the knowledge to plot team members correctly on the Matrix and practical coaching strategies for moving them up, over, or out.
• Radical Accountability Session: During the second six months of the program (Phase 2), leaders participated in deep-dive sessions to refine their coaching approach, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Throughout the program, leaders engaged in “dot conversations,” structured discussions that provided clarity on individual performance as plotted on the Matrix, identified gaps, and set actionable coaching plans. The iterative nature of the Matrix allowed for continuous assessment and replotting, ensuring real-time insights into team progress.

Results

The impact of the Performance Matrix was both immediate and measurable. Over a six-month period, the program delivered significant improvements in coaching effectiveness, talent development, and business outcomes:

Most importantly, the Performance Matrix fostered a cultural shift where coaching became a priority, biases were addressed, and leaders gained confidence in developing their teams for future challenges.

Future Use

Building on this success, PDG continues to partner with the client in 2025 to reinforce clinical expertise, optimize sales enablement, and support future product launches. The comprehensive program has established a foundation for continued commercial excellence across their oncology portfolio, combining innovative digital reinforcement tools with strategic sales enablement approaches.