Hey, guys. Welcome to the podcast. My guest today is Dana Pascales. She is CEO and founder of Life Reset Labs, and we talk about why it's important for professionals to consider an executive or career coach. I love this conversation. I think you guys are really gonna enjoy it. Don't forget to follow me on LinkedIn. Check us out on MSL Talk Live, which is a live discussion on the LinkedIn Live platform, and that's the 1st Tuesday of every month at 1:30 PM EST. And also check us out on YouTube.
So all of these podcasts go up on YouTube. Thanks for joining us. Welcome to MSL Talk with Tom Caravella, a podcast specifically designed for MSLs and all things field medical. Hey, Dana. Welcome to the podcast. Hi, Tom. I'm so excited. I know. We so I always like to start by telling people kinda how things come together. And for those of you guys listening, so Dana happens to be somebody that I know for a very long time.
I don't wanna indicate or give away age on for anyone, but I will say that I probably met Dana 15 years ago. I would say maybe more. And it was like it was actually one of those things that we were at a conference, and it was just like, hey. Anyone sitting here? Yeah. No. And I think we, like, had lunch one day, and then we became fast friends. And here we are, you know, however many years later. So thanks for joining me. How are you doing? I'm great. I'm great.
And you have helped me, professionally as well. So I am indebted to you for, you know, bringing me some great hires through the years, but definitely our friendship, 1st and foremost. And, I I know we both have a love for networking. So, that's where it all began. That's where it all began. I won't be sure we're gonna talk about that today.
But before we get into our topic, why don't you do, like, just a quick intro, let everybody know who you are and, you know, where you're from and that sort of stuff? Sure. So I'd like to say that I started at 12 years old, and that's oh, I'm so young. But, I I have an educational background in clinical psychology, which is a bit unorthodox for my career path.
But I was working on my master's in clinical psych at Boston College while I was also working at a research position at one of the Boston academic institutions. And I was working on pharmaceutical sponsored clinical trials, and that's where I first got introduced to an industry role called a clinical research associate, a CRA, that comes out to monitor the data that we're generating. And at 22 years old, I was like, how could I not want to do something like this?
Because they're traveling the whole country on an expense account, meeting top thought leaders, at major institutions. So I I made the leap from there, and really that propelled me, from that point forward. I did time in sales, which is always a good thing. You learn so many foundational skills. But, ultimately, I missed the research, and so I was aspiring for an MSL role. And, you know, that was a big leap because I didn't have a d degree, but I was pretty persistent. I was great at networking.
I got to know the medical affairs leadership at my company, and they gave me the opportunity. So I had 5 years as an MSL at Celgene, and then I followed some colleagues that were going to a small start up, where there'd be lots of opportunity and made the leap to TG Therapeutics, and that really then catapulted my leadership career. Because they were in a growth mode, I was, like, employee number 20. I had the opportunity to, get into leadership.
And, unfortunately, we can't always predict what's gonna happen, and, the oncology program did take a turn there, and they dissolved it. And so the oncology franchise was laid off. Last June, I was laid off. Thought I would take the summer off. First time since I was 14 years old, enjoy it, and I learned a lot about myself. I am not good being idle.
I wasn't ready to immediately jump back into corporate, and I was, involved in a lot of networks that there were entrepreneurial, endeavors happening. And so I decided why not start my own thing? And that's how, my own company got started at the end of last year, called Life Reset Labs, which is coaching and consulting and running retreats. So here we are today. Here we are. So let's unpack some of that a little bit.
So you, you have this this clinical psych background, get into industry, become an MSL. And real quick, like because, obviously, this is an MSL podcast. Did you love being an MSL? I loved being an MSL. And then I was granted the opportunity to lead the MSL team Right. Which I loved even more. I would say that was probably my favorite role ever. Yep. So MSL to MSL leader, and then you get involved in a bunch of entrepreneurial type of groups. So talk about that a little bit.
What groups were you involved in, and how did that lead to this idea of becoming a coach? So becoming a coach really, was a personal endeavor. Let's go back to mid COVID, you know, about a year in, right, where we've all been, like, stuck at home, not traveling, isolated. I'm sure I wasn't the only one drinking too much wine, getting more sedentary, putting on a couple of pounds, and I really was just at 51, saying this is not the direction I wanna go in.
And so having that time not, being involved in traveling as much with work, I took on, a a pretty substantial self development program, to get in the best shape of my life to really change my mindset, what I figure out what I wanted. And I stumbled upon a coaching program. And I said, well, if I'm gonna do this for myself, why not in the in the same breath get, a certification, and maybe it's something someday I'll help somebody else with? And, I loved the coaching aspect of being a leader.
I did it a lot on the clock, and so it came very naturally to me. Never thought I'd be using it professionally so soon. But, again, you know, you can't predict where where life's gonna take you, and, you know, I'm really loving helping individuals now. You know, in order to I think a lot of people don't realize, in order to be a good leader, you have to be a good coach. That's part of being a good leader.
And I think a lot of leaders don't realize that you're coaching and you're being a good coach without you probably even realizing it because you're doing 1 on ones, and you're asking people a lot of questions, and you're getting them to to improve. You're helping them to to get better within their career or maybe even personally develop skills, level up in so many ways. And that's what a good coach does. So when you go let's go back to your program.
So you completed this program to get certified as a coach. Tell everybody, like, what what does a coach do? If people are out there and they're like, I really don't know what this is, how can you describe it? So there are so many types of coaches, right, and and so many labels for coaches. People call themselves a business coach, an executive coach, a life coach, a performance coach, career coach. Whether or not they're actually certified in that specialty or niche, you know, is is up for grabs.
But I think a lot of people go and get a general coaching certification and then work off of their area of expertise that they've, you know, been working in in in another capacity. For me, I have created a framework that I feel like I can work with anybody with any goal.
It does involve a very strategic approach, and that brings in my my years of industry and business and leadership that I feel like you have to have a very solid strategy for identifying what you want before you can execute on it. Got you. And for those of you some of you guys know this, but fun fact, I'm also certified as a coach, through the John Maxwell program, the John Maxwell leadership program. So, I have, like, 5 coaches myself.
I totally have bought into the peak performance, self improvement, development aspect, and it has changed my life. So I'm a big advocate that, and let's think about it. Like the top, top performers, athletes. I just talked about this on a podcast recently, have coaches, right? Michael Phelps had a coach. Tiger Woods had a coach, Michael Jordan. Like, they all have coaches. And even some of the most, elite and top executives also rely on folks for coaches. So let's talk about what you do.
So give me some give me an example because I said, what do coaches do and you know? But what what like, how are you helping people? Give me an example of of of how your coaching program works. So I'll I'll give you just a quick fun fact story of how I came up with the name of Life Reset Labs because life and work are coexist so much closer now. Right? We we can work from our our kitchen island or, you know, I'm here in my home office.
So I just feel like the word life encompasses everything and certainly our work life. Reset is something I really gravitate to because I believe that people hold on to this all or nothing thinking. You know? I ate a cookie. The day's blown. That's it. I can just I'm going for yeah. I'm going to McDonald's. Yes. And, I take on the the mindset that you can reset what you're doing every minute of every day. And so what what just happened 2 minutes ago is 2 minutes ago. You know?
Like, reset and start over, like, that quickly. Yeah. Otherwise, you're gonna impede your progress so much. And then the word labs comes in, obviously, the geek and and science part of me. But I I approach life as an experiment, and I believe a scientific experiment really describes how we should be approaching our life.
That if we we develop a methodology, right, like the habits and everything that we, ingrain in ourselves, but we may have some failed experiments in there, and we need to learn from those. But and if we're always looking at our own data and analyzing it, you know, making sure we have the right endpoints in mind, we're we're we're gonna be successful. So I I call it, like, who doesn't want statistical significance in their own life?
So I just I love the idea of looking at life as a laboratory and that we're constantly experimenting and resetting so that we can perform better, improve ourselves, and have a great life. You are, like, literally speaking right to this audience. Right? Because everybody is either an MSL or somebody or an MSL leader or somebody that wants to be an MSL, but they all have that scientific, you know, experience or background in common. So And they're driven people. You know? Yeah. For sure.
They're motivated individuals and, you know, we came on to talk about professional development, but I don't feel like you can separate that from your personal development. I agree. So, you know, you're asking for an example. One example of, a woman, a client who I'm working with right now was laid off. She's got a great resume. She has tons of experience, but she's getting rejection after rejection.
And what I can quickly identify is that she's got a lot of negative self talk, and that is coming through on her interviews for sure. She's coming across with scarcity, some desperation, you know, recently divorced. So there's personal factors that are impeding her reaching that professional next step. And you have to take a pause and work on that stuff before you can just say, it's just about getting the job because the job's not getting obtained. Let's let's unload it.
That's such a good point. I mean, first of all, it's it's always a combination of the personal piece with the professional piece. One drives the other. So when it comes to this, the developmental journey, you really do have to look at both. But I love that example because I think there's probably some people listening to this that might be in the same boat. You know, this unfortunately, layoffs happen at the worst time of year.
They happen in December, typically, or November, right at the end of the year. So January, which is where we're at now, is a time when you really start to see a lot of people that are like, okay. It's go time. I gotta get something. And then it it just it becomes it becomes a frustration and it becomes, a daily task of motivation. You have to motivate yourself. And that self talk piece is huge. Because if you let that sink in, it's gonna manifest in everything else that you're trying to do.
It's gonna come across. So that's a huge piece of it. So what advice do you have for people that struggle with that? Because I think a lot of people do. Here's my stack of books. You must be a fan of Ed Milet. Right? I'm a huge fan of Ed's. Ed is one of my coaches. So I said I have a ton of coaches. Yeah. That's awesome. So I'm in Ed's coaching program, and I, I just went to his house for a book launch program. Yeah. Like a celebrity. Yep. Ed's the best. He is the best. Freedom.
Yeah. Yeah. Atomic Habits Awesome. James Clear. You know? So the point is, like, read, listen to podcasts, do anything you can to be bringing in positivity and working on your mindset. Because, yeah, you've you've gotta squash that negative thinking and get back into a, a confident place. I think MSLs in general have to function on high confidence, right, and always be making courageous decisions in in what they're doing.
You have to put put yourself out there, in in a way that the average person doesn't. So making sure that you're keeping your mental fitness in check is is really important. I love this one. This is my last one I'm gonna show you. The 5 AM Club. The 5 AM Club. Yeah. We have to remember that people are listening. A lot of people are listening to this. Not everybody's looking at this on YouTube. So the one book is, The Power of One More by Ed Mylett. I highly recommend it.
The other book was Atomic Habits by, Jim Clear, which is amazing. I've read that too. And then the last book was the 5 AM 5 AM Club. Yeah. It's Robin Sharma. That one changed my life. Get get those guys. And you know what? There's there this should be a habit. You should try to incorporate reading 10 pages of a book each day or listening to a 30 minute podcast. You owe it to yourself to do this. I never, I gotta be honest with you guys. I'm gonna admit I never used to do this.
It's only probably the last, maybe 5 or 6 years that I really started to work at this and it's changed my life. It's changed my life. So let's get back to who do you think so there's people listening to this right now, and I think they might be struggling like, well, do I need a coach? Should I get a coach? Like, how does this work? Like, who do you think a good candidate is, to seek out a coach? So I was gonna say there's there's 2 types of pain, regret and discipline.
And I think someone should work with a coach if they're cycling in this regret and and having trouble bringing the discipline in, because, like, life is hard. Right? Like, it's it's not easy. I think people may view getting a coach as, like, a weakness or, you know, a crutch, but we're all gonna struggle at different points in our in our life, and I think it I think it's hard.
The amount we have coming in, the information on a daily basis, and the pressure we put on ourselves, to then, you know, do positive things every minute of every day. It's not easy to do alone. I I will confess just as you did. When I got laid off, I hired a coach. I I needed clarity on what my next steps were going to be.
And when I figured that out and realized I wanted to start my own business, I pivoted to a mentor who I could, like, follow what their success model was for running a business. So that's an important differentiator too because I'm sure in industry, a lot of companies will, you know, motivate you to get a mentor. Can I talk about the differences of that? Yeah. What's the difference? Because it get it gets confusing. There's mentors and there's coaches. Right?
So a mentor to me is someone who's, more of an in an advisory role and in an aspirational role for where you wanna go. So you're learning from them and, you know, their experience and, you know, being a sponge. And you should be the one asking questions constantly with a mentor. With a coach, it's it it's about your success, and the focus is on you. And the coach should be asking you lots of questions. Coach shouldn't be giving you answers. A coach should be guiding you to find your own answers.
Yep. I think a lot of people don't realize that. Like, that's really that's what makes a good coach is for you is for the coach to make the person realize and come to the realization of what it is that they need to do in their life to improve. Who do you think doesn't need a coach? I think anyone who is very clear on, you know, what their next steps are, what their goals are. They're they're able to articulate it, write it down, have an action plan. They're taking the steps.
They may be utilizing other other resources that are out there, which is great, you know, taking a course or, you know, listening to things online or using a mentor, if they have the clarity and the discipline, and are are taking those steps forward and making progress, then more power to you. That's that's great. But, you know, for me, I needed accountability at certain points too. You know? In my in my fitness journey, I needed to work with a coach twice a week.
I could do the other, you know, 3 to 4 days on my own, But when I knew that those 2 days, Tuesdays Thursdays, which was this morning, that, you know, I've got someone that I'm accountable to, what did I do yesterday, that helps me a lot. And, you know, it's it's kept me on track. I need an accountability coach. I need someone to, like, stand by the refrigerator and be like, no. You fat bastard. Go away. Get out of here. Get out of the kitchen. That's what I need.
So let me ask you this, and this is gonna be a little bit I'm gonna I'm gonna get real here for a second. Right? Since I've been involved in in this, I've noticed that it there are a lot of people cropping up as co there's a ton of coaches now. There's a ton of coaching programs. There's certification programs. And a lot of it seems like just a big money grab. So what what do you say about that?
Like, what's your advice to people that might be seeking out a coach, and how do they figure out who's best for them? So you should do your due diligence and, you know, just as you would of hiring a contractor in your house, learn what their background is, what their certification is, you know, sort of what their coaching style and philosophy is is as well. You know?
So once you have a comfort level with that, that, you know, somebody's legit, then you wanna make sure they're just a good fit for you, personality wise, that they're gonna, you know, be able to work with you in a way that you feel good about. You know? It's not something you wanna dread, you know, meeting with your coach. You wanna look forward to it. You wanna be inspired by them. You want to, you know, can't wait to get on that next call and and share the progress that you made.
So I I think those are the important things. I also wanted to mention that, yes, there's a 1000000 coaches out there now, but to the point that there are many companies that are making it part of their benefits program to offer coaches. It's true. So, you know, check and see if your company actually offers that as a benefit to you. And, again, hopefully, you can find a good match in that. But rather than having to go off on your own, that may be, a a benefit that's already being offered.
Yeah. No. For sure. So let's take a second to talk about this is an MSL podcast. So let's talk about MSLs. What advice do you have for MSLs in their careers right now? So I know there's in in any career, it's not just for MSLs, but there's burnout. There's a a lot of overwhelm in the adjustment to either working remote or hybrid and, which I will say specific to an MSL. It's been harder to maintain that relationship. Right?
It's it's key for them to be out there in the field, you know, having those face to face interactions, and that's taken a a a real hit. Hopefully, for a lot of people, it's come back. Hopefully, they've been able to maintain and even expand their their relationships through COVID, but I'm sure that's taken a a toll on a lot of people of the metrics that may be put on them for how to, maintain that. So I think that's probably a pain point that comes up a lot with them.
And then I I think just expanding what they wanna do, you know, next steps. I mean, you you see the the full spectrum of it. I'm also working with a client who is aspiring to be an MSL. Mhmm. Right? And and that is a whole separate piece, but someone who's who's in a role and wants to climb the career ladder of an MSL or get to the leadership level, again, I think you have to develop yourself constantly. You're you're learning the the data and the science on a on a regular cadence.
I think keeping up with yourself, and that will be reflected in in the role and how you're perceived. That's good advice. I I think that and a lot a lot of that is what separates and just listening and kinda hearing you out, that's what separates the top performers from those that are, you know, probably meeting expectations is those that take that extra step, those that work on themselves, those that are are really on top of every specific detail that they can influence each and every day.
And and that you know, you talked before about atomic habits. That's really one of the most important things that people need to realize is that and this is a big Ed Mylett thing. Ed Ed talks about this all the time. It's not always the smartest, the the the tallest, the most gifted. It's the people that have the best habits and are most consistent on a daily basis. Those become the top performers. Totally. Agreed? Yes. So let's talk about we're in January heading into a new year.
So where do you see things going? What advice do you have for people to really win and be successful in 2023? So, I mean, it's a competitive job job market. Right? I I think the other thing that has shifted is people want job satisfaction today, not just the financial piece. Right? The the the bar has been set much higher post COVID of, you know, the the money is important, but people want more flexibility, to be considered a whole person at work.
And, you know, there's there's DEI that's, you know, super important. People wanna work for a mission driven company with a good culture. So there's all these pieces now, which is making the movement happen, and there's a a a lot of competition out there. So I think it's really important that people, again, decide what's most important to them, what do they want, stand up for themselves, and then set some goals for them. Goals, baby. Let's go. Now is the time. And it's funny.
Just to your point about, how competitive it is and and what it's like to for people in the work force looking for jobs. If you look at statistics and you ask people the reasons why they want to work for a company or why they left their current company, it's never money. The top of the list is always culture, chance for opportunity, management. It has to do with the organization. Do you want to work for that organization? Is that organization in line with your goals, your core values?
Is it a culture that you wanna be aligned with? And that's what I think people really need to look for when they're out on the job market. Yeah. Money's important. I'm not gonna say that money's not important, but you really wanna know what you're signing on for. Being laid off can can shift that a little bit. You know? It it it puts you in, a pressure cooker situation sometimes for some people that Mhmm. Don't have a lot of runway in between.
And so that's when that scarcity piece starts to kick up. Got it. And so, again, if you have this stuff done before that happens while you still have a job, figure it out what's most important to you, and really try to live by those values. Awesome. We'll leave it there. Dana, you are awesome, my friend. And it took way too long for us to do this, but I'm glad we did. And I can't wait to see what you do next because you're amazing. Thank you, Tom. Alright, guys.
Thanks for joining us, and, we'll see you again soon. Thank you so much for listening to the show. And if you enjoyed it, please subscribe so that you don't miss an episode in the future and feel free to leave a rating or a review or a comment. Thanks again, and we look forward to seeing you soon.