ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the leadership in life science companies is intensely humanistic, based both on the individuality of the leader and that of the people she or he leads. It discusses three components of leadership in the life sciences, each of which points towards individuality and away from a mechanistic approach. The first concerned the diversity of the employees, the second the importance of coaching and the third the need to act as a leader. The part of research that leadership in the life sciences industry cannot be mechanistic, in part because the workforce is so cognitively diverse. The important component of the leadership role is intrinsically centred around colleagues’ needs and relies on the coach’s personal skills, it is further evidence that leadership in the life sciences is an intensely individualistic task that could not be reduces to a standardised process.
