Today’s guest is Abby Bird, Senior Director of Program
Management at bioMérieux. She leads a cross-functional team of program
managers, project coordinators, technical writers, and change management
experts across transformation and strategy projects in the medical device
manufacturing industry.
Abby’s path towards project leadership started in science
and healthcare and that start helped her thrive in a medical device world. But
her real superpowers are experimentation and efficiency. She helps teams step
back, see the bigger picture, and ask whether every step is truly moving the
work forward. And she’s comfortable trying lots of paths to the best outcomes.
I know you’re going to love her sense of humor and this
episode.
01:40 - Abby’s accidental entry into project management by
way of science.
03:00 - Working on a science project researching pathogens
and being asked to be the project manager, without the title.
04:25 - How scientific training shaped the way Abby sees
projects.
05:36 - When Abby realized that her scientific training and
natural proclivity for organizing things could come together in a role at work.
Using bossiness for good.
07:14 - Putting your superpowers to work for the good of
your organization and the world.
08:20 - What project work is like at a medical device
manufacturer or in healthcare in general.
09:49 - The marrying of Abby’s scientific background and
business acumen. Do you need a medical or science background if you want to be
a healthcare PM?
11:17 - Why having diverse backgrounds and experiences on
your team is really helpful.
11:45 - PMs can be apprehensive about transitioning into a
new industry. What Abby recommends.
12:29 - Abby’s PMO work in transformation projects, change
management, and efficiency, and why her timelines are pretty non-negotiable.
13:35 - Abby’s PMO handles such a diverse project portfolio.
How does she lead teams with an efficiency mindset? She says it’s because she’s
lazy.
14:59 - Abby recommends asking, “How can I make this
easier?” and explains how that approach builds trust with her teams, the
business, and leadership.
18:09—20:30 - Communicating with executives. There’s a
perception that the C-suite just wants the numbers, but Abby believes they also
want the impact.
20:36 - If you don’t explain something right the first time,
you can pivot and take another stab at it. It’s not an audience with the Queen,
lol.
22:00 - PMs need to communicate information. Abby shares
advice about translating data and visuals into a story for the executive team.
24:30 - Efficiency can have some blind spots. Abby shares a
few warnings about making every project about efficiency.
27:00 - Abby recommends first thinking, “What do I really
want out of this conversation?” before she starts digging into each puzzle.
28:00 - Efficiency starts with understanding the real
problem, not just doing work for work’s sake. Ask, “What are we actually
solving?”
30:00 - Project managers need to get comfortable with
discomfort.
31:36 - The experimental mindset of trying different ways to
run things and look at things. Project management is fluid. Get comfortable
with experimentation in the process.
Abby Bird on LinkedIn