C-Suite Conversation: Angela Justice - Executive Coach, Biopharma Industry

Leading Through Uncertainty: Transparency, Identity Shifts, and the Future of Engagement

Recently we caught up with Exectuive Coach and Biopharma veteran Angela Justice, who shared insights drawn from a career spent at the intersection of science, strategy, and leadership. After holding senior roles in biopharma — including Chief People Officer and Head of Medical Affairs — Angela now works as an executive coach, partnering with senior leaders and People executives to navigate complexity, growth, and uncertainty at the highest levels.

One of the central themes of our conversation was employee engagement — a topic that remains top of mind for HR leaders, particularly in today’s volatile environment. Angela challenged the common assumption that HR alone can “drive” engagement. While HR leaders often feel this pressure most acutely, the real levers of engagement sit with frontline managers, senior leaders, and executive teams. HR’s opportunity, she noted, is to enable those leaders to show up differently.

Where engagement most often breaks down is transparency. Leaders frequently hesitate to share uncertainty, risk, or volatility out of fear that honesty will disengage employees. In reality, Angela argued, the opposite is true. Employees disengage when they sense information is being withheld — when they feel they’re waiting for “the next shoe to drop.” Honest, candid conversations invite people into the challenge, restoring a sense of agency that fuels trust, commitment, and engagement.

We also explored why high-performing leaders sometimes hit a ceiling. More often than not, Angela explained, these ceilings aren’t about skill or capability — they’re about identity. As roles evolve, leaders must shift how they see themselves: from functional experts to enterprise-wide decision-makers. Breaking through requires stepping back, understanding what the work now demands, and consciously evolving one’s leadership identity.

Finally, Angela shared a growing area of focus in her coaching work: how leaders leave organizations. While much attention is paid to first impressions and the “first 90 days,” far less is devoted to architecting a thoughtful, strategic exit. Leaving well isn’t just about avoiding burned bridges — it’s about positioning oneself intentionally for not just the next role, but the ones beyond.

Together, these insights offer a powerful reminder: leadership today is as much about clarity, courage, and identity as it is about strategy.