September 10, 2021
Duchess Adjei joined Beckman Coulter Life Sciences in the middle of the pandemic—and took on a role, and a team, that had never existed before. One year later, she reflects on what drew her to the company after stints at the American Red Cross, Eaton Corporation, the NBA, and the Special Olympics; explains how her work has evolved since; and shares where she and her small-but-growing team are headed next.
My work is rooted in continuous improvement and figuring out the best ways to create innovative experiences for our internal customers. I’m responsible for designing and leading our global communication efforts—primarily our internal communication, though I also support several of our external social media channels, like Glassdoor and LinkedIn. I work out of our Indianapolis headquarters and provide thought leadership to our president, senior leaders as well as associates across the business on change management activities; mergers and acquisitions; diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; supporting each functional group across BEC LS; and strengthening associate engagement. It’s my responsibility to help make sure associates across BEC LS feel proud about the work they do every day.
I’ve only been here for about a year, and my role is new, so we’re kind of building the plane while we’re flying it. I started with a lot of assessment work; we did a global survey and also interviewed associates to get some insight into their experiences and how they think about our internal communication channels. Then, I put together a strategy to help us inform, engage, and inspire associates around our strategic priorities for the business. It was imperative that we bring associates along on our journey to make sure everyone understands who we are as a team and what we can do to support them.
I have always had communication, marketing, branding and public relations roles. After majoring in marketing and communication, I worked at Eaton Corporation, and after a few years, I completed an executive graduate program at Northwestern University. I’ve immersed myself in a variety of industries, from diversified power management to academia to sports and international not-for-profits. Most recently, I worked with the American Red Cross, leading crisis communication for disasters all over the country. That was rewarding work, but after a few years of constantly jumping on planes, I was looking for what I like to call “a different kind of busy.”
I also enjoy building a team and a function from the ground up, so I’ve been happy to delve into this role. Plus, because Danaher has associates all over the world, I knew I’d be able to make an impact on a global level.
My leadership philosophy is really rooted in empathy. I do a lot of listening, especially when I’m coming into a new role. It’s important to have some quick wins, but I do my best not to jump in and disrupt right away. I try to assess the landscape, understand the needs of the business, the culture, and really take into account what’s happening around me before I move forward with a strategy.
Managing all of that in the middle of a global pandemic has been an interesting experience for sure; normally, I might visit a manufacturing facility to speak with frontline associates and gather insights in person. But being virtual has given me the chance to use other senses, like listening critically to learn from others’ experiences. Even before the pandemic, people were busy balancing life and work —watching their kids, going to meetings, dentist appointments, family emergencies. As a leader, it’s imperative to pay attention to that, and to make sure people have the space to take care of their mental health.
I also often think a lot about situational leadership. I try to adapt my own leadership style to meet the needs of my team members. It’s helped me establish a rapport, which is so important to bringing out the best in people and encouraging trust. The Danaher Business System (DBS) also influences my leadership style, because there are a variety of tools and processes that help me support continuous change and improvement.
We all want more time in the day! BEC LS is growing exponentially—and while that’s exciting and inspiring, it also means there’s a lot of change, especially for a lean team like ours. I’d love to be able to execute on everything we’re envisioning, but we have to prioritize how our team meets the communication needs of the business. Sometimes that might mean pushing back when someone asks if you can take on a new project and figuring out what you can make work in a limited period of time. But we always figure out how we can make magic happen.
While our work is challenging at times, it’s valuable to celebrate our successes as a team. When BEC LS wins, we all win! Our team has a lot of supporters who assist with that by sharing their appreciation and excitement about our work. That’s so vital for us, especially because our team is new. I love that people are seeing the value of communication and realizing the impact we can have on the business. Whenever I hear that positive feedback, I make sure to share it with our team right away.
There’s a great deal taking place right now. I’m looking forward to learning more about life sciences, which is a new industry for me. I’m excited to really lean into DBS, the opportunity to decide which tools are best utilized, in which situation, and to try and infuse a continuous improvement mindset into every element of the work we do. And now that we’re getting our communication strategy in place, I’m excited to continue implementing and measuring data to support our business priorities. We’re putting together a new Global Communication Council with associates from different functions, levels, and regions, and I think having this group as a sounding board will be great. A lot of our work is trial and error—doing AB testing, seeing what works, figuring out how to go in a different direction when an idea isn’t successful. But that’s actually the most exciting part. I really feel like I’m in the right place at the right time, and this is just the start of what I hope will be a very long journey with BEC LS and Danaher.