By Patrina Pellett & Sarah Snyder

When Patrina entered Medical Affairs 7 years ago, everyone was obsessed with “showing value.” It was the hot topic. The thing on everyone’s mind. 

She even has an entire blog dedicated to tools and resources to help Medical Affairs show value. And guess what? Seven years later, we’re still talking about it! The conversation has matured: Better dashboards, fancier KPIs, and more strategic vocab. But the tension underneath hasn’t gone anywhere.

But the real problem with showing value in Medical Affairs isn’t being talked about enough or at all. And that is the emotional toll it takes on the people doing the work: MSLs.

When it feels like no one values your work, it sucks. 

That’s the part most organizations and leaders overlook. We have all these conversations about how hard it is to show value in Medical Affairs, but don’t think about the impact on MSLs. 

In this article, we’re breaking down the real problem with showing value in Medical Affairs. The emotional fallout no one talks about, why it hits MSLs so hard, and what great leaders can actually do to fix it.

The Real Problem with Showing Value in Medical Affairs

What It Feels Like for MSLs When It Seems Like Their Work Doesn’t Matter

When your work starts to feel invisible, it hits harder than most people realize. MSLing is a hard job. They pour themselves into conversations, insights, and insane travel schedulesrelationship building. The stuff that actually moves the needle. But then there is another internal conversation about not showing value, and MSLs start to feel like their work doesn’t matter. “And this isn’t just a feeling; it’s reflected in real data. In a recent LinkedIn poll Sarah ran asking how valued Medical Affairs is by cross-functional colleagues, only 41% said ‘highly valued’ or ‘crucial.’

Which means almost 60% of respondents believe Medical Affairs is somewhere between somewhat valued and barely on the radar.” Over time, that invisibility takes a toll.

Sarah remembers this feeling clearly when she was an MSL. She shares it now in our Insights Pro team training because every MSL can relate:

“There were times I didn’t bother submitting insights. Not because I didn’t care, but because nothing ever seemed to happen with them. It was demotivating!”

The heads nod every time she brings this up. It is so frustrating for MSLs. That’s what invisible work does. It doesn’t just make MSLs disengage, it makes them feel irrelevant. MSLs start protecting their energy. They stick to the basics. They avoid the stretch moves.

Feeling invisible slowly erodes initiative long before performance ever drops. And that’s the part most Medical Affairs leaders miss.

Invisibility Turns Into Comparison

Here’s the thing about MSLs: they’re not just smart, they’re competitive. Many were high-performing academics, standout residents, or even former athletes (Sarah included). They’re wired to push, to excel, to stand out. They care about doing things well.

So what happens when their work starts to feel invisible? That competitive drive doesn’t go away. MSLs start looking for proof that their work matters. And the fastest place high-achievers look is comparison.

Not because they’re petty. Because they’re ambitious. So they start noticing things:

→ Who gets recognition in meetings.
→ Which team’s insights spark action.
→ Which region gets leadership attention.

MSLs don’t compare themselves to feel superior. They compare themselves to figure out if they’re on track. It shifts MSLs out of strategic thinking and into self-protection. It’s mental energy burned trying to decode the system instead of contributing to it.

And the sad part? Almost none of this comes from the actual work. It comes from the absence of validation around the work.

“Not Showing Value” Is a Communication Problem

If a Medical Affairs team is struggling to “show value,” it’s almost never because the KPIs are wrong. Or because the dashboards aren’t sophisticated enough. Or because they don’t have a fancy insights tool.

It’s communication. Plain and simple.

Most value breakdowns come from one of two things:

1. Weak or underdeveloped internal relationships
2. Inability to communicate impact clearly and consistently

And when the communication isn’t clear, everything else gets misinterpreted. Suddenly “we don’t see the value” starts sounding like “your work doesn’t matter,” even though that’s not what anyone actually means.

This is also where we hear the same rally cry over and over: “Medical Affairs deserves a seat at the table.”

But at some point the question becomes: When will we stop asking for a seat and start showing enough value that we’re the ones hosting the entire dinner?

Patrina has been writing about this for years: value isn’t just something you demonstrate, it’s something you communicate. If the communication skills and relationships are missing, a Medical Affairs team will never effectively demonstrate value. 

The good news? It’s an easy problem to fix. Leaders play a massive role in how valued MSLs feel, every single day. And a few intentional behaviors can completely change the experience of the role.

What MSLs Actually Need to Feel Valued

MSLs don’t need constant praise or dramatic recognition. They don’t need company-wide shoutouts or monthly “insight of the month” awards. That’s not what drives them.

What they do need is clarity. Context. And leaders who help them understand the impact of their work.

When MSLs share an insight, they want to know what happened with it. Did it shift thinking? Did it validate something important? Did it spark another conversation internally? Even a simple, “Here’s where this helped us” goes a long way.

They also need leaders who can translate. Not just the what but the why. Why certain decisions were made. Why something mattered internally. Why their work moved the needle, even if the outcome wasn’t dramatic.

Because when leaders provide context, close loops, and reinforce relevance, MSLs rise to a completely different level. Their energy changes. Their engagement increases. Their confidence returns. They go from “Am I even making an impact?” to “I know exactly how I’m contributing.”

And that shift changes everything.

4 Ways Great Leaders Make MSLs Feel Valued

Great leaders know this: the real difference comes from a few simple behaviors done consistently, the kind that completely change how MSLs experience their work.

1. They close the loop.
   A quick “Here’s what happened because of your insight” does more for motivation than any system update ever will.
2. They translate impact.
   They connect field conversations to strategy so MSLs understand why their work mattered.
3. They build real relationships.
   Not performative check-ins. Actual communication that feels two-way and intentional.
4. They notice effort.
   With context, not clichés: “Here’s the piece you contributed,” versus “Great job.”

And here’s the real truth bomb: most leaders already know they should be doing these things. They’ve heard the advice. They care about their teams. They want to support MSLs.

They just don’t have the frameworks or the tools to do it consistently. That’s the gap.

And it’s exactly why we built our Medical Affairs Leadership Development Program: to give leaders the how, not just the what. The frameworks, the language, and the step-by-step ways to reinforce value, communicate impact, and make sure meaningful work never feels invisible.

Because when leaders know how to do this, the entire team rises fast.

The Real Problem with Showing Value In Medical Affairs

The real issue in Medical Affairs isn’t that value is hard to prove. It’s that the people doing the work often feel invisible while trying to prove it. That’s the unspoken problem that drains motivation faster than any workload ever could.

But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

When leaders communicate impact clearly, close loops consistently, and make the meaning of the work visible, everything changes. MSLs re-engage. Their confidence returns. The comparison noise fades. And the team starts operating at the strategic level everyone expects from Medical Affairs.

This is why leadership development matters. Not because leaders need more theory, but because they need frameworks that make these behaviors simple and consistent.

Our Medical Affairs Leadership Development Program was built for exactly that: to help leaders make sure meaningful work never feels invisible again. Contact us for details!