“Patrina, you don’t understand how crappy it feels.”
Sarah exclaimed this one day when talking about the endless discussion around Medical Affairs not showing impact.
She’s right. When leadership keeps talking about an inability to demonstrate value, it wears on the people doing the work. Not all at once. Slowly. Quietly. Even the most motivated MSLs start to feel it.
It stops feeling like feedback. And starts feeling like, Does any of this even matter?
But here’s the good news.
This newsletter is here to help. You don’t need to overhaul your job or work harder than you already are. A few small shifts can make your impact much easier to see.
Here are 3 simple ways to start showing your impact more clearly.
1. Don't just attend training. Engage.
We see this all the time. People show up to training with arms crossed, just trying to get through it.
But here’s the thing: a lot of work went into bringing that training to your team. It is literally like trying to plan a wedding and please everyone. And it’s one of the easiest ways to raise your visibility.
→ Ask a question.
→ Share a real example.
→ Show you’re thinking.
It makes leadership feel good about the investment, and they notice. Trust us, they see all the negative Nancys in the room because it makes them feel bad.
2. Give your LinkedIn profile a glow-up
Your LinkedIn profile is often the first place people go to understand your impact. Leaders. Recruiters. Cross-functional partners.
If it’s vague or outdated, your work can feel that way too.
That’s why we created the LinkedIn Glow-Up Workshop: to help you make your profile shine without sounding salesy or fake.
Small tweaks. Much clearer signal.
3. The Explain Your Impact AI Prompt
If you ever struggle to explain your impact clearly, run this prompt in Mira. Copy. Paste. Breathe.
“Act as a supportive Medical Affairs leader who understands the [insert your role] role.
I’m going to share a recent activity or interaction from my work. Help me translate it into a clear, confident impact statement by answering:
- What changed because of this interaction?
- Why did it matter to the team or strategy?
- How would I explain this in one short, non-technical sentence to leadership?
Keep the tone natural, not promotional.”
How to Use It
Run it on:
- A KOL conversation that felt "good" but hard to describe
- An insight you weren't sure was meaningful
- A week where you were busy but couldn't point to a clean outcome
You’ll start to see patterns in your impact and how to talk about it.
TL;DR
• Being told you’re “not showing impact” hurts, and that’s normal
• You don’t need to work harder, just be more visible
• Training + LinkedIn + better language = clearer impact
If nothing else, burn this into your brain:
You don’t need to prove your worth by doing more.
You just need better ways to show the value that’s already there.
Visibility is a skill.
And like any skill, it gets easier with practice.
We’ve got you.
In your corner always,
Patrina, Sarah, & Ralph
P.S. If this hit because you’ve been feeling a little alone in all of this, you don’t have to carry it by yourself. Our communities exist for exactly that reason.
Just reply “community,” and we’ll point you in the right direction.
One Upcoming MSL Mastery Event
AI in Medical Affairs Learning Opportunities (2026)
P.S. Tools don’t create value. How your team uses them does. If you’re ready to move from reporting activity to demonstrating impact, we’d love to help train your team
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