7:47 AM. A regional conference. You spot a KOL you've emailed 4 times, walk over warm with a big "so good to finally meet you," stick out your hand, and knock his coffee right off the counter.
He's gracious about it. You are mortified. You spend the rest of the morning replaying it in your head like game film.
Nobody wants to be awkward. And every single one of us has been. The “I forgot your name” handshake. The reply-all you'd give anything to unsend. The time you realized you were unmuted on a Teams call.
Medical Affairs is full of high achievers who would rather be almost anything than awkward. But most of the moments that feel awkward are NOT mistakes. They're the times that build your career. Networking. Following up, holding people accountable. They only feel awkward because nobody ever taught us how to do them.
Let's take the awkward out of the awkward.
Welcome to The Awkward Issue.
1. Quick Game: Awkward or Not Awkward?
Go with your gut. Read each one and decide: does it actually make you awkward, or does it just feel that way? We'll share what our survey data show below.
→ 1. Messaging a KOL for the fourth time to lock a meeting. A or NA?
→ 2. Walking up to a total stranger at a congress and asking what they're working on. A or NA?
→ 3. DMing someone you barely know to ask for a job referral. A or NA?
→ 4. Telling your best MSL, the relationship wizard, that their expense report is late. A or NA?
→ 5. Asking your manager, out loud, whether you have a professional development budget. A or NA?
Got your answers? Keep scrolling.
Here's what the field says:
→ 1. Not awkward. 84% of the field follows up three or more times, and 39% say they never really give up. Persistence is the culture here. You're not being annoying. You're being a Medical Affairs professional.
→ 2. Not awkward. This is literally the job. The awkward version is the one where you don't do it and go home wishing you had.
→ 3. Awkward. This one actually is. Cold-DMing a near-stranger to ask them to hand you a job puts all the work on them and makes both of you squirm. The good news is there's a much better way to do it, and it's this week's whole Aspire workshop. More below.
→ 4. Not awkward. It's your job as a leader. And we'll show you how to do it without the cringe in a minute.
→ 5. Not awkward. Most MSLs have up to $2K in development dollars just sitting there. The awkward move is letting it expire.
Almost none of this is actually awkward. It feels that way because we’ve never been trained on these things. Fix the skill, and the awkward feeling goes with it.
2. For Aspiring MSL: Networking Without the "Please, Please, Please"
Let's be honest about what most people picture when they hear "networking." It's the cringe version:
→ "Would you mind referring me?" → "Could you take a look at my resume?" → "Do you have 30 minutes to pick your brain?"
Please, please, please do not send those. That is not networking. That's asking a near-stranger to do your job hunt for you, and it's the fastest way to make both people feel awkward.
That's the whole point of our Aspire workshop this week:
Awkward Networking Without the Awkward
Aspiring MSLs, this one's for you. Sign Up Here.
3. For New + Experienced MSLs: What Sales Reps Get About Follow-Up That We Miss
Every follow-up that feels awkward comes back to the same fear: "Am I bugging them?"
Almost always, you're not. And there's a group that figured this out a long time ago: sales reps. They treat follow-up as the actual job. MSLs tend to do the opposite. We do the science, have the great conversation, and then talk ourselves out of the follow-up because we don't want to be a bother.
We broke this down here: What Sales Reps Understand That MSLs Often Miss.
4. For Medical Affairs Leaders: Accountability Without the Awkward
Every MA leader knows this tension by heart.
You've got a high performer. Brilliant in front of KOLs, loved cross-functionally, the person you'd clone if you could. Also the person you've reminded about their expense report. Four times. You laugh about it, but underneath it's a real problem. Because the moment you stop holding your stars accountable, the people who are turning things in on time start to notice. And quietly resent it.
That's how accountability turns into an awkward, uneven, two-tier team. Let’s fix that:
Accountability Without the Awkward Workshop
MSL Leaders and Aspiring Leaders, Sign Up Here.
5. A Little Accountability Confession (From Us)
We'll practice what we preach. Patrina and Sarah are holding each other accountable this month, locking in the whole back half of our 2026 calendar. Conferences, speaking, in-person workshops, virtual sessions…. Because "we'll figure out the schedule later" is how great teams end up not doing any one thing well.
Accountability without an owner is just a wish. Name the what and the who, and it becomes real.
If your team needs training in 2026, reach out now. Our 2026 calendar is already 90% full. Reply 2026 and let's talk.
TL;DR
→ Nobody wants to be awkward. Everybody has been. You're in good company.
→ Most "awkward" moves are actually the right ones. They only feel that way because nobody trained us on them.
→ Aspiring MSLs: networking isn't asking for favors; it's curiosity. Reply NETWORKING.
→ Leaders: uneven accountability breaks a team. Reply ACCOUNTABLE.
→ Team training for 2026? We're 90% booked. Reply 2026.
In your corner always,
Patrina, Sarah, Ralph & Jess
P.S. Reply with your most awkward Medical Affairs moment. We’ll cringe with you!
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