Career growth in pharma and medical devices takes technical knowledge, leadership, and the ability to earn your team’s trust. In this episode, Subhi Saadeh shares a lesson from leading a drug-device combination product program that changed how he approached his career in quality.
Early in my career, I was excited about getting on big projects, gaining exposure, and proving what I could do. But leading a team with deeper technical expertise than I had taught me something I had to learn the hard way: it’s not about you.
I share how asking questions, following through, and helping people address their problems helped me earn their respect and become a more effective lead.
In this episode:
- Understanding what your team and stakeholders need from you
- Leading technical experts while building your own experience
- Being coachable and following through on what you learn
- Applying customer focus beyond the quality system
- Building credibility by helping others move their work forward
- What a mentor meant by “their cookie, your crumb”
Chapters:
00:00 The career lesson: It’s not about you
00:25 Career exposure and proving yourself
00:53 Why people value having you around
01:17 Customer focus in quality and leadership
02:03 Leading a complex combination product program
03:25 Feeling out of your depth
03:42 Understanding what your team needs
04:02 Being coachable and earning credibility
05:07 Rethinking career growth and success
06:10 “Their cookie, your crumb”
About Subhi:
Subhi Saadeh is a Quality Professional, Founder & Principal of Combinate, and host of Let’s Combinate: Drugs + Devices. With a background in Quality, Manufacturing Operations, and R&D, he has works with medical device and pharmaceutical organizations supporting the development and launch of combination products for vaccines, generics, and biologics.
Subhi served as the International Committee Chair for the Combination Products Coalition (CPC) and was a member of ASTM Committee E55. He previously served on AAMI’s Combination Products Committee. He is an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), and ISO 13485 Lead Auditor.
Connect and learn more:
Website: [letscombinate.com](https://letscombinate.com)
LinkedIn: [Subhi Saadeh](https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhi-saadeh-1169aa21/)
Email: subhi@letscombinate.com
CQA Master Class: [Become a Certified Quality Auditor](https://cqeacademy.teachable.com/p/the-cqa-master-class-course)
Watch and listen:
[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@LetsCombinate)
[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/71wYadhCrfLsdYTVachpD2)
[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-combinate-drugs-devices/id1589285792)
Subscribe for weekly conversations where drugs and devices meet.
For questions, inquiries, or suggestions, please reach out at letscombinate.com or email subhi@letscombinate.com.
