Former ASA Section Chair Shares Career, Leadership Journey

Bruce Binkowitz is the vice president of biometrics at Arcutis Biotherapeutics. He became involved in the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section Regulatory-Industry Statistics Workshop, first organizing sessions, and then serving on steering committees. Ultimately, he served as the industry chair for the 2013 workshop. He continued his efforts within the section, serving on committees and volunteering to take on roles that weren’t glamourous but offered visibility and experience. He then began chairing section committees, which opened the door to attending and participating in the executive committee meetings. When he was offered a chance to run for section chair, he took the leap and won.

A version of this article originally appeared in the summer Biopharm Report.

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to share my career journey, and particularly my journey in the Biopharmaceutical Section of the American Statistical Association. I have had, and continue to have, a wonderful career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Along the way, I have been fortunate to have a diverse suite of influencers among my managers, mentors, colleagues, and friends. I learned technical skills, methodology, management skills, and leadership skills. I also gained awareness of the importance of recognizing, participating in, and creating productive cultures. My journey has led me to educate myself beyond statistics and read about diverse topics such as behavioral economics and game theory to better understand how to work with and manage people. The unexpected learning opportunities are what have kept my career exciting.

I think there are two key themes intertwining the accumulation of my experience. First, never let yourself stagnate; once you can do a job well, it is time to add another skill. Challenge yourself, make yourself uncomfortable, and you will continue to evolve as a person and in your career.

Second, treat people like you want to be treated. Put your ego aside. For me, that includes respecting other people’s skills, understanding there is rarely one ‘correct way’ of doing things, and what I call “focusing on the denominator.” Let me explain.

Throughout my career, I have learned human beings focus on the numerator. For example, they focus on one mistake, while ignoring everything that has gone well. Some may know this as perfection is the enemy of good. Today’s social media culture just exacerbates this trait. When I or someone else makes a mistake, my follow-up discussions include all the parts of the job that are done correctly and what we can do to fix the mistake and learn from it.

Mistakes will happen, despite all the best efforts of management and a team. It is not fair to focus on the mistake out of context of all the good accomplishments. Mistakes as a rare event should not sidetrack anyone or any process but should help refine and improve. The mistake is the numerator, but never lose sight of all the good in the denominator making up the total effort.

It is this thinking, along with great advice from mentors, that led me to get involved in statistical societies, organizations, and associations. I joined the American Statistical Association while in my master’s program and have been a member ever since. In the beginning of my membership, I attended various meetings, conferences, and workshops to network and continuously learn. I expressed interest, but didn’t push, to join groups I thought were interesting. I was willing to do the menial work that would eventually be recognized by leaders who needed people to invest time in the statistical community outside of a day job.

Eventually, I joined different cross-company working groups under the umbrellas of many organizations. This meant I met a diverse group of people and learned about the opportunities in these organizations, learned skills from people beyond my company, made friends, and was ultimately offered minor leadership positions.

This slow build took patience and vision, but the planning paid off. I understood I didn’t want to rise to positions I didn’t feel qualified for, and I even turned down visible leadership positions in organizations and conferences until I felt I was ready. Once I did take on those roles, I was able to function as a leader across a variety of efforts.

But Bruce, you ask, how do I initially get offered these positions? First, you know I can’t hear you, right? But if I have guessed correctly, this is the part where you are looking for advice.

Network and indicate to those who have the decision power that you want to be involved and help. You may be lucky and someone in your company is in such a position. If so, reach out. You may have a friend from school who is in such a position. If so, reach out. You may know someone who knows someone. If so, leverage the connection. Demonstrate your value wherever possible. There is no better way to become part of a group than for that group to want you to join because they recognize before you even start you will be value added to their effort.

The best part of my statistical community journey has always been the people I meet. There are many intelligent and generous people within the statistical community willing to share their expertise. Ask questions; most people love to talk. When they do, listen.

Over the years, as my involvement grew, I began to want to put aside my service to other organizations and focus on the ASA, particularly the Biopharmaceutical Section. I became involved in the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section Regulatory-Industry Statistics Workshop, first organizing sessions (and thereby meeting people at the organizing committee meeting), then serving on steering committees, and ultimately serving as the industry chair for the 2013 workshop.

I continued my efforts within the section, serving on committees and volunteering to take on roles that weren’t glamourous but offered visibility and experience. I then began chairing section committees, which opened the door to attending and participating in the executive committee meetings. And I always offered to help.

When the time came and I was offered a chance to run for section chair, I took the leap. One of the great honors of my career was winning the election. Some rise to section chair quickly, without much knowledge about how the section operates, while others come up as I did, taking increasing levels of responsibility. I can only speak from my experience, but my path served me well and I was ready to serve the section membership when my time came. My mantra was that serving the members was priority one; every decision the executive committee made should be in the interest of serving the membership.

Of course, you also need to be ready to lead through unanticipated circumstances. Little did I, or any of us, know what was coming when I assumed the role of section chair in 2020. I’m talking about the pandemic, which suddenly put me in the position of having to figure out how to lead the section as we moved to a completely virtual world.

When I first started to serve the Biopharmaceutical Section, I was amazed at how well it all functioned. There are so many people working to serve the membership. By the time I was elected to lead, I was past the amazement and on to being proud of how well it all functioned. As in my corporate life, I brought my leadership style to my three-year journey through section chair-elect, chair, and past chair, which is to lead from behind. I found this was natural to me. Years ago, I read Nelson Mandela used a shepherd as an example of a leader in his autobiography. He wrote, “[A leader] stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”

I have also learned that, when the going gets tough, stepping to the front is appropriate. But step up when needed; don’t micromanage. Support by creating a comfortable atmosphere that can breed innovation and do not interfere with the good people doing their jobs. Nothing makes a leader’s role easier than having the support of good, smart people. Nurture those people, making the most of their skills, while always being prepared for them to move on.

Of course, no organization is perfect. When I see dysfunction, I step from behind to the front. We, as a team, figure out what went wrong and how to fix it so the issue doesn’t re-occur. If a decision needs to be made, I am happy to make it, but I prefer it if those closest to the issue make the decision.

I do recognize not everyone is comfortable with making decisions, but, as a leader, I understand no decision (or, worse, fear of making a decision) and therefore choosing the status quo is still a decision. So, I’m always willing to decide when no one else will. That responsibility comes with the job/role.

For example, the Biopharmaceutical Section is constantly evolving, be it due to technology, the expanding diversity of membership, finances, or changes dictated by the ASA. This evolution needs to be assessed and decisions regarding adaptations need to be made. Not every decision you make will be acceptable to everyone, but it must still be made.

I view a big part of my role in both my corporate life and during my section leadership as helping to make sure everyone else can accomplish their goals. I’m happy to help, but I’m also happy to get out of the way and let those who deserve it get the credit. (Remember when I said put your ego aside?)

Yes, visibility is nice when you get a slide with your name listed at some meeting or workshop and, as chair, I did enjoy writing update newsletters to the section. However, the majority attending section events don’t know 99% of how an event came together and who put it together, and they don’t need to know.

If you are the type of person who likes to see behind the curtain regarding how these events are put on and get satisfaction from serving the section membership, then serve the community by helping provide the best experience. Service in the Biopharmaceutical Section is wonderful and has given me back far more than I put into it, predominantly because of the people I have met.

A final thought is more of a plug for the section mentoring program. There is so much experience waiting to be shared within the section, and I encourage those of you with that experience to sign up as mentors. Those seeking to learn from their experience should sign up as mentees. I have achieved much satisfaction mentoring statisticians. Regardless of the stage of your career, whether through a formal mentoring program or not, seek out mentors who can help you achieve your vision. Over time, when your vision inevitably changes as you do, seek out more mentors. Finally, when you are ready, give back your experience. Keeping your experience to yourself helps no one.