Strong leadership is the backbone of strong companies. The “four Cs” framework for leadership—character, competence, caring, and communication—can be adapted to a wide range of cultures, regulatory demands, and operational needs.
“We are all leaders in our own way, with the ability to encourage collaboration, innovation, and trust,” says Christine Senn, PhD, CCRC, CPI, FACRP, Senior Vice President for Site-Sponsor Innovation at Advarra. “Under the first C, character, courage is one of the most important strengths, including bravery and perseverance. By identifying our core character strengths, we can develop these further and lean into what we each do well.”
“For the second C, competence, a major step in developing as a leader is to build belief in your own abilities,” states Christina Brennan, MD, MBA, CCRC, FACRP, Senior Vice President for Clinical Research at Northwell Health. “Courage and competence go hand in hand, enabling us to contribute fully when we have a ‘seat at the table.’”
“The third C, caring, is often overlooked, yet is essential in leadership,” notes Elisa Cascade, MBA, FACRP, Chief Growth Officer at TrialScreen. “By caring about the people we lead, we can support their professional and personal development. Ensuring people feel valued drives high engagement and better decision making.”
“The importance of communication is also often overlooked because it is seen as being obvious,” notes Brennan. “Communicating once isn’t enough. Instead, communication needs to be repeated frequently, and to be bidirectional rather than one-way. The ‘teach-back’ method is helpful, where the learner is asked to repeat information in their own words, helping ensure full understanding.”
The “Four Cs” of Clinical Research Leadership
Join Christina, Elisa, and Christine at ACRP 2026 [April 24-27; Orlando, Fla.] as they share insights on how leadership philosophies must adapt to varying organizational cultures, regulatory demands, and operational realities. View complete schedule.
“Feedback should be solicited throughout a project, ensuring buy-in and ownership from other stakeholders,” notes Cascade. “Being mindful of the need to listen can be vital to achieving final sign-off for the project.”
“Developing leadership capacity is an evolving process, including the ability to manage resource constraints and avoid burnout while promoting research that is both ethical and patient centered,” concludes Cascade. “We need emotional intelligence to understand which of the four Cs to use at a particular time. Everyone in our industry is feeling the pain of budget cuts and regulatory uncertainty. Having more focus and clearer priorities will improve productivity and help avoid burnout.”
Edited by Jill Dawson
