Kim Jablonski on Compliance Leadership and Changing Times [Podcast]

By Adam Turteltaub Being a leader is hard.  Being a compliance leader is harder.  Being a compliance leader in fast-changing times takes it up yet another level, but it’s not impossible. Kim Jablonski, Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer at Bristol Myers Squibb shares that with these challenges it’s important for leaders not to think in static terms but to recognize that the landscape is constantly changing.  The transformations include not just new laws and regulations but also new expectations for compliance programs, such as when it comes to taking a more data-driven approach. At the same time, though, some things don’t change.  For example, you need to communicate with the workforce the importance of acting with integrity, even when there is business pressure to deliver.  That same message should come from leadership as well so that employees see integrity as a part of the culture and behavioral expectations. For their part, compliance leaders, and their teams, need to have a deep understanding of the business and how it works.  They must also be flexible with more than one solution to a problem. She also advocates for a collaborative approach.  Working together with a wide range of internal teams leads to better outcomes, both from a compliance and business perspective. Most notably of all, she shares an insight that is relatable and very eye opening:  We all have obstructed view seats.  As she explains, we all only see a part of the picture and need to be mindful that we benefit from the views of others and that bad decisions are often the product of not being able to see the whole panorama before us. Listen in for more eye-opening insights.