Living ICON’s Values: Sarah Samuel

“I learned a lot during that experience. It helped me to be mindful of streamlining processes and prioritizing milestones, as well as never losing sight of the bigger picture.”

Her wide range of experiences have proven to be invaluable to her role at ICON, in alignment with her strong academic skills and clinical background which provide her with the relevant knowledge to effectively manage her role. However, Sarah finds her most valuable asset to be her empathy — for team members and patients alike. Empathy is very important for working in clinical research as you may be communicating with vulnerable people. In addition, it’s an important trait for any manager to have.

Sarah greatly believes in the importance of valuing your team as well as investing in and empowering them in order to see them succeed.

“When we live by this principle, we find the people we work with to be loyal, committed and productive.”

She believes in the value that you can teach skills but can’t teach passion, which is why a passion for the role is the driving force behind the work she does and the life she lives. As a team manager, Sarah cultivates the potential she sees in a team member by trusting them with greater responsibility in order to grow their confidence — a technique which allowed her to flourish when she was in a more junior position herself.

Her passion stems from her desire to live a life of purpose and expresses how she, and those at ICON, benefit the world through their services:

“Clinical Research is important work because it helps find cures for countless diseases and improve the quality of life for billions of people around the world.”

For those who also wish to live a life of purpose and begin a role in clinical research, Sarah advises that you push yourself in order to continually learn —you might even surprise yourself with your capabilities. In your spare time, pick up new skills — especially ones that scare you, and spend time volunteering. Most importantly:

“Don’t be afraid to speak up — you never know what you might bring to the table.”

If you want to begin, or progress your career in clinical research, apply for a role with ICON today. As part of our core values, we take great pride in empowering our employees and watching them progress with us.