Being the Only One in the Room: How to Lead When You Don’t Fit the Mold

Being the only one in the room in pharma can feel isolating. Learn how to build pharma career confidence, speak up in meetings, and lead even when you don’t fit the mold.
Nov 25

Imagine this...

You walk into a meeting, log onto a Zoom call, join a breakout at a conference… and instantly feel it:
    You’re the only student.
    The only pharmacist.
    The only person of your background, identity, or path.

Being the only one in the room can feel isolating and intimidating. It can trigger every flavor of imposter syndrome at once—especially in pharma and life sciences, where the rooms you’re entering are full of titles, acronyms, and unspoken rules.

But here’s the Ceuticon reality check:

Being the only one like you in the room feels isolating.
It’s also proof you’re breaking new ground.

This post is about what to do with that reality—how to show up as a quiet leader in your pharma career even when you don’t fit the mold.

What “Being the Only One” Looks Like in Pharma and Life Sciences

If you work (or want to work) in pharma, payer, or life sciences, you might recognize yourself in one of these situations:
  • You’re the only student or intern in a room full of directors and VP titles.
  • You’re the only pharmacist in a business, medical affairs, HEOR, or market access team.
  • You’re the only person of your identity or background in the meeting.
  • You’re the only one without industry experience yet, surrounded by people who “talk the talk” fluently.
On paper, this is a win. You got the internship, the fellowship, the first industry role, the invite to the table. In reality, it can sound like:
  • “I have no idea what half these acronyms mean.”
  • “Did they pick the wrong person?”
  • “I’m so behind compared to everyone else.”
  • “If I speak up and sound stupid, I’ll prove I don’t belong here.”
If that’s you, nothing is wrong with your pharma career readiness. You’re simply noticing that the room was not designed with you in mind. And that’s important data.

Reframe: Out of Place vs. Breaking New Ground

Let’s name the two stories that tend to show up when you’re the only one in the room:

Old story:
“Everyone else fits here. I don't,
I’m the odd one out.”

New story: “The template for this room didn’t include someone like me… until now.”

Those are two completely different ways to interpret the same situation.
  When you see yourself as “behind,” every interaction becomes a test you can fail.
  When you see yourself as early, every interaction becomes a rep you’re getting before the rest of your cohort catches up.

Try these quick reframes the next time your brain spirals in a pharma meeting:
  • “I’m behind” → “I’m early to this space for people like me.”
  • “They all know more” → “They’ve just been in these rooms longer. I’m catching up fast.”
  • “I don’t belong here” → “My perspective literally didn’t exist in this room before I showed up.”
This isn’t toxic positivity or pretending bias doesn’t exist. It’s about reclaiming your power: seeing your presence as evidence of what’s possible, not proof of a mistake.
STEP 1

Know Why You’re in the Room
(On Purpose)

STEP 2

Lead Through Questions, Not Just Answers

STEP 3

Protect Your Energy
(You’re Not a Spokesperson)

STEP 4

Find Allies,
Not Just Mentors

STEP 5

Turn Visibility Into Career Leverage

Step 1: Know Why You’re in the Room (On Purpose)

One of the fastest ways to rebuild your confidence as the only one in the room is to answer this question: "Why am I here? What am I bringing that this conversation needs?"
In pharma and life sciences, that might sound like:
  • “I’m here to bring the patient lens into this access discussion.”
  • “I’m here to represent the pharmacist perspective on this cross-functional team.”
  • “I’m here as a student to ask questions and understand how these roles work together.”
  • “I’m here to translate clinical reality into the language of strategy and outcomes.”

   Micro-exercise: Brain Shift

Before your next big meeting, write a one-sentence purpose:
“I’m here to represent ______ and make sure ______ is part of the conversation.”

You don’t have to say it out loud. Just having that sentence in your brain shifts how you show up. Instead of trying to be everything, you’re anchored in a lane that’s actually yours.

If you’re not sure what you want to be known for yet, the Career Clarity Checklist is your first stop—it’ll show you where you are, what’s working, and what needs a reset.

Step 2: Lead Through Questions, Not Just Answers

When you’re the only one in the room, it’s easy to think:
“I’ll speak up when I have the perfect point.” → Translation: “I will never speak up.”

In early career roles, leadership doesn’t always look like being the loudest voice. It often looks like asking the question no one else is asking. Here are a few plug-and-play questions you can use in pharma meetings when you’re still learning:

Clarifying questions

  • “Just to make sure I’m tracking, are we saying that…?”
  • “Can you walk me through how X connects to Y one more time?”
  • “Can I play it back to you to make sure I’ve got it right?” [Then you paraphrase.]

Connection questions

  • “How does this impact the patient or caregiver experience?”
  • “What does this change for the pharmacist or provider on the ground?”
  • “If I tried to explain this to my classmates, what’s the real-world example I should use?”

Future-facing questions

  • “If this works the way we hope, what will look different six months from now?”
  • “What are the biggest risks we should keep an eye on as we roll this out?”
  • “What skills would you focus on building now to be able to lead work like this in a few years?”
Your goal is not to deliver a TED Talk. It’s to show that you’re engaged, thinking, and connecting dots.

One thoughtful question per meeting is more than enough to start building your pharma career confidence and visibility.

Step 3: Protect Your Energy—You’re Not the Spokesperson for Everyone Like You

The hard part isn’t only the work you’re officially responsible for. It’s the invisible job description that comes with being “the only one like you”—managing perceptions, translating context, and deciding which moments to let slide and which to push on.
There’s a hidden workload that often comes with being the only one in the room:
  • Being asked to “speak for” your entire background, identity, or generation.
  • Being pulled into every meeting that needs a “pharmacist voice” or a “student perspective.”
  • Feeling like if you mess up, you’ll confirm stereotypes about people like you.

  A few scripts to keep handy:

  • “I can share my experience, but I can’t speak for everyone.”
  • “From my perspective as a pharmacist/student, here’s what I’m seeing.”
  • “I don’t have the full picture on that, but here’s what I can weigh in on.”

Remember, you are allowed to:

  • Set boundaries around what you will and won’t take on.
  • Decline being added to every “diversity” panel or project.
  • Step back from conversations that turn you into a symbol instead of a human professional.

Being the only one in the room isn’t just in your head    


Research from McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace study shows that many professionals—especially women and women of color—are regularly the “only” person like them in the room, and that this comes with higher levels of scrutiny and burnout.

Step 4: Find Allies, Not Just Mentors

Everyone talks about finding a mentor. Mentors are great. But when you’re the only one in the room, what you often need first is an ally—someone who has a bit more power, context, or experience and quietly uses it to back you.
An ally might be:
  • The person who explains an acronym in the chat instead of letting you flounder.
  • The leader who says, “I want to highlight the work you did on this project.”
  • The colleague who circles back after a meeting: “How did that land for you?”
Spotting potential allies by their behavior:
  • Do they make space for you to speak—or talk over you?
  • Do they credit your ideas—or repackage them as their own?
  • Do they treat you like a future colleague—or like a permanent junior?

  When you notice someone showing up like this, follow up and strengthen the connection:

  • “Thanks again for breaking that down in the meeting—it really helped me connect the dots.”
  • “I appreciated you inviting me into that project. Here’s what I’m most excited to contribute.”
  • “That perspective was really helpful—could I grab 15 minutes on your calendar to ask a few follow-up questions?”
  • “If you’re open to it, I’d love to hear more about how you got into your role and what skills you lean on most.”
  • “Thanks for trusting me with that piece—I’m planning to start with X and share an early draft by [day/time].”

You don’t need a 20-person support system overnight. You need one solid ally at a time, and those relationships can change how every room feels.

Step 5: Turn Visibility Into Career Leverage

Here’s the part we don’t say out loud often enough: Being the only one in the room can be emotionally heavy. It can also become a career advantage—if you document and leverage it.
When you’re the only student, the only pharmacist, or the only person with your background in a high-impact room, you’re not just “there.” You’re gathering receipts:
  • Meetings where your question shifted the direction of a discussion.
  • Projects where your clinical or patient lens changed the outcome.
  • Times when your cross-functional understanding helped move things forward.

   Micro-exercise: Simple Wins

Start a simple “wins” log in a notes app or document.

Include:
  • Date / meeting
  • What you contributed (question, idea, perspective)
  • What happened next (decision, follow-up, feedback)
This doesn’t have to be fancy. But when it’s time for:
  • Performance reviews
  • Fellowship or job applications
  • LinkedIn updates
  • Networking conversations
…you’ll have concrete examples of how you’re already acting as an early-career leader in pharma and life sciences.

Reflection Prompts: “Only One” to “First of Many”

  If this post is hitting close to home, take a few minutes to reflect:

  • When was the last time I was the "only one in the room"? What story did I tell myself about why I was there?
  • What is one upcoming meeting, rotation, or event where I can practice asking a single, thoughtful question?
  • Who already feels like a potential ally? How could I follow up with them this week?
  • What’s one way I can protect my energy while still showing up intentionally?

You’re Not a Mistake in the Room. You’re a Preview.

Being the only one in the room will probably never feel completely comfortable. 

But uncomfortable doesn’t mean unqualified.
Isolated doesn’t mean irrelevant.
Different doesn’t mean “doesn’t belong.”
In many cases, it means you are:
  • Early to a space that’s still evolving
  • Proof that people with your path can be in these roles
  • A preview of what pharma and life sciences careers can look like for the people coming after you
You’re already leading every time you:
  • Walk into a room that wasn’t built with you in mind
  • Stay connected to patients and real-world impact
  • Ask the question no one else is asking
  • Choose to back yourself anyway
If you’re ready to turn that feeling of “only one” into a clear, confident strategy for your next chapter, your next step is simple: Start by clarifying who you are, what you bring, and where you’re heading.

You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through being the only one in the room.

If you’re ready to get intentional about the rooms you’re in—and the ones you’re growing into—start by getting clear on who you are and what you bring, then back it up with real workplace skills.

  • Career Clarity Kit →
    map where you are now, what’s working, and what needs a reset.
  • Workplace Mastery course → practice the real-life skills you’ll use in those rooms, with a full toolkit you can keep coming back to.
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