Stories and Viewpoints

Discover Viatris

By: Niki Kapsambelis

December 10, 2024

For Dale Stemple, the journey to inclusion begins with making sure everyone is heard. And that also means ensuring that people are comfortable speaking up – part of a broader concept known as psychological safety.

Having majored in industrial psychology as an undergraduate, it’s a concept that is near and dear to his heart, because he knows that diverse teams who embrace inclusion are more effective.

“Making sure our people are engaged and heard drives creativity and strengthens empowerment,” said Dale, Viatris’ Head of Environmental Health and Safety for North America, Europe, Middle East and Greater China. “In our EHS team, we strive for a culture where people feel open, and they can grow. It’s important to me to make sure we have that culture of agreeing, disagreeing and still being respectful all the time. At the end of the day, it’s integrity and ethics – and that, to me, is respect.”

After working at Viatris and one of its predecessor companies for 26 years, Dale’s goal as a leader is to set his team up to continue building a culture of inclusion for the future.

He noted that some of the challenges to building and maintaining inclusion are changes to the workforce; for example, remote work can make it easier for people to become isolated from colleagues. Likewise, generational or cultural differences on teams can cause resistance or disconnect between people.

“It’s our job to adapt,” he said, adding that Employee Resource Groups are helpful in fostering an inclusive work environment and educating colleagues.

As the company has grown its global footprint, Dale has traveled to locations he had never previously seen. He described his experiences as humbling, and useful in helping him expand his own understanding of other cultures and how different approaches add value and drive creativity in a workplace.

“Everybody wants to be a part of their team,” he said. “You want to make sure everyone knows how their role plays a part in the function, and how their voice plays a part.”

Dale has also learned how to examine his own core beliefs as he strives to check biases at the door as a leader. He asks himself: do his words and actions reflect his overall intentions? Am I holding myself accountable as well as the people on my team?

“We’ve got to walk the walk and talk the talk. We’re not always perfect,” he said. But he tries to create an environment where people can be transparent: “Having a culture where people can transparently share their learnings and differences creates an environment of great respect.”