Landová: You Don’t Become a Leader Overnight
56 ǀ POSITIV WOMAN
You Don’t Become a Leader Overnight
Experience and the Ability
to Listen Maer the Most
Lucie Landová started at LINET as a student temp in the quality department; today she oversees three strategic areas of the company
and is among the most prominent women in the Czech healthcare industry. She doesn’t pretend to be perfect and speaks openly
about experience and the power of humility.
How did you come to join LINET,
and what ultimately made you stay?
I always wanted to be a nurse—that was my childhood
dream. At fifteen, though, I let myself be swayed
by friends and went to the business school—in hindsight,
I still see that as my first life major mistake. But healthcare
never really let me go. I joined LINET, which is based just
down the road from my home, while I was at university
as a student worker—and I stayed. The company
operates in the healthcare segment, so my original
ambition could be fulfilled, albeit by a different route.
I started out in the quality department, which wasn’t
love at first sight—papers, standards, documentation—
that’s not my thing. I’m not a natural systems person.
I was lucky to be working with great people—including
the most demanding ones. They were the ones who
pushed me the furthest.
LINET has always been distinctive to me because
there’s no foreign parent company behind it. That
gave me a huge scope of practice. Whenever I came
up with an idea and could make the case for it, I was
given the chance to put it into practice. It is precisely
that kind of trust that keeps me in the job to this day.
What has been the most powerful moment in your
career—something you’re truly proud of?
I love challenges, even though I sometimes doubt
whether I can handle them. But it’s precisely those
moments when you surpass yourself that are the most
valuable. My greatest achievement, I believe, is building
a team that truly believes in the purpose of our work
and creating a system that runs smoothly, even when
I’m not there.
A strong affirmation that made sense on my career
path came with the recent Manager of the Year award
in the field of sustainable development. For me, this
category goes far beyond ecology—I see it as a genuine
contribution to the healthcare and to the care of people.
Which areas now fall under your responsibility?
I currently oversee project management, regulatory
affairs, and clinical research. Project management
is the area I’ve been developing the longest—I lead
an experienced team focused on the development
and innovation of medical devices. A year ago,
we introduced a new project culture that already took
into account the specific regulations of individual
markets—Europe, the USA, and Asia—right from
the development phase.
I built the regulatory department from scratch, and my
five years in China gave me invaluable managerial
experience. It was a huge lesson. Every market has
its own rules—and it’s not just about legislation,
but also about cultural context. Communication with
the Czech State Institute for Drug Control is completely
different from dealing with the Chinese authorities.
I had to learn to think within several frameworks
at once. But that’s exactly what strengthened me both
as a leader and a professional. Today, with twelve years
of hindsight, I would do many things differently—with
more humility, observing more and assuming less.
Clinical research is the area that interests me the
most right now. We study how our products are
used in practice—by both medical staff and patients.
We often encounter conflicting requirements: patients
need simple controls but shouldn’t have access
Lucie Landová oversees three departments at LINET,
a global leader in medical devices. She joined as a student
temp and has since built her career with the company.
Today she helps shape both innovaon and regulaon,
ensuring the products are not only technically rst-
class but also praccal and user-friendly.
I was worried I’d lose track
and control. But over me I realised
that I was overwhelmed.