I'm back. My last episode dropped in November 2025, right as I was stepping fresh into my presidency — and then life got busy in ways I couldn't have predicted. You don't really know the time and capacity you have until you're juggling all of it at once and have to recalibrate. So in this comeback episode, I catch you up on where I've been, what I've been building behind the scenes (a one-on-one coaching offer that goes deep into leadership positioning), and why so many of my conversations with graduate-prepared nurses keep circling the same ache: you're doing the work, showing up every day, and it's still not translating into a promotion.

Then I get into the heart of it — three leadership lessons I've been sitting with since taking this seat. These aren't polished takeaways I've mastered; some I'm still evolving in. But each one shifted how I lead, how I have hard conversations, and how I think about positioning. If you're leading now — or you want to understand what leadership actually looks like when there's no manager title attached — these are for you. Because leadership is leadership wherever you go.

Chapter Markers

• 00:00 — Why I paused: stepping into the presidency and recalibrating my time
• 02:00 — What I've been building: a coaching shift toward leadership positioning
• 05:00 — Lesson 1: Everyone has an underlying value driving their decision
• 13:00 — Lesson 2: Inclusivity has limits, and that's okay
• 16:30 — Lesson 3: The president facilitates, the board decides
• 21:00 — My pet peeve — and a word for the nurse who's feeling stuck
• 24:00 — What's next, and why I'm already thinking ahead

3 Takeaways

• Dialogue beats agreement. When you stop trying to win someone over and start getting curious about the value underneath their decision, you leave with more respect — and more room to work together on the next thing. Being easily offended just gets you distracted from the work that actually needs you.
• Inclusion isn't always the answer, and that's not a contradiction. "A nurse is a nurse is a nurse" falls apart the moment you need the right skill set matched to the right patient. Knowing when to include and when to set a boundary is its own leadership skill.
• Influential leadership means weighing in last. As president, I facilitate the conversation and let the board decide — I don't steer it with my opinion. That takes the pressure off making every call myself, and puts the pressure on making sure they have what they need to decide well.

Got a Career or Work question? Send me a text right here.

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