We talk with Renee Thompson about why bullying and incivility in healthcare are not just culture issues, but patient safety risks. She shares how leaders unintentionally reinforce disruptive behavior, what actually happens in the moment when conflict is avoided, and how organizations can operationalize respect at scale.

• why incivility has always impacted patient outcomes, even when ignored
• the hidden patterns leaders miss, including silence as a strategy
• short-term comfort vs. long-term cultural damage
• why high performers are often protected despite toxic behavior
• a simple in-the-moment technique to stop disruptive behavior immediately
• the role of awareness, scripting, and confidence in leadership action
• the three pillars of the Healthy Workforce Culture Framework™
• scaling culture change through systems, not just intention
• self-awareness as the starting point for any culture transformation

Make sure you follow Renee Thompson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rtconnections/

We talk with Teri Renfrow about why strategy often breaks down at the point of execution in healthcare, and what it really takes to move from pilot to full-scale adoption.

Teri shares how frontline experience, not just technology, determines success, and why storytelling paired with measurement is the key to building trust, driving behavior change, and sustaining results across complex systems.

• why well-designed initiatives fail once they reach the frontline
• the critical role of “why” in preventing backslide and resistance
• why negative feedback is not resistance, but data
• how storytelling translates data into meaningful action
• balancing metrics with real-world clinician experience
• the leadership habit of “going to Gemba” to understand reality
• scaling adoption while preserving human connection
• one practical way leaders can improve adoption this week

Connect with Teri Renfrow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terirenfrow/

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership in Healthcare, Dr. Pelè speaks with October Ambrose, Vice President of People Partnerships and Engagement at Central Health, about what culture actually looks like inside a mission-driven healthcare organization.

They explore why culture is not something leaders define once, but something teams build and experience every day through behavior, especially under pressure.

October shares how trust, transparency, and empathy shape engagement more than mission alone, and why even the strongest purpose-driven organizations can struggle when leaders lose sight of culture in real moments.

The conversation also dives into the gap between what leaders know and what they actually do, how teams support each other when that gap shows up, and why true empathy is one of the most important leadership behaviors in healthcare today.

This episode offers a practical and honest look at how culture drives patient experience, team engagement, and organizational performance, not through statements, but through everyday actions.

Connect with October Ambrose on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/october

In this episode, Dr. Pelè speaks with Vanessa McNeal about what really drives burnout and performance under pressure.

They explore how leaders unknowingly operate in survival states like fight-or-flight and shutdown, and why this isn’t a motivation problem, but a nervous system and safety issue. Vanessa shares practical tools leaders can use in real moments, from simple awareness practices to quick physiological resets, along with mindset shifts that transform how leaders show up for their teams.

The conversation also highlights how emotional regulation shapes culture, spreads across teams, and directly impacts trust, decision-making, and patient outcomes in high-stakes environments.

If leadership is experienced in moments, this episode reveals what’s happening beneath the surface in those moments and how to change it.

Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-mcneal/

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Russell Robinson about why the transition into college mirrors what new hires experience in high-pressure environments like healthcare.

We explore how emotional intelligence shapes performance under stress, and how AI coaching can help people build self-awareness, manage pressure, and show up better in real moments.

• first-year transition as a proving ground for emotional intelligence
• a simple framework: results, belonging, and personal wellness
• why leader emotional intelligence drives engagement and culture
• in an AI world, human connection becomes the differentiator
• coaching, trust, and psychological safety as the future of leadership
• AI as a neutral partner to close the self-awareness gap
• real examples of in-the-moment support through prioritization and reflection
• how hiring and onboarding may shift toward emotional intelligence
• leading with curiosity, listening, and meeting people where they are

Connect with Dr. Russell Robinson on LinkedIn [ HERE ]

In this episode, we unpack how trust, purpose, and people-first leadership power real culture change, and how AI can scale feedback, belonging, and performance without losing the human edge.

Gena Pirtle, founder of The People Equation and former global HR leader at Cisco, shares practical insights on redesigning HR, strengthening retention, and building cross-sector talent ecosystems for the future of work.

In this conversation, we explore:

• redefining strategic HR as a true business engine
• culture as lived behavior, not policy
• trust as the foundation for transformation
• AI’s role in continuous performance and feedback
• why human skills rise in value alongside automation
• scaling personalization with tools like Belonging Intelligence
• retention through safe experimentation and ERG-led pilots
• veteran talent pipelines and workforce ecosystems
• what leaders get wrong about culture and how to fix it
• current initiatives with Great Place to Work and 4Block

Connect with Gena Pirtle on LinkedIn or visit PeopleEquationConsulting.com to learn more.

Most leadership breakdowns are not failures of intelligence or strategy. They are emotional failures.

In this episode of the Leadership AI Podcast, Maggie Sass, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Product, Research, and Professional Services at TalentSmart EQ, explores how emotional intelligence functions as the operating system beneath strategy, coaching, and decision-making.

Together, we unpack what it really means to treat leadership as daily emotional behavior, especially in high-pressure environments like healthcare.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• why leadership is fundamentally emotional, not just technical
• how limbic “hijacks” happen under pressure and how to recover
• the four core EQ skills and how they build on each other
• delivering feedback that creates learning, not defensiveness
• building habits through tiny experiments and simple cues
• scaling EQ through assessments, onboarding, and certifications
• navigating generational differences around emotions at work
• a simple five-minute morning and evening practice to strengthen EQ

If you care about leadership performance that holds under pressure, this episode is for you.

Be sure to follow Maggie Sass, Ph.D. on LinkedIn for practical insights on emotional intelligence and organizational performance.

Do you want to discover the secret recipe to align company and employee needs and create a harmonious and profitable work environment?

Pull up a chair because today's guest, Paul ter Wal, author and president of the Virtual Speakers Association International, is here to share his transformational journey and insights on just that.

Whether you're a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a small start-up, Paul's principles are key to cultivating a culture of employee happiness and company profitability.

To connect with Paul ter Wal, visit:

Website: https://paulterwal.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulterwal/