Veterinary leaders often rise through the ranks without ever receiving formal training in how to define a vision, build culture, or guide a team with clarity. Dr. George Cuellar joins me to explore how aspiring entrepreneurs can step into leadership with purpose by working through three essential phases: defining the vision, sharing it effectively, and engaging the team in bringing it to life. Drawing on decades as a corporate executive, practice owner, and state veterinary leader, George explains how he discovered that true leadership is not about directing people; it’s about creating a shared sense of purpose that others want to be part of.

George shares how his own hospital’s transformation began with articulating a clear, compelling vision and pairing it with a set of values that guided every decision. He describes how leaders can evolve from simply “telling” their vision to collaborating on it by testing ideas, inviting dialogue, and using regular meetings to cultivate ownership across the team. As the culture strengthens, leaders move into phase three: engaging individual team members through development plans, outcome-based goals, and accountability structures that empower them to grow rather than depend on the leader.

The conversation also explores why leaders must resist the urge to overhelp and allow team members to struggle, fail, and ultimately succeed on their own terms. George explains how celebrating wins, learning from missteps, and trusting the team helps shift the culture from leader-dependent to self-sustaining. He leaves listeners with core reminders: everything you need to lead is already within you, growth requires compassion and grit, and no leader should go it alone. Veterinary professionals are encouraged to seek mentorship and support as they develop leadership cultures that are built to last.

What’s Inside:

• How Dr. Cuellar went from corporate leadership to building a vision-driven veterinary hospital
• Why defining a clear vision and set of values is the foundation for effective leadership
• The five stages of sharing a vision, from telling to true co-creation with your team
• How to engage staff through individualized growth plans, accountability, and meaningful consequences
• Why leaders must resist overhelping and allow room for struggle, learning, and celebration
• Practical steps to build a self-sustaining culture where aligned, motivated team members thrive

Mentioned:

Dr. George Cuellar on LinkedIn
Ready, Vet, Go
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Veterinary professionals are often trained to care for everyone except themselves. But what if they had the tools to recognize and respond to mental health challenges within their own teams? Dr. Sonja Olson, DVM, C-MMT, and Susan Swendsen, MSSW, LCSW, VSW from Full Circle Lab join Crystal to explore how Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is reshaping the conversation around well-being in veterinary medicine.

Susan shares how MHFA began in Australia in 2000 with founders Betty Kitchener and Anthony Jorm, grew to 29 countries, and aims to train one in every fifteen people worldwide. Introduced in the U.S. in 2008, the program equips everyday people with the confidence to recognize early signs of mental distress and connect others to the help they need before a crisis occurs.

The group talks about how MHFA differs from therapy. It’s a peer-support model designed to help colleagues feel prepared to respond when someone is struggling. Sonja breaks down the ALGEE action plan: Assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen non-judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help, and Encourage self-help. She explains how this structured, step-by-step approach resonates with the way veterinary professionals think and problem-solve.

The conversation highlights the power of early intervention, the importance of reducing stigma, and how empathy can protect against secondary traumatic stress. The team also shares practical ways for veterinary clinics to bring MHFA training into their workplaces through the National Council for Behavioral Health and how learning these skills together can strengthen connection, compassion, and care across the profession.

What’s Inside:

• How Mental Health First Aid started in Australia and went global
• Why MHFA is different from therapy but just as powerful in veterinary care
• Step-by-step guide to the ALGEE action plan for real-life crises
• Simple ways to break stigma and start honest conversations about mental health
• Early intervention tips to prevent burnout and secondary trauma
• How to get certified and bring MHFA training to your clinic
• Building stronger, more connected veterinary teams through peer support

Mentioned:

Mental Health First Aid
LinkedIn
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Dr. Amy Grimm, founder of Daring DVM Coaching, joins the show to talk about burnout—something all too familiar in the veterinary world. She shares her path from vet med to coaching and how her own experiences shaped the work she does today.

Dr. Amy explains why burnout is so common among veterinarians: high achievers, constant competition, and nonstop pressure. Along the way, she learned that handling hard conversations, emotional fatigue, and tension are skills you can actually develop.

She uses the simple image of a phone on low battery to describe what burnout really feels like—your system keeps pushing until it finally shuts down. That “wired but tired” feeling, when rest doesn’t restore you, becomes the norm.

Dr. Amy breaks down how to spot the signs before you crash and how to rebuild through three core areas: your nervous system, your mindset, and your boundaries. You don’t need more hours in the day—you need compassion for yourself, moments to reset, and routines that bring you back to center.

Learn more about her coaching and group programs at Daring DVM Coaching.

What’s Inside:

• Recognizing the early signs of burnout before you hit overdrive.
• Practical tools to reset and recharge your nervous system.
• What coaching really is and how it supports veterinarians.
• Building awareness, balance, and self-compassion in vet med.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Daring DVM Coaching
The Burnout Fix
vetcoach@daringdvm.com
Dr. Amy Grimm on Instagram
Amy Grimm on LinkedIn
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and in this episode, we’re honored to welcome Gigi Tsontos, Executive Director of NOMV (Not One More Vet). NOMV is a nonprofit dedicated to improving mental health and overall well-being within the veterinary profession—creating resources and community support to help veterinary professionals not just survive, but truly thrive.

The organization was born out of tragedy following the 2014 loss of Dr. Sophia Yin to suicide. What began as a forum for open discussion has grown into a thriving network of more than 40,000 members as of 2025.

NOMV’s impact includes:

• Education: Raising awareness and providing access to mental health resources, including the CLEAR Blueprint.
• Resources: Offering grants for individuals and clinics in crisis.
• Peer Support: Hosting forums and programs such as Lifeboat and Veterinary Mental Health Support.

NOMV’s website is an easy-to-navigate hub for these tools and more. You can support their mission through donations, volunteering, or even by simply spreading their message on social media.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, dial 988 in the U.S. or Canada for immediate support.

What’s Inside:

• The mission behind Not One More Vet.
• Creating a space for well-being in the vet med industry.
• How you can help NOMV.
• Suicide Hotline: 988

Mentioned In This Episode:

NOMV
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Returning guest Natalie Fayman joins us to share her journey from burnout to resilience through the Positive Intelligence (PQ) program. Initially skeptical, Natalie discovered the program’s strong scientific backing—studies show that after just seven weeks of training, 83–97% of participants report reduced stress, increased happiness, and improved self-confidence.

PQ works at the root level of brain function, shifting the balance of power from our inner Saboteurs—the voices of self-doubt and negativity—to our inner Sage, our positive, resilient self. For Natalie, that means going from needing days to recover after an emotionally draining ER shift to bouncing back in just 30 minutes.

This isn’t therapy, though it pairs well with it. It’s about building mental fitness, being more mindful of your emotions, and improving how you show up for yourself and others. Whether you work through PQ on your own or join a cohort for added accountability and insight, the tools are transformative.

Listen in to learn how you can build resilience, reclaim your passion, and thrive in veterinary medicine.

What’s Inside:

• What is Positive Intelligence (PQ)?
• The science behind the program.
• A tool for reducing emotional recovery time
• A variety of options: Completing the Positive Intelligence Program for individuals or in a group setting.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Find out more about the PQ for RACE-CE credit course
Schedule a free consultation with Natalie Fayman
Take the Saboteur assessment from Positive Intelligence
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Katrina Busselle is a get-it-done kind of woman who knows that conflict isn’t always a bad thing. It’s often necessary to make real progress, especially at work. In this episode, Katrina shares key concepts of mediation and how her Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution helps her navigate tough conversations.

We talk about the natural flow of mediation. You don’t jump to a solution. You move through the process, climbing the mountain of conflict and coming down the other side with resolution. Katrina explains how mediators guide this journey without influencing the outcome.

She shares the tools that matter most: deep listening, restating, and reframing. The goal is to uncover shared understanding and shape a written agreement that can move forward outside the session.

We also explore how to know if mediation is right for a situation, how to set the container for safe dialogue, and what the metaphorical mountain climb looks like in action. We work through real-world examples and even do a little role play in the vet med industry.

Enjoy this conversation on the real, practical benefits of mediation at work and beyond.

What’s Inside:

• How mediation can transform conflict resolution.
• Creating a container and safe space to work through the conflict mountain.
• Role play conversations diving deep into mediation in the vet med space.

Mentioned In This Episode:

• Amazon.com: A Million Reasons Why You Can't: And Choosing to Do It Anyway eBook
• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
• Gawande, Atul. Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science. Metropolitan Books (Picador), 2002.
• Levinson, Roter, Mullooly, Dull, and Frankel (1997). Title: "Physician-patient communication: The relationship with malpractice claims among primary care physicians and surgeons."
  Journal: JAMA, 277(7), 553–559.
  DOI: 10.1001/jama.1997.03540310051034
• Full Circle Lab
• Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

What happens when 20+ years of vet med experience meets a passion for learning design and technology? You get Kara Herrmann, a trailblazer reimagining how veterinary teams train, communicate, and operate more efficiently.

Kara is currently completing her master’s in Education with a focus on Learning Design and Technology, and she brings a fresh lens to what really makes a veterinary workplace thrive. She explains why education alone doesn’t guarantee success and how clarity in roles, effective delegation, and confident leadership can dramatically improve team performance.

We explore why many managers shy away from assigning duties and how having someone to direct the workflow can make all the difference. With 92% of employees saying training impacts their job positively and 97% less likely to quit when given development opportunities, Kara pushes us to rethink how we train and grow new veterinarians.

It’s not always about more training—sometimes it’s about improving the system itself. Kara encourages leaders to step back, ask “why,” and observe the workflow to spot the real barriers to success.

What’s Inside:

• Rethink Training for Efficiency
• Empower Through Clear Roles
• Lead with Confident Delegation
• Observe, Question, Improve Systems

Mentioned In This Episode:

Kara Herrmann on LinkedIn
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Have you ever been disrespected by a colleague in the workplace? Mistreated at an event or a conference? You may have experienced intellectual bullying.

After attending a recent internal medicine conference, Dr. Emily Gould and Dr. Kate Aicher were inspired to study this type of interaction and come up with actionable solutions. In this episode, Emily and Kate role-play common scenarios of intellectual bullying in a hospital environment and provide tips for improving communication to move forward.

Diving deep into the psychology of behavior and drawing from their own real-world experiences, Emily and Kate cover the causes of intellectual bullying and the impact it has on colleagues and clients. Doing our inner work is key in fostering healthy relationships. With commitment and practice, every person can develop the skills needed to stop bullying in its tracks.

Bullying often happens when we expect perfection from others. When we remember that we’re all human, we can tap into more compassion and healthy connection.

What’s Inside:

• Defining intellectual bullying in the medical field.
• Role-playing common bullying scenarios and alternative outcomes.
• Understanding the behavioral psychology behind intellectual bullying.
• Developing the skills needed to foster healthy relationships.

Mentioned In This Episode:

egould@cvm.tamu.edu
kaicher@cvm.tamu.edu
Systematic review of academic bullying in medical settings: dynamics and consequences - PubMed
Study: Fair pay, appreciation for work top factors in employee retention | American Veterinary Medical Association
Culture: Building Happier, Healthier Teams and Practices in Veterinary Medicine - PubMed
ACVIM Forum 2024: Intellectual Bullying in Specialty Veterinary Medicine Notes Deck
ACVIM Forum 2024: Intellectual Bullying in Specialty Veterinary Medicine Proceedings
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn