Leadership profile

Hello fellow high achiever. I know you've climbed the ladder of success with grit and determination, and you've reached remarkable heights as leaders in your respective domain. It's undeniable that being a high achiever comes with numerous benefits and rewards. The sense of accomplishment, the influence you wield, and the recognition you receive - it's all well-deserved.

“Relationship becomes a higher priority the more ambiguous, complex, and uncertain the atmosphere.” JM Harvey, CEO inviteCHANGE Do you find it hard to read the pulse, the honest feelings and perspective that people you engage – associates, peers, advisors, suppliers, customers – experience in our post-pandemic (almost?) period? Your attempts to return to a normal workday, workplace, and workflow don’t land as envisioned.

I have been continually learning how to become a better transformational and emotionally intelligent leader during my diverse 28 years career, having the practice and experience from my early beginnings during High School as a grape picker in the fields of Coachella Valley in California to my first hospital job as an emergency department aide (EDA), LVN, RN, Charge Nurse, Clinical Manager, Director of Critical Care Services, House Supervisor, transitioning out of the hospital setting in to the Home Heath, Hospice, with roles as Director of Patient Care Services, Executive Director, Nursing Professor, and later in to higher level roles as Regional Director of Operations, CNO, COO, to my recent new venture as a CEO/Founder and Senior Consultant for a private Health Care Operations and Strategy Consulting LLC.

The concepts of Conscious and Trauma-Informed Leadership have been around for decades, but only recently have they gained traction in the business world. John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods, has been a driving force behind this momentum for decades. More recently, he helped usher these terms into our everyday vernacular through his two bestsellers, Conscious Capitalism and Conscious Leadership. 

Every good leader believes in empowerment—like they believe in loving others well, standing for what is right, and making a difference in the world. The issue is that there’s often a gap between what we believe and what we actually do. For example, while I am a firm believer in empowerment—and have successfully coached dozens of leaders to become more empowering—I find this doesn’t always correlate to how well I personally empower others in my own leadership. Whether it’s because I’m worried about the outcome of an initiative, I haven’t provided enough support, or I’m simply unaware of my team’s feelings, being an empowering leader is often easier said than done.

Leaders are no longer those who lead from the top and the ‘workers’ follow the leader. The growing trend is that each person holds a significant role in defining leadership within the business and can lead up to define the true sense of leadership within the company. BUT – herein lies one of the greatest problems in organizational development: do your people know, understand and hold a sense of ownership for your vision?

Collaborating with people isn’t easy. Why? Because people get tangled up and judge each other. Team members gossip with colleagues about people who annoy them at work. Disconnected colleagues may engage in stonewalling and block the flow of productivity. And, as if collaboration weren’t already tough enough, you often aren’t even in the same building anymore.

There is no shortage of training, books, and workshops on managing change. Yet, as omnipresent as oxygen in our corporate cultures, the topic of change continues to challenge leaders. As leaders, we set an example to follow, even when we do not agree with the changes being made. Enduring the change that is handed to us, we lead others through.

In my work as a CEO coach, I get to collaborate with many brilliant and values-driven leaders around the world. There is one story that I hear repeatedly, despite very different business models and cultures. It sounds something like this, “Our core business is doing pretty well, but executing on our new strategy has been harder than expected. I think we may have a structural issue, but I’m not 100% certain about what the issues are."

As a seasoned CEO and consultant, I have seen firsthand the fast-paced and ever-evolving landscape CEOs must navigate. Today’s CEO faces uncertainties daily and must chart a course for success. The difference between those of us who lead with grace, and those of us who muddle through, is strong vision, clear plan and cohesive team. A great strategic plan can provide all of these.