For years, I rounded on patients the same way most nurse leaders do, popping in, asking whether things had been done, basically checking the boxes on my list. It was efficient. It was familiar.  And for a long time, it seemed to work. Then I started listening more carefully to the answers from patients. Yes. No. Kind of. No and kind of always pushed me into an uncomfortable spot. I’ve observed many nurse leaders doing…

(LIVE BLOG from Rewiring Healthcare: Foundation to Future, April 28-29, in Atlanta, GA) At the Rewiring Healthcare conference, Regina Shupe, DNP, RN, asked a sobering question during her Well-Being + Caregiver Support (HCE Overview: Resources & Support) session: Are the demands of healthcare work now outpacing the support we provide the people doing it? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. And she emphasized that this is a conversation healthcare leaders need to keep front and center—because the stakes…

I recently had the privilege of delivering the commencement address at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University. I found myself thinking about all the work we’ve been doing around generational issues. In Genfluence: How to Lead a Multigenerational Workforce, which I coauthored with Dr. Katherine Meese, we make the case that while people tend to focus on the differences between age groups, we’re all more alike than we realize. As I was speaking to this graduating class, this truth was really…

(BLOG from Rewiring Healthcare: Foundation to Future, April 28-29, in Atlanta, GA) Generational friction is real. But Dan Collard says we often diagnose it wrong. In his session, Genfluence: Leading a Multigenerational Workforce (Human Capital Ecosystem™: Coworker Relationships), Dan challenged leaders to change the way we think about generational tension. Older leaders might assume younger employees are entitled, fragile, or difficult. But usually, the issue is mismatched expectations, not bad intent. Misalignment, not malice. That mind shift matters,…

As healthcare evolves, we’re all having to rethink, refine, and rewire how we work. But here’s the question for leaders: Are the changes we’re asking people to make actually doable? At the Rewiring Healthcare conference, during his presentation titled Diagnose. Design. Treat. Leading Change That Works, Quint Studer introduced a doability assessment. The purpose is to help leaders determine whether a change is truly viable inside their organization before they try to roll it out.…

When UCLA Women’s Basketball Head Coach Cori Close led her team to its first national championship on April 5, the story was not just about the win. It was about the kind of team that made that win possible. Her mantra, “Sometimes you, sometimes me, always us,” captures something many leaders talk about but often don’t know how to achieve: creating a culture where people care as much about the team’s success as their own.…

Nurses Week 2026 is here, and nurse leaders everywhere have asked the same question: What can I do this year that will feel meaningful to my team? Gifts are thoughtful. Celebrations matter. But when you listen closely to nurses across generations, specialties, and settings, what they want most isn’t something you can buy. They want a leader who creates an environment where they can thrive. They want a Human-Centered Leader. A Human‑Centered Leader models well‑being even…

Nurses enter the profession with a strong sense of purpose—a desire to be useful and helpful, to make a difference, to care for others in meaningful ways. But in today’s healthcare environment, with staffing shortages, rising patient complexity, growing administrative demands, and high levels of burnout, it can be harder to feel that “calling” day-to-day. Right at a time when the work matters most, the meaning that fuels it can begin to get crowded out.…

Every year, National Nurses Week gives us a dedicated moment to pause and recognize the extraordinary contributions of nurses. In 2026, that week falls Wednesday, May 6 – Tuesday, May 12. But the truth is, one week can never fully capture the impact nurses have on patients, families, and the entire healthcare system. Nurses are the constant. In a world of rapid change, advancing technology, workforce challenges, and increasing patient complexity, nurses remain the steady…

In my book, Karma Doesn’t Need My Help: 11 Weekly Lessons to Leadership Success and Peace, Week 2 references one of the most damaging phrases ever for healthcare leaders: “I already knew that.” When a leader uses that phrase, the information flow from others slows or stops as people believe the leader already knows everything. Why? The leader keeps telling them that. This past week, I realized there is a second-most-damaging phrase leaders should avoid.…