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.…

In healthcare, and especially in the emergency department, a lot can happen in a single moment. Sometimes it’s a moment that adds weight to an already-heavy day. A rushed comment. A missed thank-you. A look that signals impatience instead of support. For a clinician already carrying a “backpack” full of stress, fatigue, and responsibility, even a small negative interaction can become another rock added to the load. Over time, these moments accumulate and can quietly…

A quiet truth sits beneath every workforce conversation in healthcare: Retention doesn’t begin when someone resigns, but in the everyday experience of work. I was reminded of this recently while reading the latest workforce research from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). The findings put language around something many leaders already sense: People don’t disengage suddenly. They disengage gradually, in the small moments when work stops feeling sustainable or supported. We often treat retention as a…