🎙 Episode Overview
This week’s episode is a vulnerable one. I’m sharing what it looked like when I hit the early warning signs of burnout this fall and what I did to swerve before it turned into a full-blown crash. This isn’t a theoretical lesson. It’s a real-time reflection on what burnout actually feels like, what it taught me, and how I’m doing now. If you're starting to feel that low hum of stress in your own life or work, this episode is for you.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn
🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You
🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode
Listen with a notebook (or your Notes app) open. Track your own warning signs. Pause and jot down what comes up for you—especially if you’ve been brushing off exhaustion, irritability, or that feeling of wanting to delete your calendar.
🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take
📲 Call to Action
🎙 Episode Overview
In this milestone 50th episode, I’m bringing you a very real-time reflection on a common mindset trap, one I’ve personally wrestled with and one I teach in Changemaker Essentials: the belief that we must get it right the first time. This episode started with me on the couch doing my year-end planning, spiraling into perfectionism, and then remembering, oh right, this is myth #7. Whether you're planning a project, launching a new initiative, or setting goals for the year ahead, this is one you're going to want to unpack.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn
🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You
🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode
Bring your planner or whatever you're using to map out 2026. As you listen, notice where perfectionism might be creeping into your thinking and where you might need to release control and let learning lead the way.
🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take
📣 Special Announcements
Nurse Leader HQ launches in January! If you’re a CME alum, there’s still time to join the next cohort. Reach out if you want details or help figuring out if it’s the right fit.
📲 Call to Action
👉 Resources Mentioned
🎙 Episode Overview
Right after watching my team present during a company-wide session, I hit record. I couldn’t help but reflect on how many times I’ve coached others (and myself) through the basics of giving an effective presentation-whether it's on Zoom, in a meeting room, or from a keynote stage. In this episode, I’m sharing the quick, practical mindset shifts and strategies that help presentations actually land, whether you're speaking to staff nurses or hospital execs. I also explain how my corporate and coaching work feed each other in real time and why I wouldn’t trade that synergy for anything.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn
🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You
🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode
Think about a real presentation you have coming up. Maybe a project update or a team training. As you listen, jot down where you're already strong and where you could try a new approach. I promise, one or two shifts can change the whole experience.
📣 Special Announcements
Power Hours are 50% off this for Black Friday! If you're prepping for a presentation or want help refining your message, this is a great time to book a focused session.
📲 Call to Action
After receiving upward feedback from my team, I tried something a little meta and surprisingly effective. In this episode, I walk you through exactly how I used ChatGPT to synthesize, share, and build on the feedback my team gave me. You’ll hear the full behind-the-scenes on the activity I created, why I think it’s a must-try for leaders, and how it’s already transforming the way we work together.
As you listen, think about the last time you asked your team for feedback and what you did with it. Consider what it would look like to reflect that data back to your team, and use it to shape future conversations.
This week we’re talking about culture. Not as a vague workplace buzzword, but as something you’re constantly shaping through your behavior, your feedback loops, and your presence. Whether you're a formal leader or not, you're feeding data into your system every single day. This episode is about how to do that more intentionally.
Listen with curiosity about your own patterns. What are you modeling? How are you receiving feedback? And how might those habits be shaping your team’s culture, on purpose or not?
If you want to understand your influence inside a system and take more strategic action—check out the Map Your Impact Mini Course. It's only $27 with our podcast code and is packed with value for nurse leaders and change makers.
🎧 Episode Overview:
Yep, we’re talking about dating today. Stick with me.
In this very fun (and surprisingly strategic) episode, I’m walking you through a little experiment my friends and I did this summer: we turned dating into a game. From point systems to profile prep nights to tracking rejection resilience, we gamified the entire experience. And it got me thinking about how any unsavory or tedious process, whether it’s finding love, job searching, or leading change can be made better with intentional systems design.
Gamification isn’t fluff. It’s systems thinking in disguise.
This week’s episode is part confession, part coaching. I recorded this late at night after one of the roughest work weeks I’ve had in a while. I had planned to read you my most recent System Sunday email… but as I was preparing, I realized I was living through the exact lesson I’d written about. So instead, I’m sharing the email and the messy reality of what happens when we don’t follow our own advice.
If you’ve ever found yourself skipping your reset rituals, stacking your calendar with back-to-back meetings, or drowning in mental clutter... this one's for you.
Listen with an open mind and a compassionate lens toward yourself. Pay attention to any habits or reflection rituals you’ve let go of recently and ask yourself whether they’ve been costing you more than you realized.
Yes, you read that right- we’re talking about Taylor Swift on the podcast today. Specifically: what we can learn from her about systems thinking, leadership, emotional regulation, and culture change. Whether you’re a full-blown Swiftie or just Swiftie-adjacent, this episode is a creative, thoughtful deep dive into five leadership lessons I pulled from her lyrics, interviews, and approach to impact. This one was just plain fun to make—and I hope it gets you thinking about your own leadership in new ways.
Listen with curiosity and see which of these five lessons hits home the hardest. If you’re a Swiftie, let the songs anchor the ideas for you. If not, don’t worry—this episode still packs a systems-level punch.
If you’re a high-achieving, impact-driven nurse who’s juggling ten different projects and wondering why you still feel stuck or overwhelmed, this episode is for you.
Today I’m talking about how ambition (yes, even the well-meaning kind) can quietly sabotage our impact. I’m walking you through the concept of leverage points from systems thinking and how applying this lens to your career, leadership, and daily work can help you stop spinning your wheels and start creating real change.
If you’re tired of doing all the things and ready to do the right things, let’s go.
Listen with a recent “overwhelm moment” in mind. Maybe it’s a career decision, a leadership role, or a plate that’s feeling way too full. As I talk through over-functioning, leverage points, and strategic ambition, notice what hits close to home—and what might need to shift.
💡 Map Your Impact is a 90-minute CEU-accredited course helps you assess your social power, your workplace expertise, and your best leverage points for creating meaningful change, without burning out.
🎁 Use code MYI10OFF to save $10 at checkout.
📩 Got questions or feedback? I’d love to hear from you. If something’s holding you back from joining MYI—or you want help thinking through your strategy—DM me anytime.
There’s a myth in healthcare that speaking up will get you shut down. And while it’s true that how your voice is received depends on power, politics, and identity...what I’ve seen again and again is this: You don’t get burned for speaking up. You get burned for speaking up without understanding your environment.
In this episode, I’m walking you through how to assess your position in your organization, what most workplaces actually value, and how to speak up in a way that aligns with your current level of social power and expertise. If you want to make change without constantly getting pushback, this one’s for you.
Think of a time when you tried to speak up and it didn’t land the way you wanted. As you listen, reflect on how much social power and expertise you had in that moment—and whether your approach aligned with your position. This episode can help you self-correct without self-blame.
✨ The doors to Change Maker Essentials are now closed for this cohort—but Map Your Impact is always open.
If you’re looking for a bite-sized but powerful resource that helps you lead smarter and advocate more effectively, Map Your Impact is the next best step.
Use code MYI10OFF at checkout to save $10.
If you’ve ever found yourself paralyzed by indecision, whether it’s about applying for a new job, enrolling in a course, or saying yes to a leadership opportunity—this episode is for you.
I created the Aligned Action Audit after several powerful conversations with nurses on the CME waitlist. Many of them weren’t struggling with motivation, they were struggling with decision clarity. This tool will help you assess professional opportunities (big or small) in a way that’s grounded, strategic, and personal.
By the end of this episode, you'll have a framework you can return to again and again to make aligned career decisions with more confidence and less mental spiraling.
Grab a journal or notebook and walk through the audit with a real decision you’re facing. Whether it’s CME or something else entirely, the clarity you’ll gain can help you take action with more intention and less overthinking.
✨ The doors to Change Maker Essentials are officially OPEN!
Early action pricing ends Tuesday at midnight—save $300 by enrolling early.
💸 We also created a full funding guide PDF for you to send to your employer or HR rep. Many hospitals have PD budgets or tuition coverage, and this guide helps you make the case.
This episode is a little heavier because I’m talking about something both personal and systemic: how we talk (and think) about big, broken problems like gun violence.
I’m walking you through three common myths that hold change makers back—not just around policy, but in our teams, organizations, and careers. These myths come from the broader Nine Change Myths framework I teach in Change Maker Essentials, and today we’re applying them to a real-world challenge so you can see how these patterns show up and how to think differently.
This episode blends real-world systems analysis with mindset reframing. Listen with your critical thinking cap on and consider where these myths might be showing up in your own work. If you feel stuck in your organization, this might give you language for why.
✨ The September cohort of Change Maker Essentials opens next week! Join the waitlist, to save $300 and access a free 15-minute 1:1 call with me.
📄 We also created a funding/business case PDF to help you request tuition or work-time approval from your employer. Use it—it’s effective, research-backed, and designed to advocate for you.
🚨 Not sure if CME is right for you? Take the quiz to find out!
This week’s episode is a peek behind the scenes. I’m walking you through how I’m rethinking the way we run and grow Nursing the System, especially how we launch Change Maker Essentials. It’s part systems lesson, part business reflection, and fully rooted in the idea that iteration is key to sustainability.
If you’ve ever wanted to launch something of your own, or if you’re just curious how I think about testing, prototyping, and scaling this work, come on in.
📄 Need help getting CME funded? Use the business case PDF to advocate for tuition or work-time coverage.
This episode was inspired by a DM I got from a nurse named Jessica, who asked about a topic I don’t hear discussed nearly enough: followership. We talk a lot about leadership in nursing—and for good reason—but we rarely explore what it means to be a great follower.
In this episode, I’m diving into how following is actually a critical leadership skill, what it looks like to move between leading and following in real-world changemaking, and how honoring the work that came before us makes us more effective (and less overwhelmed) systems thinkers.
Listen with an open mind about your own role in change. Whether you identify more as a “leader” or “supporter,” this episode will challenge you to think differently about what it means to contribute meaningfully to a team—and a system.
✨ Changemaker Essentials opens soon for the September cohort! If you’re interested in systems thinking, strategic leadership, and practical tools for real-world change—join the waitlist.
🎓 Want a great starting point? Take the Map Your Impact mini-course. Use code MYI10OFF for $10 off.
This episode is a little different. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t prep it. I sat down on my lunch break in the middle of a very real, very messy Tuesday and hit record. Because I was overwhelmed and I remembered that I built a tool inside Changemaker Essentials specifically for moments like this.
So I decided to walk myself through the framework I teach for navigating overwhelm and regaining clarity when your brain feels like it’s short-circuiting. I talk through the mental chatter, the reality of my workload, and what it looks like to pause, reassess, and make a plan that actually feels doable.
If you’re juggling a lot and feel like you might snap, this one’s for you.
The 4-step overwhelm activity I walked through is straight from the Change Maker Essentials curriculum. It’s a framework I return to over and over again—and if you found it helpful, you’ll love the rest of the program.
✨ Join the waitlist here: Change Maker Essentials Waitlist
Enrollment opens in September—and you’ll be the first to know when it does.
This week’s episode is inspired by a DM I received from a nursing faculty member who said, “I want to set the nursing world on fire—but I don’t know where to start.” If that resonates with you, you’re not alone.
Whether you’re a student, an educator, or a practicing nurse, if you know you want to make change but don’t yet know what your contribution will look like—this episode is for you. I’m walking you through why you don’t need a perfectly defined mission to get started, and I’m offering real, strategic steps you can take today to begin building your changemaker skillset.
Oh—and if you hear some rustling or meowing in the background, that’s Poppy the cat. She’s joining us for this episode too.
✨ Map Your Impact is my actionable mini-course designed to help you identify where you sit in your organization's change ecosystem—and exactly what behaviors to focus on to build momentum.
🎧 As a podcast listener, use code MYI10OFF to get $10 off:
If you're ready for 12 weeks of strategic skill building, professional growth, and systems-level thinking, check out Changemaker Essentials. It’s my foundational program for nurses who want to lead change with clarity and confidence. Applications open again soon!
We’re back—and not exactly how I imagined. My summer sabbatical didn’t go the way I planned. I got sick, lost energy, and had to put a lot of things on pause. But the time away gave me unexpected clarity. In this episode, I’m reflecting on a post I shared at the start of the yearand I’m revisiting what’s held true, what’s shifted, and how I’m applying (or re-learning) those lessons now.
This is a vulnerable one. If you’ve been navigating your own version of plans-gone-sideways, I hope it offers something grounding and real.
Treat this episode like a check-in—with me, and maybe with yourself too. What intentions did you set at the beginning of the year? What’s changed? What do you want the rest of 2025 to feel like?
Nurse Leader HQ is still coming—just not on the original timeline. We’re pushing the launch to December so we can build something even stronger. If you want to be the first to know when applications reopen, the link will be in the show notes soon.
🎙 We’re Taking a Summer Sabbatical (But Here’s What’s Coming)
This is a quick update to let you know what’s happening behind the scenes at Nursing the System and what’s coming your way this fall. After 6 months of showing up every week with new episodes, Taylor and I are taking a short sabbatical to rest, realign, and focus on some exciting projects we’re building for you. In this episode, I’m sharing why we’re pressing pause, what we’ll be working on this summer, and how you can stay connected while we’re on break.
☀️ We’ll be back July 21st with fresh new episodes
📌 The How to Be a Systems Thinker workshop returns in August
🧠 Changemaker Essentials Fall Cohort kicks off in September
📣 Nurse Leader HQ second cohort begins in December
(If you’re interested in NLHQ and haven’t taken CME, now’s your time!)
In this episode, I’m walking you through a pattern I’ve seen over and over again—not just in healthcare, but across all kinds of systems: the cycle of disempowerment. It’s what happens when we bring up ideas or try to push for change, and we keep hearing “no” until we eventually stop speaking up. I’ll break down why this cycle happens, how to recognize it, and what you can do to break out of it—both for yourself and the people around you.
If you’ve been feeling disengaged at work—or watching your team shut down—this episode might name something you’ve struggled to articulate. Listen with curiosity and self-compassion. You’re not broken. But there is a way forward.
If you've ever felt like you were handed the keys to a leadership role and left to figure it out on your own—this one's for you. In today’s episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on the making of Nurse Leader HQ, a brand new 6-month mentorship and mastermind for nurse leaders who are done winging it and ready to lead with clarity, strategy, and support. You’ll hear why I built this, what makes it different, and what you can expect inside this high-touch container.
Whether you're already in a formal role or you’re preparing to step into one, listen with an open mind to what kind of support you actually need—not just what you’ve been offered. Ask yourself: what would be different in your workday if you had a space to process, strategize, and grow?
🚨 Nurse Leader HQ Applications Open June 2
This is a small, high-touch cohort (only 5–7 spots). If you're even considering applying, get on the waitlist now so you can review all the details and be ready when the link goes live.