Katie's Leadership Lounge

In this episode of The Leadership Lounge, host Katie addresses healthcare leaders who feel stuck and overwhelmed by the pressures of their roles. She emphasises that leadership is an attitude, not a title, and encourages listeners to try something different to break free from feeling stuck, whether it's a small change like altering their breakfast or a big life change. Katie highlights the importance of noticing wins each day. She recommends books such as "Switch" by Dan and Chip Heath, "Immunity to Change," and "Atomic Habits" to aid in personal and organisational change. She shares a personal anecdote about taking a walk during home renovations to regain energy and momentum. Katie also announces she will reduce the frequency of her email updates and take more frequent podcast breaks for balance. She closes with a message of encouragement, reminding listeners that by continuing to show up, they are doing better than they realise and should keep making small changes to foster progress and hope. Links and Resources: Check out the leadership lounge webpagekatiequinney.com

Leadership isn’t about controlling everything; it’s about focusing on what matters. In this episode, I’m talking about how choosing your attitude and attending to the ‘boring magic’ can transform both your day and your team’s culture. With practical examples, it’s how pausing to check in, practising self-compassion, and noticing small wins help you step out of firefighting mode and into a more sustainable leadership state. Links and Resources 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersI don’t want to keep fire-fighting; I want to stop them from starting. Get to know your own circles of controlUnravelling the circlesYour meeting check-in

Summary In this episode of The Leadership Lounge, I discuss navigating new job opportunities and career changes for healthcare leaders. I’ve got three steps that come up in all the conversations I have: first, reassessing your core values and strengths to clarify what matters most and what unique skills you bring; second, envisioning your future self and career goals to set a meaningful direction; and third, reflecting on your career history by creating a timeline to identify key leaps, what was left behind, gained, and how these shaped your current self. Understanding these elements helps in making confident, aligned career decisions. I’m starting to bring in insights from the book "10x is easier than 2x" about setting ambitious goals. While the book is still challenging my thinking in some respects, I’m pulling the wisdom that is super relevant here. This episode is all about encouraging self-reflection and offers practical prompts and resources to support you in your career transitions.Links and Resources Uncovering your personal valuesUnderstanding and using your strengthsDaria Williamson: Strengths DeckSWOT and SOAR in practicePlaying Big by Tara Mohr10x is Easier than 2x5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leaders

Summary As healthcare leaders, you know the value of consistency, the daily showing up, the small steps, the 1% progress that adds up over time. But what if there are moments when those steady steps aren’t enough? This week I’m thinking about the tension between incremental growth and bold, transformative leaps. I’m listening to 10X is Easier than 2X and having my thinking challenged. Which is a good thingI start with ideas on managing the all-too-familiar feeling of overwhelm, while also exploring how to challenge your own thinking, test long-held beliefs, and rethink your leadership identity. The key is learning to hold contradictions: coping and challenging, comfort and courage, progress and transformation.This episode is your invitation to pause, reflect, and ask: Does your leadership right now need small steps, a big leap, or is it both?Links and Resources Help me, I’m overwhelmed5 things to help you focus, make progress and avoid overwhelm10x is Easier than 2xThe beginner’s guide to vertical developmentFrom Good to Great5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leaders

In the whirlwind of healthcare leadership, it can feel impossible to pause long enough to see the bigger picture. That’s where tools like SWOT and SOAR come in. In this episode of Katie’s Leadership Lounge, I’m looking at this classic framework, uncovering history, and showing how they can help leaders challenge assumptions, uncover blind spots, and move from firefighting to focused action.Whether you’re stepping into a new role, leading a team through change, or simply craving clarity, SWOT and SOAR offer simple but powerful ways to reflect, plan, and set direction.Links and Resources Get your SWOT and SOAR free templatesWhat is a SWOT analysis videoPersonal SWOT analysisWhat is a SWOT analysis, and why do you need oneThe origins of the SWOT analysis5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leaders

Leading in healthcare isn’t a sprint with a clear endpoint, and there are moments when you can’t do everything and be everywhere, so you get to choose. These moments are about what really matters. Being clear on what that is for you is essential if you want to lead well. In this reflective episode, I’m sharing what pausing, noticing, and being truly present can do for your leadership. You create a triple impact: supporting your wellbeing, building stronger relationships, and improving your work. I’m sharing practical tips on how you can create moments to ground and refocus yourself, all of which you can use in less than 30 seconds. This episode is your reminder that presence is a leadership strength.Links and Resources 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersSaving your mindOne thing at a timeDo you know what matters most?What game are you playing as a healthcare leader?Habits that shape you

Links and Resources 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersPersonal Values WorkbookUnderstanding Your StrengthsDaria WilliamsonInsight Are you in need of an opposite world?Build your networkWhy you need your own square squad

Starting with one idea, I found myself going in circles. With so much bad stuff going on in the world, who am I to talk about anything? Not to mention my ideas for sustainable leadership in healthcare. So I started with that, and came full circle, from Bittersweet to the Stockdale Paradox and a whole lot more in between. Links and ResourcesBittersweetThe Stockdale Paradox from Good to GreatWhat you should know about the Stockdale ParadoxThe Emotional Culture DeckReflection for healthcare leadersKindness Get the No Jedi email 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leaders

Links and Resources Gratitude when you don’t think there is time for anything moreThe Healthy Mind PlatterReflection over Rumination5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersWhat’s a catio, and are the cats OK? Meet the cats on InstagramSee what I’m sharing on LinkedIn and come and say helloWhile you’re there, check out Melissa Crawford

This episode is for anyone who has ever left a team, a job, or a role, or supported someone else through it. I’m reflecting on what it means to lead through endings, personally and professionally, with the help of Tuckman’s Adjourning stage and Bridges’ Transition Model. I share what I’ve learned (and am still learning) about letting go, closure, grief, uncertainty, and grace. It’s the wrap-up to Season 4 — and a personal pause as I take the leap and we move back to the UK. Links and Resources Sign up for the weekly email and get those bookcase videos5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leaders3-step model for times of transition (The Bridges Model)Introduction to the SCARF modelLeading through uncertainty with the SCARF modelYour team development workbook

With only two weeks till my big move, the period of Matarki and Midwinter has created a space of pause for me. So this week, I’m sharing a calm, reflective episode as this is a natural moment to reflect and take stock. Links and Resources Take this time to reflect on your values Consider your purposeGratitude when you don’t think you have time for gratitudeComplete Gratitude Workbook5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leaders

What is the type of leader you want to be, and are your habits supporting that idea?In this episode, we look at the difference between routines and habits and why that distinction matters for healthcare leaders under pressure. Drawing on practical examples and experience (including how a one-minute action can spark major change), I’m talking about how habits form the backbone of leadership identity. You'll hear how even in chaos, small, consistent actions build the leader you want to become.With reflective prompts to close, this episode is both a reset and a reframe for leaders ready to align their daily actions with the impact they want to have.

Habit 3 of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is Putting First Things First.This means moving out of always being in crisis mode and considering planning, prevention, relationship building and recreation. This is the zone of effectiveness, and to move there more often will take courage, real conversations and a personal challenge where you ask what zone you prefer working in.I ask, why does every layer of healthcare hierarchy need to be involved in the day-to-day crisis management, and if we’re all doing that, who is being effective and thinking about prevention and building the relationships and plans we need to move us out of the always-on crisis mode?In this episode, I share a story of how I leaned into something important that was not urgent, but made all the difference for my soul and mind. This story creates a bridge to The Healthy Mind Platter, a tool that reminds us of what we need to stay mentally well and that there is synergy when we integrate the tools at our disposal.Links and Resources Register for the free Healthy Mind Platter Intro session The Seven Habits of Highly Effective PeopleIs this urgent or important?How long before you pick up your phone?Sign up for the No Jedi email here5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leaders

As a slightly lost and overwhelmed charge nurse, I knew I wanted to be effective. I also knew that the skills I had learnt in the clinical setting needed to be expanded. Picking up a second-hand copy of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People got me started.Taking me from chaos to clarity and giving me confidence to make the impact I wanted to make.The 7 Habits gives you a framework to build from, wherever you are in your leadership, and it’s a set of ideas and concepts I’m leaning back into now, as I prepare for a move to the other side of the world.In this episode, you get an overview of the 7 Habits, the relevance to the healthcare setting and the practical examples of the impact I had from the ideas in the book.Links and ResourcesThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People from FranklinCoveyYour circle of controlSharpen the sawLeading through scarcityWhen a sense of scarcity takes over5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersSign up for the No Jedi Email here

SummaryJoy: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortuneJoy in work is not a flaky, soft, fluffy thing to add on when you have the time or money to do so. Joy in work should be a right for everyone who is committing themselves to the work and leadership in healthcare. It connects us with meaning and purpose, and that’s just the first course.Its measure starts with engagement and satisfaction, and then the ball is rolling. We get lower turnover, reduced burnout, improved patient experience, outcomes and safety. People are more productive and effective, and make fewer errors. All of that adds up to lower costs: Joy in work saves money.The steps you take are laid out in the IHI framework, starting with asking ‘what matters to you’. This is leadership in action, and while system and organisation backing, support and engagement make a difference, there is nothing to stop you starting a movement of joy.It’s an act of resistance, your way to raise the power of the human spirit in yourself and everyone around you. It’s a counterweight to overwhelm and disconnection, where you reclaim your own emotional and mental agency.And with that, we can positively change the way it feels to work in healthcare so that you can make a difference for those you are serving.Links and Resources The IHI Framework for Improving Joy in Work How does joy in work advance quality and safetyThe three foundations for joy in work Let’s admit we need to have joy in work5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersJoy as an act of resistanceSign up for the No Jedi Joyful email

If feeling feelings is part of being human and our emotions are data, not direction, how does the healthcare leader respond in the emotionally charged workplace that is healthcare? This episode, I’m tapping into the experts and sharing the ideas that help you manage your emotions - the wanted and the not-so-wanted in the work setting. We’re factoring in the specific healthcare challenges and realising the impact of not managing your emotions can have, for you as a leader and for those around you. These are skills, ideas and tactics I wish I had learned much earlier in my career and will enable you to establish yourself with confidence and clarity. Don’t miss your opportunity to be part of the ‘how you want to feel at work’ conversation, coming up on Friday, 23rd May. Grab your place here. Links and Resources Register for the Emotional Culture Deck Free ‘How do you want to feel at work’ sessionSign up for the No Jedi email 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersLiz and MollieHow to manage your anger at workSusan David

This episode isn’t polished (like it ever is), it’s personal. In this week’s episode, I’m sharing what many leaders are too scared to say out loud—what it’s like to be accused of bullying, and what it feels like to be on the receiving end.These real-life stories are a wake-up call to pay attention to what’s said, unsaid, and misunderstood in our teams. Bullying in healthcare leadership doesn’t always look like we expect, but its impact is always real, and it’s always personalWe get into why my favourite topics of connection, belonging and trust as so important to any work or efforts to address the culture you have at work.Pink Shirt Day is coming up, and it’s your chance to remind, refresh and re-commit to not only who you are as a leader, but how you want others to feel.Links and Resources 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersPink Shirt DayI’m being bulliedYou’ve first steps when someone says ‘I’m being bullied’Pink Shirt Day for LifeSign up for your weekly bright spot here

SummaryAs Star Wars fans celebrate May the 4th, we’re kicking off season 4, reflecting on the stories that shape us.Star Wars was a big childhood influence that I’ve carried with me into my work and my leadership. Knowing ‘I’m no Jedi but I know the force’ is about saying that I don’t have all the answers, but I know these conversations matter. And along the way, I’ll have a few things to share with you that will help, support and encourage you.We’re looking at the shadow sides we all have, and that, like overusing our strengths, we can get tripped up if we’re not aware, but you don’t need to be a hero to be a great leaderI’m also exploring the deeper truth: fear-based tight control isn’t just ineffective in healthcare—it’s exhausting. Instead, connection, purpose and curiosity are powerful antidotes.If you’ve ever felt like you should know more as a leader, this episode is a permission slip to lead with curiosity and courage instead.LinksGrab your spot at one of two workshops - how do you want to feel at work?

Wrapping up season 3 with planning ahead tips in a mini-mid-week episode because I completely forgot it was Easter.Links and Resources 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersGet started, get simplified and organise your work lifeThe digital declutter you didn’t know you neededTwo things I know about getting things doneI don’t want to keep fighting fires What’s a topic you want the lounge to explore? Let me know here. 

Healthcare is stretched, but your mindset is still a choice. This episode isn’t about pretending things aren’t tough—it’s about the power of noticing how you think, and choosing to lead with clarity and impact anyway. We explore the Abundance Mindset and how it supports stronger, more intentional leadership—even in stretched systems.Links and Resources 5 qualities of high-impact healthcare leadersGrateful In AprilGratitude FreebiesGratitude Practice when you have no timeAppreciative Feedback to Shift Your CultureThere will always be more: overcoming scarcity mindsetHabit Four: Think Win-WinWhen a sense of scarcity takes overMoving from scarcity to gratitude: your leadership choiceWhat’s a topic you want the lounge to explore, let me know here.