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In this episode, Shelby Guevara, a Chief Nursing Officer in rural Iowa, shares her insights on leadership in healthcare, particularly in rural hospital settings. She discusses the importance of building trust and empathy among leaders, engaging frontline staff in decision-making, and the significance of understanding one's purpose in leadership. Shelby emphasizes the value of promoting from within and creating a supportive environment for leaders to grow and develop. The conversation highlights the challenges and rewards of leading in healthcare, especially in fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

• Understanding individual motivations aids in leadership development.
• Investing in developing and strengthening relationships pays dividends.
• Individual growth and process improvement, and even conflict, require a supportive environment.
• Successful continuous improvement requires ongoing auditing and accountability.
• Leaders can reflect on their purpose to stay motivated for this work.
• Leaders play a crucial role in selecting and organizing change initiatives.

We’re stepping forward in a bigger way—growing our team of rural healthcare experts, growing our capabilities by adding a strategic planning division … all of this so we can expand our ability to help even more rural hospitals and other small healthcare organizations in 2026. … We’d love to explore how we can support your organization in being the provider- and employer-of-choice so you can keep care local and margins strong! Learn more at CaptoneLeadership.net

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
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3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at info@capstoneleadership.net and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.