69: Your To Do List is Lying to You

69: Your To Do List is Lying to You

🎙 EPISODE OVERVIEW This one's a crossover. If you're on the System Sunday email list, it might sound familiar, I adapted this week's email into podcast form because I want podcast-only listeners to know there's a whole other arm of insights going out by email each week (and to be honest, this topic was just too relatable not to share). With my California sabbatical 10 days out, I've been grinding through a massive May to-do list—and a few nights ago I caught myself in a classic trap: crossing off all the easy, low-consequence stuff while avoiding the heavy, high-consequence things that actually matter. So I ran my own list through a filter I use with clients. This episode is me walking you through that audit in real time, with my own messy examples, so you can do it too. 🔑 IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN * The single filter question that cuts through to-do list overwhelm * How to sort tasks into high, moderate, and low consequence buckets * How to spot a low-consequence task "dressed up" as high-consequence (and the reverse) * Why we instinctively reach for low-hanging fruit when we're overloaded * How a skill you've mastered in one context (like work) has to be relearned in another (like life admin) * Why "high consequence" includes positive consequences—the big levers, not just the emergencies * The three questions to run your own list through this week 🧠 KEY IDEAS TO TAKE WITH YOU * When you're overloaded, you stop moving strategically and start moving emotionally—reaching for what feels good to cross off, not what matters * We build lists, structures, and frameworks so we don't have to run our strategic brain 24/7—but if the system itself is skewed, your intuitive brain won't catch it * High-consequence tasks feel heavier, so we avoid them—even when we know the payoff is huge * High consequence isn't just "the IRS is coming"—it's also the big lever that unlocks ease and impact when you finally pull it * Dread is data: if your list inspires dread, your prioritization system isn't matching your reality * Leadership isn't about being perfect; it's about staying continuously curious about where you can improve * The skill is holding both the big strategic questions and the Tuesday-afternoon ones—zooming in and out and adjusting your focal depth 👉 RESOURCES MENTIONED * System Sunday email list [https://view.flodesk.com/pages/6234c4bb7e7ec064e82a1e0c] * Changemaker Essentials [https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63e17025781752946ff2b401] * Nurse Leader HQ (waitlist) [https://nursingthesystem.myflodesk.com/giv18dutmb] * Instagram: @nursing.the.system [https://www.instagram.com/nursing.the.system/]

68: How to Know If Your Organization Is Worth Fighting For

🎙 EPISODE OVERVIEW My default move is never to hand you a list of everything wrong with your organization—not because I think it's fine (I know it's not), but because I want to push you past the complaint and into the question: where do I actually have leverage? But today we're shifting the lens. This episode is for the nurse or nurse leader who has already done that work—who's already been asking "where's my agency here?" and genuinely trying—and is now sitting with a harder question: should I keep putting my energy into this organization, or do I need to find one that's more fertile for change? That question deserves a direct answer. So today I'm giving you a framework: the two things that have to be true for your effort to lead somewhere, plus a set of green flags and red flags to help you read your environment and decide whether to stay or go. 🔑 IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN * The two conditions that must be true for your effort at work to actually go somewhere * Why a personal vision is the filter that makes this whole decision possible * Six green flags that signal your organization is fertile for change * Eight red flags that signal an organization is structurally or culturally resistant to it * Why landing in a resistant organization is not a personal failing * The one strategic exception where staying in a "red flag" org still makes sense * How an organization's type (startup, scale-up, established hospital) shapes its change time horizon 🧠 KEY IDEAS TO TAKE WITH YOU * Two things must be true for your effort to lead somewhere: you have a personal vision, and you're in an environment fertile for change * "Fertile for change" doesn't mean perfect or innovative—it means there's enough openness that your effort can actually move something * You don't need every green flag, but you do need some of them * One red flag isn't a verdict; look across all of leadership, not just the person you report to * Staying in a resistant org is sometimes the right strategic call—if you're deliberately extracting something (a paycheck through grad school, a skill, a line on your resume) * If you're not extracting and not moving anything, staying is still a choice—and it has a cost * Leaving a place that can't change isn't giving up; it's strategy 📣 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS If you've done the work and still can't tell whether your org isn't ready or you just haven't found the right lever, spend a couple hours with Map Your Impact. [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact] You'll come out with a clear picture of what to try—then give it 90 days and watch whether the friction eases. That process is itself a useful diagnostic for the stay-or-go question. If you've completed the Changemaker Essentials practicum and you lead people or projects, Nurse Leader HQ [https://nursingthesystem.myflodesk.com/giv18dutmb] fellowship applications open at the end of June. Get on the waitlist so you don't miss it. And if you're still working on your personal vision, Changemaker Essentials [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/change-maker-essentials] opens again in September—get on the waitlist [https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63e17025781752946ff2b401]. 📲 CALL TO ACTION * Do a real green-flag/red-flag audit of your current organization this week * If you're stuck on the decision, start with Map Your Impact [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact] and give your plan 90 days * DM me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/nursing.the.system/] and tell me where you landed—stay or go—and what tipped you * Share this episode with a nurse or nurse leader who's been agonizing over whether to leave 👉 RESOURCES MENTIONED * Map Your Impact (mini course) [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact] * Changemaker Essentials (waitlist) [https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63e17025781752946ff2b401] * Nurse Leader HQ (waitlist) [https://nursingthesystem.myflodesk.com/giv18dutmb] * Podcast episodes 14, 18, and 41 (personal vision) * Instagram: @nursing.the.system [https://www.instagram.com/nursing.the.system/]

67: Taylor Puts Me in the Hot Seat

🎙 EPISODE OVERVIEW This one's a little different. Taylor (my right-hand at NTS) is putting me in the hot seat, running a Q&A pulled from Instagram submissions and a few of her own curveballs. I'm going in blind. We get into a day in my life, what people get wrong about me, what moving abroad taught me, when I first realized I was a systems thinker, the things I'm still figuring out about running NTS while working full-time corporate, and a lot more. It's a little more personal, a little less curriculum—and if you've been around for a while, this is your chance to get to know me (and Taylor) a bit better. 📣 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS This is Taylor's first episode where she has had to edit herself and being featured—if you liked the format, let us know and we'll do more Q&A episodes. If you want to dig into Map Your Impact but aren't sure what's actually inside, there's a walkthrough video on the sales page [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact] where I break down the whole framework. And if you're a nurse leader and your organization is looking for leadership development support, this is your reminder: NTS now works with health systems directly. If there's C-level buy-in at your org for nurse leadership development, let your leadership know we exist. 📲 CALL TO ACTION * DM us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/nursing.the.system/]with questions for the next Q&A episode * If your hospital or health system could benefit from CME or NLHQ at scale, point your leadership our way * Leave a review—it's still one of the best ways more nurses find this podcast 👉 RESOURCES MENTIONED * Map Your Impact (mini course) [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact] - Podcasct Listeners get $10 off with code 'MYI10OFF' * Changemaker Essentials [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/change-maker-essentials] * Nurse Leader HQ [https://www.nursingthesystem.com/nurse-leader-hq] * Instagram: @nursing.the.system [https://www.instagram.com/nursing.the.system/]

66: Interviewing is Like Dating (Yeah, We’re Going There)

🎙 EPISODE OVERVIEW This episode is not "Five Ways to Prep for Your Interview." It's about the relational and strategic dynamics that most people completely miss because they've been conditioned to think about interviews the wrong way. The same mechanisms that have us sitting in bad dates and bad relationships are the same mechanisms that have us sitting in bad interviews and holding positions that aren't a good fit. So today, we're talking about how interviewing is like dating and what nurses and nurse leaders need to unlearn to actually find good fit on both sides of the table. 🔑 IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN * Why most people walk into interviews with a fundamental power asymmetry in their heads—and why it produces the wrong behavior * How nurses get socialized into being grateful for opportunities rather than selective about them * Why "looking for the one" perfect job is the same flawed logic as looking for a soulmate * Concrete strategies to move through interview nerves (without faking calm) * What hiring managers need to do differently if they actually want to find good fit * Why good job fit is a systems problem—and the interview is one of the earliest leverage points 🧠 KEY IDEAS TO TAKE WITH YOU * The interview is a mutual audition—you are also deciding whether this organization deserves your skills * Nerves come from framing the problem; they shrink you into a smaller, less interesting version of yourself * Silence is not the enemy in an interview—it's a signal of comfort and power in the dynamic * People who run a checklist disqualify almost-right opportunities; people who stay curious end up in the right place * You're not looking for the one perfect job; you're looking for the next right step * If you gatekeep through intimidation as an interviewer, you select for people who are good at being intimidated—not people who are good at the job * Your conditioning to "take what you're given" doesn't serve you, your team, or your patients 📣 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS If you're in the middle of a job search, Interview with Intention [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/interview] is the practical companion to this episode. It's a weekend course that walks you through how to prep without sounding rehearsed, build your core four stories, approach negotiation, and walk away with a professional portfolio you can use for every interview after. If you're a nurse leader doing the hiring, Nurse Leader HQ [https://nursingthesystem.myflodesk.com/giv18dutmb] opens for enrollment this summer (end of June, early July). I'm currently developing a "How to Interview Effectively" training for the curriculum hub, so HQ members will have access to it on demand. Get on the waitlist to be the first to know when doors open. 👉 RESOURCES MENTIONED * Interview with Intention [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/interview] * Nurse Leader HQ Waitlist [https://nursingthesystem.myflodesk.com/giv18dutmb] * Change Maker Essentials [https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63e17025781752946ff2b401] * Instagram: @nursing.the.system [https://www.instagram.com/nursing.the.system/]

65: You’re Saying Yes Too Fast

🎙 EPISODE OVERVIEW This episode is a follow-up to last week's conversation on action bias—and it's one I think a lot of nurse leaders need to hear. Today, I'm introducing a framework I've been using in my own work and with my nurse leader clients: the holding period. It's a structured pause between receiving an idea and committing to it—and it might be one of the most underrated leadership practices out there. 🔑 IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN * Why action bias is trained into nurses—and why it becomes a liability in leadership * The hidden cost of saying yes too fast (it's not just a full plate, it's a credibility problem) * What the holding period actually is, and how it's different from avoidance or delay * How to calibrate the length of your hold based on the stakes of the decision * The three diagnostic questions to run every idea through during a hold * How to communicate a hold to your team or your boss without undermining your authority 🧠 KEY IDEAS TO TAKE WITH YOU * Saying yes to everything is not responsiveness—it's reactivity dressed up as competence * Most leaders are better at starting things than sustaining them, and the real value of any change is whether it lasted * The strength of the pull you feel to commit is a signal, not a reason to skip discernment * A holding period is bound by a return date—that's what separates it from delay * Time alone doesn't do the work; what makes a hold substantive is what you do with the idea while it sits * Your own ideas have to go through the same process as everyone else's—they are not exempt * Being deliberate is not the same as being slow, and fast is not always better 📣 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Nurse Leader HQ [https://www.nursingthesystem.com/nurse-leader-hq]opens for enrollment at the end of June. It's a high-touch program with a small cohort, biweekly group meetings, monthly 1:1 calls with me, weekly async check-ins, and daily Slack access for real-time leadership issues. It's only open to Changemaker Essentials [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/change-maker-essentials]graduates who are leading people or projects. If you're earlier in this journey and haven't taken CME [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/change-maker-essentials]yet, Map Your Impact [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact] is the right starting point. It's the mini course that gets you thinking in systems and approaching your workday more strategically. 📲 CALL TO ACTION * Pick one idea sitting on your plate right now and put it through the three-question diagnostic * Share this episode with a nurse leader who you know is drowning in commitments * DM me on Instagram and tell me where action bias is showing up in your leadership * If you're a CME grad, get on the Nurse Leader HQ waitlist [https://nursingthesystem.myflodesk.com/giv18dutmb] * If you haven't taken CME [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/change-maker-essentials], check out Map Your Impact [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact]as your first step 👉 RESOURCES MENTIONED * Map Your Impact [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/map-your-impact](mini course) * Changemaker Essentials [https://nursingthesystem.thinkific.com/courses/change-maker-essentials] * Nurse Leader HQ (waitlist) [https://nursingthesystem.myflodesk.com/giv18dutmb]