Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh

Less Noise. More Voice: Lisa Coleman’s Road to the Boardroom

• Grant McGaugh CEO 5 STAR BDM • Season 3 • Episode 35

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A blood-soaked pillow and a 14-year-old's helplessness forever shaped Lisa Coleman's approach to healthcare. Now Director of Critical Care at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Lisa shares the pivotal moment that ignited her nursing career and the values that guide her leadership journey.

Stepping into the Follow Brand Podcast, Lisa reveals the leadership challenges she navigated during the COVID-19 pandemic while managing a 30-bed critical care unit. With constantly changing protocols and diminishing staff resources, she created a culture of resilience that enabled her team to provide exceptional patient care despite unprecedented obstacles. This crisis management experience solidified her identity as a strategic leader who balances operational excellence with genuine empathy.

Lisa's leadership philosophy—"less noise, more voice"—empowers team members while ensuring clear communication in high-stakes environments. Through mentorship, she's transformed struggling nurses into confident practitioners, witnessing their growth over decades. This commitment to developing others has inspired her to create a formal mentorship program at Jackson Health System, designed to cultivate the next generation of nursing executives. The podcast explores how Lisa's Brand Blueprint Strategy assessment revealed she's already performing at the Chief Nursing Officer level, validating her capabilities and providing a framework for continued growth. For aspiring healthcare leaders, Lisa offers powerful guidance: "Be courageous to step out and take on those roles that you may not feel you're meant to be in." Subscribe to hear how trauma-informed leadership is reshaping healthcare from bedside to boardroom.

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!

Speaker 1:

Welcome everyone to the Follow Brand Podcast. This is your host, Grant McGaugh. We're going to take it all the way back to Jackson Health System because I love the people at Jackson Health System. They've been so gracious to me and have opportunity to work with a lot of strategic leaders, people that are on that upward trajectory, and I got a chance to talk to a number of them, and one of them is Lisa Coleman, and you've got to know Lisa Coleman. She has been a wonderful person to talk to and I'm going to allow her to give you a little sneak peek into what she's about and what makes her tick in today's healthcare realm. So, Lisa, you'd like to introduce yourself.

Speaker 2:

Hi, I'm Lisa Coleman. I am the director here at Jackson Memorial Hospital. I run the critical care units here. I've been in nursing about 23 years now and in leadership 12 years. So I am here to share who I am and the knowledge that you have shared with me about myself, very happy and excited about talking about those things.

Speaker 1:

I'm very happy and excited about talking about those things. I'm very excited for you because you share with me so many different things over the last four to six weeks that I find very, very impactful, and it'll be impactful for the audience and I want you to talk to. This is one of the stories that really caught my attention and that you described a moment from your teenage years that forever changed your path. I want you to tell us how that experience crystallized your commitment to become a nurse and eventually, a system level leader.

Speaker 2:

Well, at the age of 14, my father was hospitalized due to kidney failure. He was relying on the ventilator. He was on dialysis and during this challenging time, I witnessed the incredible health care providers they were giving my father so much attention and care, tirelessly working to support him. One moment that stayed with me was when this is me at 14. I noticed that he had blood trickling down his nose, staying in the pillow, and for some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off of that and I wanted someone to address it. No one did.

Speaker 2:

In that moment, I felt the deep desire to care for him. I wanted to provide the comfort, the care, the cleaning of him, but I was paralyzed because I didn't know about all those tools and machines that he was, he was on. I did not know what they were at the time. That ignited a passion within me. I vowed at that time that I wanted to become a nurse. I wanted to ensure that every patient received the care that I wanted to give my father from that moment. This ensured me that, when I became a nurse, that I would never neglect my patient in their most vulnerable moments. So that's why I'm here today.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's a great reason and that carried forth from your teenage years to where you are right now, and during that time you had to go through what a lot of nurses had to go through. Which a lot of nurses had to go through is to lead during COVID-19. The COVID-19 crisis, which required both emotional strength and operational precision. I want to understand what did you learn about yourself during that particular crisis and how does it shape the leader that you are today?

Speaker 2:

My leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic was a defining moment in my career. At the time, I managed a 30-bed intermediate critical care unit here at Rider. During the peak time of the crisis, we did implement a lot of innovative protocols to ensure our patient was safe, as well as our staff, because we didn't know what was coming at us. We didn't know how to handle and how to deal with it, so everything was ever changing. I stood in and I fostered a culture of teamwork resilience among my staff nurses, which was crucial during that time because, not only facing that COVID crisis, nurses were leaving to pursue opportunities to make more money, so we had to deal with what we had to deal with with the resources we had. I learned to adopt, adapt rapidly to changing guidelines and protocols, ensuring that my team remained focused on the cause of patient care and motivated during these high stressful times, the emotional fatigue that I provided support to my my staff.

Speaker 1:

That is so important. I mean, that's crisis, that's that's learning, trial by fire, and you've got to keep the cool head, keep together. There's other people that are around because it affected you. It's not like you know. The patient had uh, potentially a COVID-19 or something like that that it was an infectious disease. Yourself, your staff yeah, there's a lot of intensity and concern, uh, and intention that that's in the in the room. Everything that you're doing. You got through that and I remember Jackson also being one of the trials and bringing in the vaccine and all the type of thing. I mean that was a real live movie. That, unfortunately, was not real life and that's what was happening.

Speaker 1:

We got through it we got through it and when you look back at that, you had it like I don't see how, why, but how we did it. But we did, yeah, how you did what you did in that crisis, in those moments that affected the entire world. You know that wasn't just a Jackson problem. You know it was not where. And so that brings me to talking about yourself. We went through this program together your assessment, your skills gap analysis, the brand blueprint strategy, your skills gap analysis, the brand blueprint strategy. There was a tagline that I was able to discern from you, or uncover and reveal, and that tagline was less noise, more voice I want from your lens. What does that mean to you in practice and how do you apply it when navigating, as we just talked about, high stakes?

Speaker 2:

leadership rooms or hospital board meetings. Less noise, more voice emphasized to me the importance of clear communication and empowering my team members. I don't have to be the loudest in the group. I strive to create an environment where every voice is heard, especially in high pressure situations. This approach has guided my leadership style, allowing me to force an open dialogue and collaboration with my team, my peers, my colleagues, so that we can have essentially effective patient care, and that's the bottom line effective patient care.

Speaker 1:

That's important. Effective patient care and that's the bottom line. Effective patient care, that's important. Effective patient care. I want to see that. Put that tagline out on your email address so they're like, yeah, she's somebody that you know is clear, she has clarity in what she's doing and no nonsense type of person, but she can communicate clearly. I love that about you and what you're able to articulate to me and then bring that forth Now. I know that a lot of the nurses they look at you and they sometimes they see themselves right that's happened and then someone you know that they admire or they may aspire to come. Now you are centered in a nurse-centered culture and you have operational care excellence that kind of comes through. I want you to help us understand what does mentorship mean to you and why is it such a central pillar of your leadership.

Speaker 2:

The impact of being a mentor. I have one story that captures my impact as a mentor story that captures my impact as a mentor. It involves precepting a new nurse in the critical care who struggled with herself with self-doubt and emotional challenges. I have provided her tough love, encouragement, positive reinforcement, emphasizing the importance of compassion and integrity in nursing. Over 10 years, I've witnessed this nurse transition from being a thriving bedside nurse to now an advanced nurse practitioner. She demonstrates long-term effectiveness of being mentored by a nurse that cares. So mentorship is very important, Very, very important.

Speaker 1:

I've heard that theme over and over again. I've interviewed a lot of different people over 200, 300 people along those lines and what you just said is echoed throughout that mentorship and how you impact another person's life, whether you realize it or not, that they're looking up to you, they're following in your footsteps, they're paying attention. I think that definitely illuminates you as a caregiver and what you do on a everyday basis to frame that mindset. I think that's so important. I wanna now talk about the brand blueprint strategy. That's something we went through together. I wanna understand what was your biggest aha moment in realizing that you were already performing at the level of a chief nursing officer.

Speaker 2:

Engaging in the brand strategy process has changed my perception of myself as an executive. It has helped me understand the significance of my leadership style and the impact that I have on the organization, the culture and our mission here. I now see myself as a key player in our organization in shaping an innovative health care system with us all here, in shaping an innovative healthcare system with us all here. I did not know that of myself when you guys compared me to others that are in similar positions like under me, above me and to see that what I'm doing right now is compatible and comparable to executives that's been in the business for 10, 15 years as a leader in those positions. So I'm honored and at times I'm humbled too, because it's it says a lot and I appreciate the program that it brought that to surface and I understand that I am capable of being an executive as I already am, but moving it forward.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you have the bravitas of what it takes to lead at that level. You know these types of frameworks. They don't lie right. They're showing you the exact truth and you're compared on a national level in what that looks like, with the skill sets. You're bringing to the table, the tools that you already have and, more importantly, the mindset that you have. Now I want to understand, now you've gone through everything, how are you building your executive visibility and thought leadership today, and what does strategic positioning look like for Nerds Executive in 2025, right now, and what do you feel is beyond?

Speaker 2:

So branding is important. So I will take what I've learned and brand myself and put myself on a platform where I am seen. I can bring attention to my organization. I can build what we have in this organization strategically by aligning with the organization and aligning with others outside the organization networking, learning, a constant learning and a constant way of taking from others and bringing and building your own, or even expanding myself and building my brand, as you have taught me.

Speaker 1:

It's so important that brand visibility. When I talk about brand, I'm talking about the person, about who you are, how you bring to the table every day. A lot of times the promotion goes to someone else and sometimes we don't even understand why, and most of the time because people, whether we realize or not, they like to work with people that they like, they know, they trust. Well, we've got to have a narrative around that right, Especially key stakeholders, people that you're going to be working with or who can help us achieve our goals. And when they see that in you and you've made it visible to them, you then have an advantage over others who have not. And our studies have told us that most executives today, nursing executives alike they just they keep themselves in a smaller circle of reach and because of that, when opportunities come around, their name is not called.

Speaker 1:

I think in your case, you are now saying hey, I'm Lisa Coleman, this is what I'm bringing to the table. Talk to me, Bring me in, because I can share the knowledge that you need to achieve your goals. Now, as we look at that and we look at healthcare, leadership that we know often demands a balancing empathy. You've got to have empathy, but you've also got to have accountability. My question to you would be how do you create psychological safety for your teams while still driving high performance and patient outcomes?

Speaker 2:

My balance are operational excellence with empathy, by prioritizing the well-being of my staff and fostering a supportive environment. My experience in the critical care have taught me that compassion is just as important as efficiency. I mean I encourage my team to continue to contribute ideas and foster a collaborative environment which leads to continuous improvements in patient care. So that's the bottom line, Always ending with patient care.

Speaker 1:

And so you've got the right focus and you understand topside and then at the bedside, what it takes to be effective and what leads to those outcomes Going back to even your origin story, that you make it a point to make sure that every patient is cared for, that if somebody walks into that room, that they're not going to be taken back by what they may experience. And you work in life and death situations on a daily basis and we have to make decisions that could be detrimental or it could be a positive outcome, depending on what that looks like. And you've got to teach others how to look at these things, because you can't do it all by yourself. Now I know that you've begun to architect a mentorship pipeline and you're starting to explore some national speaking engagements. I want to understand what drives this next phase of your brand and what kind of legacy do you hope to leave.

Speaker 2:

My brand. I want to develop a mentorship program here at Jackson because if it was not for a mentor, I wouldn't be in the position I am in right now. So something that's a step up of what I am currently doing right now is to develop a mentorship program where I pair up those that need to be mentored with professionals that's already in the game and, you know, be the mentor of that program, so that we can continue to support each other, uplift each other and build more nurse executives from ground up.

Speaker 1:

That is so important. Thank you for doing that, because that's what's needed in today's world of sharing the knowledge and experience and expertise that you have. And, along those lines, because there's so many people that are in the nursing world, they may not understand exactly what it takes. So I want to ask what do you feel the biggest misconceptions about what it takes to be a chief nursing officer, and what advice would you give those who are just starting their leadership journey?

Speaker 2:

The biggest advice I would. The biggest misconception is that it's an easy job. It is not. It is a very grueling position to be in. The advice I would give is to put forth your best effort and put heart in everything that you do and you know. Never doubt yourself and be courageous to step out and take on those roles that you may not feel like you're meant to be in.

Speaker 1:

So resilience. Resilience is so important because there's so much resistance in the world. You're going to come across that, but then you have to have enough faith in yourself, enough energy enough to say you know what. I can see that light forward. I see where we can go beyond it and understand how to pivot and get to the goals that you've set for yourself. I see that in you. Now here's the question, and I'm sure there are others now listening to this podcast and I'm asking this question on their behalf, and what I mean by that is, if a board member or a system leader is listening right now, today, what do you want them to know about? Who Lisa Coleman is as an executive change agent and a voice for the future of healthcare?

Speaker 2:

I would want them to know that I will be an executive who values compassion, collaboration, operational excellence. My goal is to create a positive impact on both staff patient care and I am committed to lead a team with integrity and purpose. That's what I would want them to know about me.

Speaker 1:

I think that's so important to understand Now when we walk through our Brave Brand Blueprint Strategy. You got your own SWOT analysis. You understand yourself on another level. I want you to help us understand. You know you're before state. Now you're after state. If someone else were to take up this program, what do you think they're going to gain?

Speaker 2:

from it, they're going to gain a lot of knowledge about themselves that they did not know. I know I am a nurse leader. I am now understanding that I am a nurse executive. The title is a nurse director at this point, but walking away from this, I feel like now I can walk and feel like I am a nurse executive. I will claim the role right now. You will learn a lot about yourself. The assessment was an absolute amazing tool that I appreciate. I'm going to be looking at it all the time to you know. Keep ensuring myself that I am the nurse executive that I want to be. So I would recommend this branding program for everyone, because it will bring something out of you that you've never known you had.

Speaker 1:

Oh man, I love that statement and I love how you just said about re-utilizing the brand blueprint strategy. It's not a one off, it's something you can look at as a strategic manuscript, if I would say. You can say am I on track? So three months from now, where am I at? And if you're not where you think you need to be, the manuscript will tell you if you're off center, right your GPS to the next level.

Speaker 1:

I know because of the work that I've done that if you follow the plan it's a 90 percent I would say percentile rate that you will achieve your goal. I mean, if you do everything that is there, you will get to your desired state, what I call the north star, your north star. You were one of the only people in my entire pro I've never seen this before and I think I shared this with you as we went through the skills gap analysis portion that you had like a perfect scoring at each of the five levels we were looking at and like that's never happened before. So I had to go back and do it like two or three times to make sure like, all right, something's not right, but because in your area of expertise you were scoring higher than was expected for your station, and what you told me and what you told yourself again, is that you're ready for that next level. You are a chief nursing executive and it's just a matter of performing at that level and making yourself more visible and accessible to those leaders that actually need your expertise in the room and I'll say this on record because I have so much respect for what you do.

Speaker 1:

I still can't imagine, because I see it on the news. It comes on. You know people going to Jackson Trauma Center. They're going to the Rider Trauma Center. This is where a lot of trauma you know that's happened in the community ends up on your watch, right, and then you go through that process of trying to heal them, trying to save their life, do all those things. I still don't understand how you do that every day and do it at your level. Just give us a little bit more insight. What does it take to actually operate for you on a day-to-day basis?

Speaker 2:

Well, I believe that being a trauma-informed leader as well as a critical care leader is crucial more than ever during these times in healthcare, acknowledging the emotional and psychological challenges faced by our staff, the patients promoting we have to always promote a culture of understanding and support, and that's essential for effective care and that's essential for me, as a leader, to continue to lead.

Speaker 1:

That is wonderful. And where did you get? Did you go to Miami Dade College for your nursing?

Speaker 2:

Actually I did. My initial career was I graduated from Florida State University and I majored in dietetics. I was a dietitian for the health department here in Miami. But again, my passion at first was always nursing. So I tried that out and then I changed. I went to school, I graduated from Miami-Dade with an ASN my associate in nursing and from there I developed to where I am right now. But I did start out my nursing education at Miami-Dade College. I did