First Things First.  This is a timeless business principle I learned early in my career.  When dealing with angry patients or customers consider these steps to guide you. First: Take care of you. Professionals who live balanced lives, control stress and worry and develop their leadership through emotional intelligence will have a higher success rate

Last month kicked off a 12 part series of Qualities of a Leader and the focus was on self-awareness.  This month’s topic is respect.  Sing with me…..“R E S P E C T, find out what it means to me.” Aretha Franklin made this statement popular in her hit song of 1967.  Curious, what does

Self-awareness is a leader's ability to accurately recognize their own emotions, strengths, limitations, and values. Today, during session one of the Professional Development Leadership Series I shared a story about a time I was working early in my career as a consultant to help an office manager embrace computer scheduling instead of using a paper

What does it mean to achieve Next Level Leadership? It’s a commitment to lifelong learning and “consistently possesses certain fundamental qualities and skills.  Here are 12 essential leadership traits” according to the Center for Creative Leadership. The full list is below and knowing your strengths as a professional and areas for improvement are key to

Do you want to level up your leadership by improving accountability in your team? A success tip: Be the leader that holds yourself accountable first.  Admit when you are wrong. Gain insight from your team. Operate in a collaborative spirit. Look for the good and celebrate.  Coach and guide when things go sideways. Always be

Encouragement for 2026 from COACH MKay for Next Level Performance: 1-Follow your purpose 2-Identify your core values to align with work and life 3-Focus on 3 words to map out your year.   This is the content I shared last week during a presentation for the MGMA chapter meeting in Greensboro NC and I was

How do you show appreciation to your team? Do you want to learn something that will make a meaningful impact at your next group meeting? Dale Carnegie is the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People and this is the number two best selling book of all time. One of his 30 human

That’s what happened this past Sunday morning when I found out about the mass shooting at American Fish Company in our coastal community of Southport, NC where residents and visitors enjoy spectacular sunsets, cold beverages and local bands. I was stunned. I immediately thought of my friend who bartends regularly on the weekends and is

ONE WORD: Never underestimate the power of one word. Several years ago, while attending a North Carolina Leadership Retreat for the United Methodist Conference a book was introduced called It by Craig Groeschel. One of the major concepts was to identify one word to serve as a guide for church programs and I decided to

I spoke with a healthcare leader recently who said, “I don’t know how to help grow their confidence.” Confidence is something that can develop over time, like a plant that needs the right environment and nourishment to thrive. Ultimately, you have to believe in yourself before others will believe in you. Confidence has been a