Leading with Hearts and Minds

Jeremie Kubicek has spent many years working in leadership and is co-author, with Steve Cockram, of  The 5 Voices  — a model for understanding how each of us is heard and how we hear other people. He talks to Marie Kilduff about what it takes to lead when the ground keeps moving: the difference between being in the work, on the work and above it; why so many people are promoted for being good at t...

To date, the NCLC podcast series Leading with Hearts and Minds has given listeners worldwide the chance to hear personal and professional leadership experiences from people working in healthcare and other sectors. This episode argues that professional leadership begins earlier than many assume — not in a first management role, but in undergraduate education, as students learn to lead themselves, l...

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda became the second hospital in Ireland to achieve Pathway to Excellence — the international accreditation recognising nursing excellence, workplace culture, and shared decision-making. In this episode, Director of Nursing Adrian Cleary and Assistant Director of Nursing Áine Davern describe how the pursuit of Pathway helped their teams move beyond the fatigue...

St James's Hospital became the first hospital in Ireland to achieve Pathway to Excellence — an international accreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Centre that recognises a genuinely positive working environment for nurses. This episode is the story of how a nursing team got it over the line, in their own words. Marie Kilduff talks to some of the people behind the success — from the...

Petrina Donnelly has spent thirty-three years in nursing, from a hospital ward in Craigavon to one of Ireland's new Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery posts. Ask how she got there, and the answer is rarely a plan — it's a series of people who encouraged her to take the next step before she felt ready. She talks to Marie Kilduff about the mentors who shaped her, what it's actually like to l...

What does it take to nurse someone whose privacy is gone, whose environment magnifies every symptom, and whose relationship with the health system has, until now, been broken or absent? Enda Kelly has spent more than three decades finding out. Enda is National Nurse Manager for Operations with the Irish Prison Service, a Fellow of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at the Royal College of Surgeo...

What does it take to provide therapy to the people who provide care? Marie Kilduff speaks with Morgan Lucey , Head of National Employee Assistance Services in the HSE's Workplace Health and Wellbeing Unit, about the service that supports more than 100,000 healthcare staff across Ireland. IF YOU NEED SUPPORT. For HSE staff: Phone (national line): 0818 327 327 Email (referrals): eap.referral@hse.ie...

In this episode, Marie Kilduff speaks with Adam Harris, CEO of As I Am, Ireland's national autism charity. Adam is autistic himself, and that lived experience shapes everything he does — from founding As I Am over twelve years ago to leading the organisation's work across healthcare, employment, education and community inclusion. Adam speaks candidly about growing up autistic in Ireland in the 199...

Two careers. And a conversation recorded at exactly the right moment. Finn Gallagher's career began in a locked ward in Letterkenny in 1953. He retired as Chief Nursing Officer, having helped reshape mental health services in Ireland from the ground up. His son Paul followed in his footsteps into nursing and is currently the Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery — a role he will leave later t...

Inclusive Leadership Is a Leadership Practice, Not a Programme, with Síle Walsh What is the difference between organisational diversity and social diversity, and why does that distinction matter in the workplace? In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds , Margaret Williams speaks with inclusive leadership expert and author Síle Walsh about inclusion as a leadership responsibility rather th...

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds , Marie Kilduff speaks with Professor Michael West about what compassionate leadership really means in healthcare and why it matters now more than ever. Drawing on decades of research, Professor West explains how leadership behaviour shapes organisational culture, staff wellbeing, and patient outcomes. He challenges the idea that compassion is soft...

Shaping Culture on Purpose Joe Ryan on leadership, accountability, and building trust in the HSE In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds , Joe Ryan , National Director of Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management at the Health Service Executive , speaks with Marie Kilduff about leadership, organisational culture, and psychological safety in healthcare. Episode Highlights Leadership...

In this episode of Leading with Hearts & Minds , Marie Kilduff speaks with Dr Pádraic Dunne, Senior Lecturer at the RCSI Centre for Positive Health Sciences and Principal Investigator of the Digital Health Research Group. Pádraic’s background spans immunology, psychotherapy, lifestyle medicine, and health coaching, giving him a unique perspective on what supports human wellbeing in a world tha...

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds , Marie Kilduff speaks with Amy Carroll , Assistant Director of Midwifery at St. Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny. Marie begins by asking Amy how she first entered midwifery, opening a conversation about resilience, mentorship, and the reality of learning under pressure. She shares insights from her time as a Spark Innovation Fellow , including how design...

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Prof Áine Carroll joins Marie Kilduff to reflect on how her mother’s final months shaped her understanding of what integrated healthcare should truly be. Despite decades of professional leadership in integrated care, Áine found herself navigating a fragmented system that left her feeling powerless as a daughter advocating for her mum. That experience i...

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds , Marie Kilduff speaks with Caroline O’Regan , a respected leader in healthcare education and organisational development who has contributed significantly to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE). Caroline reflects on more than three decades of experience in leadership development—charting how the foc...

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds , Marie Kilduff speaks with Claire Zangerle , CEO of the American Organisation for Nursing Leadership and CEO of the American Hospital Association . Claire describes her unconventional path into leadership, from a second career in nursing to leading two of the most influential healthcare organisations in the United States. She reflects on the lesson...

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds , we speak with Dr. Chris Turner, Emergency Medicine Consultant and co-founder of Civility Saves Lives . Chris shares how repeated experiences in governance made him realise that patient safety is not only about protocols and checklists, but also about how we treat each other. He explains how incivility hijacks the brain, reduces performance, and ca...

Episode 1 – Season 2 Marie Kilduff in Conversation with Michael Comyn Season 2 of Leading with Hearts & Minds opens with a deeply personal and practical conversation. Marie Kilduff talks with host Michael Comyn about his approach to emotional intelligence, leadership, and philosophy – and how these three strands come together to shape the way leaders think and act in healthcare. Michael shares...

In our final NCLC Leading with Hearts and Minds Podcast episode for Season One, Ms Bonnie Barnes, Co-founder of the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation, and Dr Deb Zimmerman, CEO, DAISY Foundation, provide an insightful overview of the role and function of the organisation. Bonnie (and her husband Mark) founded DAISY, having lost her stepson, Patrick, to Immune Thrombocytopenia...

In this episode, Nursing and Midwifery Challenge Programme participant Rachel Kennedy shares her experiences of how this programme helped her develop her leadership skills and knowledge. Rachel reflects on how she progressed through her Nursing career and used every opportunity for learning, growth and development. Rachel offers key messages for junior colleagues to help them overcome challenges t...

Blathnaid O'Gorman, CNM2, Vulnerable Person’s Team, offers an inspiring insight into leading a service tailored to the needs of the individual as she shares her experience working in the area of inclusive health. Blaithnaid emphasises the importance of valuing everyone as a human being, regardless of how they present themselves or their social circumstances. By using the skills and knowledge she a...

In this podcast episode, Rachel Kenna, Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health, provides a comprehensive overview of the many aspects of her role and how she uses her expertise and experience to lead and influence policy at a national strategic level. In sharing her professional journey, Rachel provides an insight into how her experiences, role models and personal determination led her to beco...

In this episode, Ms Mary Brosnan, Director of Midwifery and Nursing, The National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, reflects on some of the leadership successes and challenges from her career as a nurse and midwife. Mary reflects on the influences that inspired her to become a midwife and how, as a Director, she led through some of the challenges she faced as policy, society and workforce changes...

On this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds, Vandana Iqbal shares her inspiring journey from her upbringing in India, where the influence of her parents and grandparents instilled core values of respect, compassion, and humanity. Vandana discusses her nursing education, her courageous decision to move to Ireland, and how her diverse experiences have shaped her into the compassionate leader sh...