Summary
What does it really take to build a healthy workforce culture — and keep it strong years later?
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jenny Cordo, Director of Medical-Surgical Services & Dialysis and a transformational nurse leader at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, to talk about what a healthy work culture looks like in practice and how her team has sustained theirs long after implementing our system. Jenny shares the behind-the-scenes story of how her team won the 2019 STTI Clinical Healthy Work Environment Award, the importance of empowering nurses at every level, and how shifting from “shared governance” to “professional governance” helped hardwire cultural excellence.
From actionable leadership insights to sustaining engagement through Magnet designations and beyond, this episode is filled with practical strategies — and a powerful reminder to be the nurse you want to work with.
Tune in to learn how to hardwire healthy habits, inspire professional ownership, and lead culture change that actually lasts.
About Jenny Cordo:
Dr. Jenny Cordo, DNP, RN, NE-BC, is a board-certified nurse executive with nearly two decades of experience at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. She currently serves as Director of Clinical Operations and is a nationally recognized leader in Magnet excellence, nursing innovation, and professional governance. Jenny co-led the hospital to multiple Magnet designations and was instrumental in winning the 2019 STTI Clinical Healthy Work Environment Award. She’s known for empowering frontline teams, sustaining culture change, and mentoring nurse leaders to own their practice and lead from where they are.
Things You’ll Learn
- How Nicklaus Children’s built and sustained a healthy work culture
- What makes professional governance more powerful than shared governance
- The 3-pronged framework that sparked system-wide transformation
- How to build engagement by empowering your nurses
- Why “being the nurse you want to work with” changes everything
- What to do if your governance structure needs a reboot
Resources
- Connect with and follow Jenny Cordo on LinkedIn
- Follow Nicklaus Children’s Health System on LinkedIn and visit their website!
- Email Jenny directly here!
- Check out Dan Martell’s book, “Buy Back Your Time” here.
- Check out the 33 Scripts Guide to Address Disruptive Behaviour here!
- Buy Renee Thompon’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here!
- Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here.
- Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here!
- If you want to enter a question for Renee to answer on the podcast, please email [email protected].
Disclosure: The host may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products we link to. As an Amazon Associate, Coffee Break earns from qualifying purchases.
