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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, lead others, and shape their organisation's culture. Marie Kilduff met with Professor Fintan Sheeran, Professor of Nursing and Founding Head of the School at Maynooth University, for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from that educational argument into something more personal: Sheeran's own account of a late diagnosis, and what it took to be seen and understood. Support Information: HSE Alcohol and Drugs Helpline Freephone 1800 459 459, Monday to Friday from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, or email [email protected]. The helpline offers support, information, guidance and referral on anything related to drugs and alcohol.  Visit www.drugs .ie for information on drugs, harm reduction and information on support services.  Your Mental Health Freephone 1800 111 888 for information on services and how to access them. Visit www.yourmentalhealth.ie for information about when to get support, organisations providing mental health services and specialist services available.

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 of the pandemic and build something lasting — from a council structure Adrian calls "a greenhouse for new ideas" to a wellbeing programme that has changed the face of staff support at Lourdes. They talk about what it takes to lift nursing leadership out of the daily operational role and back to the strategic responsibilities their colleagues need from them. Four members of the nursing team — Cathy Clarke, Bijily Joseph, Nena Evalaroza, and Aoife O'Neil — share their own experiences of the journey, from the ward councils that gave frontline nurses a voice, to the day the hospital received the news. Credits: Adrian Cleary, Director of Nursing, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Áine Davern, Assistant Director of Nursing, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Cathy Clarke, RANP Bijily Joseph, CNM2 Nena Evalaroza, CNM2 Aoife O'Neil, Clinical Skills Facilitator Interviewer: Marie Kilduff, National Clinical Leadership Centre for Nursing and Midwifery

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 Director of Nursing to the staff nurses on the wards — about what Pathway actually asks of a hospital, why the staff survey was the hardest part, and how link-nurse meetings, ward competitions and even a viral video helped bring more than 2,000 nurses with them. It's a candid conversation about culture, voice and what respect looks like in daily practice — including the moments when the effort dipped, and the day, right before St Patrick's weekend, when they finally heard the result. In this episode: What Pathway to Excellence is, and the six standards behind itThe submission, and the staff survey that had to clear a high barMaking it stick: link nurses, competitions and the ward trolleysThe honest part — when momentum dipped, and what carried them throughThe nursing councils, and what an equal voice looks like in practiceHearing the result, and what changes once you have it Featuring from St James's Hospital: Sharon Slattery, Director of NursingCharlotte Stuart, Assistant Director of NursingMarian Broderick, CNM 3Anne-Marie McKenna, CNM 2Ajin Ragavan Selvi, CNM 2Maria Begley, Staff Nurse Credits: Presented by Marie Kilduff Guests: Sharon Slattery, Charlotte Stuart, Marian Broderick, Anne-Marie McKenna, Ajin Ragavan Selvi and Maria Begley, St James's Hospital

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 lead a brand-new region with no map and no handover, her vision for a genuinely integrated health service, and how a senior leader keeps going without running herself down, with a returning contribution from her former colleague Paul Gallagher, recorded before his retirement.

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 Surgeons in Ireland, and is currently a year into a PhD on the intersection of law, ethics, and prison regulation. In this conversation, he speaks to Marie Kilduff about what prison nursing actually involves — clinically, ethically, and personally — and about the leadership practice he's built over a career.

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): [email protected] Online resource hub: www.inspiresupporthub.org/HSE-EAPandME Website: www.hse.ie/EAPandME Credits: Leading with Hearts and Minds is hosted by Marie Kilduff.

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 1990s, navigating a system that had little awareness of autism, and the isolation he felt as a teenager before finding his voice as a writer and advocate. From that starting point, he built one of Ireland's most respected disability organisations — one that places autistic people at the centre of everything it does. In this episode, Adam and Marie discuss: What it means to move beyond awareness towards genuine acceptance of autistic peopleWhy autism should be understood as an accessibility issue, not a deficitThe barriers autistic people face when accessing healthcare — and how relatively simple changes can make a significant differenceThe policy landscape shaping autism support in Ireland includes the Autism Innovation Strategy and the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People.The Same Chance Report — As I Am's annual state of the community report on autistic life in Ireland Contact As I Am https://asiam.ie 17-21 Temple Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, A94 DN40 If you would prefer to contact As I Am by phone to discuss your query, please call (01) 445 3203 Leading with Hearts and Minds is a podcast from the National Clinical Leadership Centre for Nursing and Midwifery.

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 this year. In this episode, Marie Kilduff sits down with both of them — together, for the first time on the podcast. What emerges is rarer than a career retrospective. It's a conversation about the decisions that define a life — recorded while Paul is still in post, and Finn can still remember what it felt like to be where his son is now. A young nurse choosing a ward over the Gardaí, guided by a single question from an older man he had rarely met. A father stepping back from his son's first day so the son could find his own footing. A wife's four words that settled a move that felt like emigrating. Paul returns to Leading with Hearts and Minds, having previously shared his own story. This time, Finn is in the room — and what passes between them says as much as anything either man puts into words. For anyone in nursing or healthcare leadership, this episode carries something quietly useful: what influence looks like when it's patient, what mentorship looks like when it asks rather than tells, and what it means to hand something on. In this episode: Why Finn nearly joined the Gardaí — and what stopped himPaul's memory of his father at work, and what it planted in himThe decision to move from Donegal to Limerick — and the conversation that made it possibleWhat both men would say to the next generation of nursing leaders Subscribe to Leading with Hearts and Minds wherever you get your podcasts.

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 than a checklist or initiative. The conversation begins by distinguishing between organisational diversity and social diversity, before exploring inclusive leadership as a core leadership capability that supports performance, psychological safety, and better outcomes for people and organisations. Drawing on research, professional practice, and lived experience, Síle discusses purpose, co-creation, reasonable accommodation, and why focusing on needs rather than labels leads to more effective workplaces, particularly in complex healthcare environments.

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 or optional, arguing instead that it requires courage, accountability, and a willingness to address difficult issues such as chronic workload, toxic behaviours, and system pressures. The conversation explores the ABC conditions for compassion: human needs, autonomy, belonging, and competence, and how creating the right conditions for staff leads to innovation, psychological safety, and better care. Professor West also reflects on self-compassion, presence, teamwork, and the simple leadership question that can transform cultures: How can I help? This episode offers practical insight for clinicians, managers, and system leaders seeking to build compassionate cultures that support staff and improve patient care. Professor Michael West CBE   Professor of Organisational Psychology, Lancaster University Management School Senior Visiting Fellow, The King’s Fund   Book: West, M. A. (2021). Compassionate Leadership: Sustaining Wisdom, Humanity and Presence in Health and Social Care, published by Swirling Leaf Press.

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 and organisational culture in the HSEHow healthcare culture has changed over timeCompassionate leadership and accountability in practicePsychological safety, staff wellbeing, and patient safetyThe impact of workplace incivility on performanceInformal leadership and culture change in healthcare teamsMeasuring culture through staff experience and patient feedback Guest: Joe Ryan, National Director of Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management, Health Service Executive

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 that is moving faster than ever. Pádraic explains what positive health science entails, breaking it down into positive psychology, lifestyle medicine, and health psychology. He discusses why lasting change is challenging, why quick fixes rarely work, and why awareness, compassion, acceptance, and vulnerability are essential foundations for both personal and professional well-being. This thoughtful conversation offers practical insight for anyone seeking to support their own well-being or that of their teams in a high-pressure healthcare environment. Guest: Dr Pádraic Dunne, Senior Lecturer, RCSI Centre for Positive Health Sciences Host: Marie Kilduff, National Clinical Leadership Centre for Nursing & Midwifery

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 thinking, curiosity, and psychological safety can transform services and support teams. The episode also explores Amy’s award-winning work on the MUMA Postnatal Hub, her approach to conflict and communication, and her advice for midwives who want to grow into leadership roles. A concise, uplifting conversation about compassion, innovation, and leading with authenticity.

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 intensified her long-standing commitment to person-centred, coordinated care and exposed the gaps that so many families still face. Together, Marie Kilduff and Prof Carroll explore: What happens when care isn’t joined up, even for those who understand the systemThe barriers that continue to block progress, from siloed services to poor communication and digital limitationsWhy leadership in a complex adaptive system must evolveThe role of data, partnership, and meaningful relationships in driving improvementHow the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) supports global learning through the Nine PillarsWhy hope, action, and collective responsibility are central to making real change.

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 focus in healthcare has shifted from hierarchical management to a more inclusive, collaborative, and compassionate approach that values communication, empathy, and systems thinking. They discuss: How leadership in healthcare has evolved over the decadesThe impact of Caroline’s work with RCSI on leadership educationPreparing emerging leaders for complexity and changeWhy compassion and clarity remain at the heart of effective leadership Presented by Marie Kilduff. Produced by the National Clinical Leadership Centre for Nursing and Midwifery.