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New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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Most people talk about culture like it’s a project. But as Kate Bertram, former CEO and author of Creating Stickiness, reminds us, culture isn’t the initiative. It’s the result.

In this episode of Aspire For More with Erin, Kate and I dig deep into the truths leaders often overlook:

• Why culture shows up most clearly on a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of stress
• The role of shadow culture—and how unspoken norms can undermine your best intentions
• Why perks, pay bumps, and pizza parties don’t fix toxic leadership
• How to build trust as the new currency of leadership
• The difference between being “nice” and being “kind” when having tough conversations
• Why development planning creates “stickiness” and helps retain top talent

This conversation is a roadmap for senior living and healthcare leaders who want to create workplaces where people stay, thrive, and belong.

💬 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How to see culture as the result of leadership behaviors, not an HR program
• Why trust is fragile—and how to build it consistently with your team
• What courageous leadership looks like in real time (and why clarity is kindness)
• How to address “shadow culture” before it damages trust and morale
• Practical ways to use development planning as a retention strategy

Connect with Kate Bertram

• LinkedIn: Kate Bertram
  
  
• Book: Creating Stickiness

Listen Now:

If you’re a senior living leader, healthcare professional, or simply someone who cares about building trust-centered workplaces, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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Episode Summary:
Hiring in senior living is more than filling a position—it’s about protecting culture, improving retention, and attracting people who want to stay. In this episode, I sit down with Dana Weaver, CEO of Weaver Solutions, to unpack the CARE Framework—a practical, people-centered approach to interviewing that reduces turnover and raises the bar for leadership.

We explore why interviews are often overlooked, how your energy shapes the outcome, and the simple shifts leaders can make to walk into the interview room with confidence, clarity, and purpose.

If you’ve ever wondered how to attract A-players, how to ask better questions, or how to build a team that lasts, this episode is a must-listen.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why turnover starts (or stops) in the interview room
• The 4 steps of the CARE Framework: Clarity, Ask Better Questions, Reflect, Engage with Intention
• How your energy and story as a leader shape who you attract
• The cost of turnover—and why improving your interview skills could save thousands
• Practical tools to bring more confidence, alignment, and purpose into your next interview

Links & Resources:

• Learn more about Dana Weaver and the CARE Framework: weaversolutionsllc.com/care
  
  
• Register for Dana’s upcoming training webinar on September 10th

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

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Join my email list where I will lift you up, and send tactile advice weekly to support you to grow your experience in your senior living career.

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What if failure isn’t something to fear—but something to use?

In this episode of Aspire For More with Erin, we unpack one of the hardest truths of leadership: you will fail. But failure doesn’t have to define you. In fact, it can refine you.

Erin introduces the FAIL → GAIN Framework and shares personal stories, practical leadership lessons, and the mindset shifts that can transform mistakes into momentum.

You’ll learn:

• Why assumptions are the fastest way to stall leadership growth
• How to use failure as feedback instead of judgment
• The difference between being more and doing more
• How to build resilience that keeps you moving forward

If you’re an Executive Director, senior living leader, or anyone feeling the weight of mistakes and setbacks—this episode will help you see failure not as the end, but as the beginning of growth.

 Key Quote: “FAIL becomes the framework that leads to GAIN. When leaders learn to fail forward, they build the freedom to succeed.”

Here is a F.A.I.L. to G.A.I.N. Framework for you: https://aspireformore.myflodesk.com/failtogain

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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What if your greatest setback was the seed of your greatest comeback? In this episode, Erin gets real about what failure actually means—and why it's often the doorway to the growth we crave most. From leading a senior living community to 100% occupancy just months after COVID, to being fired to , Erin shares her personal story of transformation, breaking down how mistakes, when reflected on intentionally, become our most powerful leadership assets.

Erin introduces the concept of Return on Failure (R.O.F.) and explores how leaders can flip failure from shame into strategy. If you’ve ever felt like you're behind, burnt out, or bouncing back from a loss, this episode is the roadmap to rise.

🔑 Key Topics Covered:

• Why failure and success aren’t opposites—they’re on the same path
• The mindset shift that turns mistakes into momentum
• Erin’s personal story of leadership loss—and bounce-back success
• How to own your leadership narrative (especially when it’s messy)
• Using failure to build confidence, emotional intelligence, and trust
• Why perfectionism is the enemy of growth in leadership

We are enrolling new leaders to our Executive Director Launch Lab now.

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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Perception can make or break senior living. Filmmaker and storyteller Peter Murphy Lewis is here to flip the script — and put caregivers at the heart of the story.

In this episode, we unpack the making of People Worth Caring About, the groundbreaking documentary shining a light on the passion, grit, and humanity of long-term care teams. You’ll hear why authentic, imperfect storytelling connects deeper than polished marketing, and how leaders can use it to recruit, retain, and inspire.

Whether you’re a senior living leader, marketer, or simply someone who believes in the power of human connection, this episode will leave you inspired — and ready to tell your community’s story.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why caregivers should be the face of your brand
• How “Human, not Hollywood” storytelling transforms perception and trust
• The key questions to ask staff to capture meaningful stories
• Why documentaries — and long-form storytelling — are the most powerful opinion changers
• Why this matters: How authentic storytelling can boost occupancy, staff pride, and your community’s reputation

Links & Resources:

• Watch People Worth Caring About on YouTube and major smart TV platforms
• Follow Peter Murphy Lewis on LinkedIn

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

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Behind the polished lobby and the corporate metrics is a world of constant pressure, emotional resilience, and the unspoken challenges that senior living leaders face every single day.

In this powerful conversation, Erin sits down with Kent Mulkey, Founder of Elevation Coaching and Membership Sales Executive for One-on-One Sales Academy, whose viral LinkedIn posts have resonated with tens of thousands in the senior living industry. Together, they pull back the curtain on the truths no one tells you about leadership in senior living—truths that could save a career from burnout.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The difference between passion and purpose—and why getting this wrong can drain even the best leaders.
• The unspoken tension between resident needs and corporate pressures, and how to navigate it without losing yourself.
• Why personal and professional growth are the same thing—and why separating them is costing leaders their well-being.
• The mindset shift that can help EDs let go of control, build trust, and empower their teams.
• How vulnerability and sharing your story can open doors, build influence, and restore joy in leadership.

Why You Need to Hear This:

Whether you’re an Executive Director, a corporate leader, or an aspiring senior living professional, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership, success, and self-preservation in a demanding industry. Kent’s wisdom, combined with Erin’s hard-won insights, offers a roadmap to not just surviving—but thriving—in senior living leadership.

Connect with Kent:

• LinkedIn: Kent Mulkey
• One-on-One Sales Academy: oneonone.com/academy
• Elevation Coaching

Resources & Links:

• Connect with Erin: LinkedIn 
• Explore the ED Launch Lab: Schedule a call
• Leadership coaching with Aspire for More: Schedule a call

Here is a link to an article Kent referenced in this episode he wrote: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-i-even-talking-kent-mulkey/?trackingId=azfxmFVcSmK%2BM4T2I9ktTw%3D%3D

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

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Join my email list where I will lift you up, and send tactile advice weekly to support you to grow your experience in your senior living career.

Send me your feedback on this episode!

In this episode of Aspire for More with Erin, we’re diving deep into the future of dementia education and staff training with two powerhouse guests:
  Dr. Jennifer Stelter, Founder & CEO of the Dementia Connection Institute
  Natalie Kravitz, Director of Engagement Operations at Activity Connection and Dementia Connection Institute Ambassador

Together, they explore what’s broken in today’s dementia education—and how it can be transformed.

You’ll learn:

• Why most dementia training fails to create real change
• How the Dementia Connection Model combines evidence-based tools with caregiver empowerment
• The measurable ROI of strategic, proactive training (like $9K saved in 3 months!)
• How communities can shift from reactive to proactive care by investing in mindset, training, and storytelling
• What “social prescribing” means—and why it might be better than medications

Whether you're a senior living leader, caregiver, or changemaker—this episode offers real tools, real data, and real transformation.

 Plus, hear how to get certified as a Dementia Connection Specialist and receive a special 10% discount code: AL10 for the September virtual training.

 Learn more: dementiaconnectioninstitute.org

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

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Episode Summary:

What if the key to better dementia care isn’t more complexity—but more simplicity?

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Erin sits down with Allyson Schrier, founder of Zinnia TV, to discuss how personal experience, curiosity, and innovation led to a tool that's transforming dementia education. From caregiving for her husband with frontotemporal dementia to developing a video platform that helps caregivers model daily activities and reduce agitation—Allyson brings both heart and strategy.

This episode explores:

• How trauma and curiosity can birth impactful solutions
• Why traditional staff training misses the mark—and how to fix it
• How modeling and pre-framing transform caregiving outcomes
• Cultural awareness and the need to individualize training
• Zinnia TV’s power to soothe, connect, and empower

Whether you’re a senior living leader, family caregiver, or simply someone who believes in person-centered care—this episode will shift how you think about training, communication, and compassion.

🎥 Learn more about Zinnia TV: zinniatv.com

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

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In this milestone episode, Erin reflects on what it really means to show up consistently — as a podcaster, a leader, and a community builder. After 100 episodes, she’s learned that the pursuit of success is rarely about one big moment, it’s about the quiet, steady rhythm of doing the right things over and over again.

 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why 100% occupancy is a byproduct, not the goal
• What consistency in podcasting taught Erin about consistency in leadership
• How to lead your community like you’re playing the long game,  with intentional action, not reactive hustle
• The mindset shift that turns discouragement into momentum
• How to define success by what you build in yourself, not just your census

 Key Quote

“I thought 100% occupancy was the win, but it was really about becoming the kind of leader who creates it, not chases it.”

Whether you’re at the beginning of your leadership journey or stuck in the messy middle, this episode is a powerful reminder that consistency, aligned with purpose, is the compound interest of leadership.

Show up. Build trust. Stay the course. Let’s go.

New ED's Playbook to Creating and IMpactful Community Cultrue

Connect with me on LinkedIn


Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

Follow me on Instagram where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

Join my email list where I will lift you up, and send tactile advice weekly to support you to grow your experience in your senior living career.