Culture Change RX

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In this episode of Culture Change RX, Sue Tetzlaff explores how certain strategic decisions become turning points that forever change the future of an organization. She shares how courageous leaders move beyond incremental improvements to make trajectory-changing moves—decisions that blend clarity, courage, and execution. Listeners will gain insight into how Capstone Leadership partners with healthcare organizations to help them align strategy and execution, ensuring that their next big move doesn’t just shape results—it builds a legacy.

• Every organization has pivotal moments that change everything.
• Pivotal moves can include new buildings, key hires, or strategic decisions.
• In the history of an organization, those trajectory changing moves can be differentiated from those efforts that target incremental improvements or growth.
• Healthcare organizations can make the shift that creates long-term culture change.
• Contemplation of future trajectory changes is crucial for healthcare executives.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

CEO Ben Davis provides his fifth quarterly update on the happenings of Glencoe Regional Health’s Experience Initiative which is targeted at improving access to care and elevating the patient, resident, and employee experiences.

• Leaders aim to leave a lasting impact on their organizations.
• Community involvement evolves as healthcare leaders and employees learn new skills as part of the Experience Initiative.
• Leadership development fosters a culture of accountability.
• Measuring success involves both objective metrics and subjective feelings.
• Adaptability is key in facing external challenges in healthcare.
• Rural healthcare can provide quality care that rivals larger organizations.
• Collaboration across departments improves overall organizational effectiveness.

In this fifth of a series of planned quarterly episodes on Culture Change RX, host Sue engages with Ben Davis, President and CEO of Glencoe Regional Health, to discuss the strategy execution processes within his organization. Ben emphasizes the importance of community impact, leadership development, and overcoming challenges in the healthcare sector. The conversation highlights the significance of employee engagement and the need for adaptability in the face of external challenges. Ben shares insights on measuring success and the future of rural healthcare, advocating for a focus on quality care and community involvement.

Missed earlier episodes in this series with CEO Ben Davis?
Listen to Part 1

Listen to Part 2

Listen to Part 3

Listen to Part 4

Subscribe and stay tuned for more insights from leaders driving meaningful change.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this episode of Culture Change RX, Sue Tetzlaff discusses the essential elements of developing high-performing teams in healthcare. She emphasizes that high performance is a continuous journey rather than a destination. She highlights the importance of distinguishing between behavior, performance, and contributions. Sue outlines leadership practices that foster team growth, the significance of feedback, and the need for leaders to engage in meaningful conversations with their employees. The episode concludes with a call to action for leaders to embrace these practices to elevate their teams and organizations ongoingly.

• Developing high-performing teams is a continual pursuit.
• Each team member should always strive to improve their behavior, performance, and contributions.
• Feedback is essential for individual and team growth.
• Recognizing positive behaviors encourages their repetition.
• Leaders must set clear expectations for behavior, performance, and contributions.
• Effective feedback can be both informal and formal.
• Engaging in conversations about performance fosters improvement.
• Leaders play a crucial role in helping their employees and teams improve and succeed.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this episode of Culture Change RX, Sue Tetzlaff and Natasha Todorovic-Cowan explore the multifaceted topic of change management. Natasha shares her journey into the field, emphasizing the importance of understanding human nature and change readiness. They discuss the untapped potential within organizations, the significance of creating structures for employee engagement, and the necessity of customization in change initiatives. The conversation also touches on hard truths about change management, the importance of measuring culture, and the need for diverse perspectives in teams to foster innovation. Natasha concludes with insights on designing change that aligns with people's motivations, highlighting the critical role of leadership in facilitating successful transformations.

• Organizations have untapped potential that needs to be recognized and unleashed.
• Creating structures for engagement is essential for valuable employee contributions.
• Customization in change management is crucial for success.
• Understanding change readiness can help prevent conflicts in teams.
• Designing change to align with people's motivations leads to better outcomes.

Connect with Natasha Todorovic-Cowan - (LinkedIn)

Grab a copy of Making Change Work: https://books.spiraldynamics.org/makingchangework

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this episode of Culture Change RX, Capstone’s Cofounder & CEO Sue Tetzlaff unpacks a common pattern in healthcare organizations: one leader or department excelling while the rest of the hospital struggles to keep up. These bright spots, while encouraging, are often fragile and siloed. Sue contrasts this episodic excellence with the power of systemic success—when every leader, every team, and every department is aligned and performing at high levels.

Episodic excellence feels good in the moment but is fragile and unsustainable.

• Relying on a single standout leader or department creates imbalance and single points of failure.
• True culture change happens when success spreads across all leaders, departments, and teams.
• Tactics that can move organizations from isolated wins to systemic success:
  1. Adopt a unified leadership model.
  2. Create structures to spread best practices.
  3. Hard-wire accountability to organization-wide outcomes.
• Systemic success compounds: engagement boosts patient experience, which improves financial performance.

She shares the root causes of isolated excellence, the risks it creates, and practical strategies for leaders to spread success organization-wide. From adopting a common leadership model to creating accountability structures that reinforce shared goals, Sue highlights how to build resilience, agility, and lasting results.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this Culture Byte episode of Culture Change RX, Capstone’s Cofounder & CEO Sue Tetzlaff shares a Story That Inspires about the power of goal-setting. Sue explains how setting and achieving goals not only helps organizations reach targets but also elevates the behavior, performance, and contributions of individuals and teams. By engaging employees in goal-setting, leaders create a pathway to cultural transformation—turning “this is how we do things around here” into “this is how we do things better.” Through a story of a community hospital’s housekeeping department, Sue illustrates how goals can shift culture, drive results, and create meaningful change across the organization.

• Goal-setting isn’t just about achieving more—it elevates behaviors and performance.
• Engaging employees in the process of setting and achieving goals boosts ownership and contribution.
• Department-level goals can ripple outward, impacting the entire organization.
• Culture shifts when “this is how we do things” becomes “this is how we do things better.”
• Real stories, like that of a housekeeping department, prove that goal-setting drives culture change and results.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this Culture Byte episode of Culture Change RX, Capstone’s Cofounder & CEO Sue Tetzlaff shares a Story That Inspires about one of the simplest yet most effective leadership tactics: writing thank you notes. She emphasizes that appreciation should not be a one-off initiative but a regular, heartfelt practice. Leaders who consistently recognize employees connect their efforts to organizational impact, fostering motivation and loyalty. This short episode serves as both an encouragement and a practical reminder for leaders to embed recognition into their daily leadership routines.

• Recognition isn’t a program—it’s a consistent practice.
• Thank you notes are a simple, quick, and meaningful way to show appreciation.
• Consistency and specificity make recognition more impactful.
• Recognition bridges the gap between effort and impact, helping employees see the difference they make.
• Leaders who make recognition a daily habit strengthen trust, morale, and organizational culture.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this Culture Byte episode of Culture Change RX, Sue Tetzlaff engages in conversation with Halle Pardun (full time hospital Marketing Director and part time Capstone Coach) about the importance of community mindedness in community hospitals. They discuss the role of an employee-driven community team, employee volunteerism, intentional marketing strategies, and their Quest for Excellence initiative aimed at improving and growing healthcare services. Halle shares insights on how to effectively engage employees and the community, the significance of word-of-mouth campaigns, and plans for furthering their community outreach.

• Engaging employees leads to fresh ideas for strengthening community relations.
• Intentional marketing strategies are crucial for effective outreach.
• Word of mouth is a powerful tool for community awareness of existing and new services.
• Collaboration across departments enhances community efforts.
• New employee orientation is key to introducing community initiatives and opportunities for employees to contribute.
• Community teams can significantly impact hospital reputation.
• Healthcare marketing is about connecting with the community. 

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this Culture Byte episode of Culture Change RX, Capstone’s Cofounder & CEO Sue Tetzlaff discusses the critical importance of service excellence in healthcare. She emphasizes that exceptional patient experiences should be safe, satisfying, and consistent across all interactions. Drawing parallels with the hospitality industry, particularly the Grand Hotel, she illustrates how high standards can be achieved through organization-wide commitment, employee engagement and leadership. The conversation also addresses the challenges of variation in service delivery and the need for a standard-dependent culture to ensure that every patient can count on receiving exceptional care.

• Healthcare should be counted on for exceptional care and service.
• Service excellence can't be achieved through the efforts of a few standout employees.
• High standards must be established and embraced organization-wide.
• Employee-driven efforts are key to achieving service excellence.
• Variation in service delivery affects the patient experience and the organization’s reputation.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.

Send us a Message

In this episode of Culture Change Rx, Sue Tetzlaff engaged in conversation with Michelle Franklin, CEO of Sullivan County Community Hospital in Sullivan, Indiana, to discuss the importance of mission, vision, and values in the context of a community hospital. They explore how these elements evolve over time, particularly in response to organizational growth and community needs. Michelle shares insights from her experience as CEO, emphasizing the significance of engaging stakeholders in the process and ensuring that the mission and vision are actively lived and communicated within the organization and the community.

• While an organization’s mission, vision, and values don’t change often, they do need to evolve with the organization.
• Engaging stakeholders in the revision process is crucial.
• Behavior standards should be updated alongside mission, vision, and values changes.
• Organizational identity should reflect current capabilities and future aspirations.
• Regular reflection on mission and vision can drive organizational excellence.

The Virtual Patient Experience Boot Camp is designed for healthcare leaders and team members involved in patient experience improvement, communication, quality, culture, and organizational change, including:

• CEOs, COOs, and CNOs
• Patient experience leaders and improvement team members
• Nursing and department directors and s

Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Get practical tips, frameworks, and leadership tools delivered right to your inbox—plus exclusive content you won’t find on the podcast.
📩 Subscribe here

3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at [email protected] and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.