1. Why should leaders be open about their flaws? | 2025 | Harvard Business Review
(Available in MN only, email library@allina.com for a copy outside of MN)
For decades, leaders have prioritized projecting strength and perfection, but research suggests that authenticity is more effective in building trust and engagement. Studies show that when leaders voluntarily disclose relatable weaknesses, they are perceived as more genuine without sacrificing competence or warmth. This shift from "Image Is Everything" to "Authenticity Is King" fosters stronger connections, enhances cooperation, and ultimately benefits both leaders and their teams.

2. CDC's funding for state and local public health: How much and where does it go? | 2025 | KFF
Federal funding has long been a major source of support for public health efforts across the United States, estimated to account for more than half of state and local health department budgets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the primary public health agency of the federal government, provides much of this funding, helping to support public health systems and activities across the country. However, CDC and other federal health agencies are being targeted by the Trump administration for downsizing and budget cuts, reductions that could impact the amount of funding available for public health. To better understand how much CDC funding is provided to state and local jurisdictions, we analyzed FY 2023 funding obligation data (see Methods and Appendix 1).

3. A leader’s guide to transforming care delivery and improving nurse well-being | 2025 | Nurse Leader
This article highlights learnings from an Institute for Healthcare Improvement project funded by the Johnson & Johnson Foundation exploring innovative nurse-led acute care delivery solutions to promote a thriving workforce. Pilot sites tested virtual care delivery, innovative technologies, and creative use of resources. Results included a 7.78% increase in “I love my job,” time savings and reduced burden for staff, feelings of enhanced support, creation of new opportunities for nurses, increased staff engagement, and improved patient outcomes. A related toolkit offers strategic insights and resources to assist organizations in redesigning care delivery to support the nursing workforce.

4. What sets inspirational leaders apart? | 2025 | Harvard Business Review
(Available in MN only, email library@allina.com for a copy outside of MN)
When people around the world are asked to reflect on both inspiring leaders and infuriating leaders, they point to three factors that distinguish the former from the latter. Inspiring leaders are visionary: They see the big picture and offer an optimistic, meaningful view of the future. This fulfills the human need for meaning and purpose. Inspiring leaders are exemplars of desired behavior: They are calm and courageous protectors, authentically passionate, extremely competent but also humble. This fulfills the human need for protection and passion. Finally, inspiring leaders are great mentors: They empower, encourage, and are empathetic toward others, but they also challenge others to be the best version of themselves. This fulfills the human need for support and status. Each of us can develop the capacity to be inspiring in all three dimensions of leadership. For example, to get into a visionary state of mind, use strategies that broaden your perspective: reflecting on your core values, considering your past and the winding road that led to your present, and vividly imagining the future. To prime the exemplar pump, think of a time when you had power, when you felt secure and in control, when you were your best self. And to shift into a mentor state of mind, work to learn from those below you in the hierarchy.

5. Pathways to improved quality and safety | 2025 | Healthcare Executive
(Available in MN only, email library@allina.com for a copy outside of MN)
The article focuses on how healthcare organizations are advancing quality and safety through innovative initiatives that produce measurable outcomes. Topics include Northwestern Medicine's interdisciplinary quality improvement training program (AQSI), Kaiser Permanente Northern California's predictive Advance Alert Monitor system, and the Veterans Health Administration's use of the Surgical Pause to improve care for frail surgical patients.

6. Screening and intervention to prevent violence against health professionals from hospitalized patients: A pilot study | 2024 | Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Health care providers, particularly nursing staff, are at risk of physical or emotional abuse from patients. This abuse has been associated with increased use of physical and pharmacological restraints on patients, poor patient outcomes, high staff turnover, and reduced job satisfaction.

Multimedia

1. In search of work-life balance | 2025 | The Pulse (podcast)
Our jobs can provide us with a sense of identity, connection, and meaning — but they can also feel like a never-ending to-do list that gets in the way of actually living. On this episode, we explore work-life balance: When do we find meaning in our careers, and when do we not? And how do we set healthy boundaries between our jobs and our personal lives?

2. What all leaders can learn from Taylor Swift | 2025 | HBR IdeaCast (podcast)
Whether you’re a fan of Taylor Swift or not, no one can deny her success as both a music star and businesswoman. Her career has been a masterclass in everything from customer connection to innovation, decision-making to digital adaption, offering lessons for people in any industry. HBR senior editor Kevin Evers investigated Swift’s rise and evolution for his new book, There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, and found interesting patterns. He explains how she’s kept audiences loyal, why her Eras tour was so successful, and the vision and “productive paranoia” that have kept her on top. Evers also wrote the HBR article “The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift.”