McNally & Associates

Leadership Coaching for the Healthcare Industry

Executive & Leadership Coaching

Coaching is a conversation for change.  Change the way you view the world, approach problems, and engage with others.

Leadership is personal. Who you are fundamentally impacts how you show up as a leader and what results you generate.  I’ll help you refine and embrace your leadership style and personal brand, communicate with confidence and clarity, project leadership presence, and inspire high-performing teams.  Whether you are a Board Member or C-suite executive, high-potential or aspiring leader, I’ll help you become an exemplary leader – one known for authenticity, influence, and impact!

I work with high performing leaders to support the development of their full potential.

I use a developmental lens as a coach, meaning that I look for opportunities to create significant growth as well as to help you move forward on your goal.  I will guide you to increase your self-awareness, experiment with best practice skills and habits, and adopt transformative mindsets to make lasting and powerful shifts.

In high-performance leadership, time and space to strategize are essential. As your confidential thought partner and trusted advisor, my executive/leadership coaching offers a unique, action-oriented, and practical approach. This partnership is a sanctuary for exploration, questioning, and deep connection, fostering a rejuvenation of your leadership practice.

Coaching facilitates increased self-awareness (which is the #1 predictor of executive success) and your ability to become nimbler and more adaptive.  You will begin to create new habits which serve you and others in this new world of leadership.  You’ll learn how to drive results through your team. 

Research from the Harvard Business Review states, “Executive coaching has been found to enhance leadership effectiveness and improve the ability of leaders to navigate uncertainty, drive innovation, and build resilient organizations” (Harvard Business Review, 2021).

Benefits of coaching.

Research and experience show that working with an executive/leadership coach can be transformational.  It can increase effectiveness and positively impact personal and organizational performance.  Coaching supports succession planning to prepare next-generation leaders.

Benefits include:

  • Greater self-awareness
  • Stronger leadership presence
  • Improved strategic decision-making
  • Enhance creativity and critical thinking
  • Builds resilience and well-being
  • Skillful communication

Coaching Process. Typical Coaching Engagement.

A typical executive/leadership coaching engagement follows an intentional sequence.  It may involve several elements delivered over 6-12 months, depending on the leader, feedback from the sponsors, and organizational context. 

  • An agreement outlining mutual expectations and confidentiality parameters that define our coach-client relationship. 
  • A coaching discovery session where we’ll explore your values, goals, and definition of success.  We’ll talk about your talents, skills, and strengths and what lights you up at work.
  • A custom coaching program that will guide our work together with clear outcomes to ensure that you stay on-track and excited about what’s ahead. Most of the real “work” is done by you, between sessions, through a combination of focused self-observation, meaningful exercises, and custom-designed practices to build the specific skills or competencies you’re developing. 
  • Self-assessments and results analysis to understand your personality and strengths.
  • A 360-degree assessment to increase self-awareness and shape development goals. I use The Leadership Circle Profile™ (TLCP), a 360-degree leadership survey that defines observable competencies that lead to success. The Leadership Circle Profile is a true breakthrough among 360-degree assessments as it is the first to connect a well-researched battery of competencies with the underlying motivations and habits of thought. It reveals the relationship between patterns of action and the internal assumptions that drive behavior. It immediately helps a leader learn what is working, what is not, and why!
  • In addition, I use the WE-I Profile™ to measure relational awareness under stress.
  • Coaching sessions to support you to maintain your momentum towards your goals. We’ll explore what you are learning, address obstacles, and deepen your insights.  Generally, we’ll meet twice per month for 60-90 minutes by Zoom, phone, or in-person. 
  • We will co-create a custom development plan to give you a road map to move forward even after our work together is done.

Sample Executive & Leadership Coaching Engagements

  • Coached hospitality CEO/Board Chair to assume health system CEO role.
  • Coached CMO & CNO to develop a dyad partnership.
  • Coached new CNO in academic health system to assess organizational culture, develop team & implement successful change initiatives. Based on results achieved, hired to coach new CMO in same organization. 
  • Coached philanthropy executive to develop leadership brand, build team, & manage stakeholder relationships.
  • Coached high-potential nursing director to gain executive leadership skills to be named successor for retiring CNO.

To request a complimentary introductory session, please contact me.

What people are saying about their experiences and results:

I am immensely grateful for my longstanding partnership with Kimberly.  Over the years, she has skillfully provided me the strategic space and insightful guidance to navigate complex challenges.  Kimberly’s extensive healthcare knowledge and leadership experience consistently fosters robust dialogue that has helped broaden my perspective, stretched my critical thinking, and helped me to challenge assumptions. She encourages and inspires me to be the best leader I can be, which has been transformative along my professional journey.  I credit her support and guidance for giving me the tools to make the transition from Board Chair at AtlantiCare to CEO.  CEO can be a lonely position at times and my conversations with Kimberly offer more than coaching, but also a confidante who provides a mental respite on a difficult day.  I am confident that anyone who has the pleasure to work with Kimberly will be pleased with the results.

Michael Charlton, MHL

CEO

Working with Kimberly was the best decision I have made in my career. I realized when I stepped into my first executive leadership role that a coach would be beneficial. Little did I know that our work would accelerate my leadership and enable me to navigate the current healthcare waters successfully. I highly recommend Kimberly for ANYONE looking to advance in executive leadership today.

Liz McNamara, MN, RN

CNO, VP Patient Care Services
Simply put, Kimberly McNally gave me the keys to success around the executive table. I had always been successful in my leadership roles at various stages in my career, but I had worked with people like me – hard working academic physicians who had a particular view of life. When I entered the executive arena, the landscape became foreign. She helped me ‘up’ my skills – from a better understanding of myself, to navigating strategic work with various stakeholders, to incorporating the relevant business aspects of the job, to communicating effectively, and creating partnerships that delivered remarkable results. I reflect on my time with Kimberly, and I know that I navigated the pandemic and several other crises at a much higher level because of her. Kimberly McNally is the executive coach you want – effective in ferreting out one’s areas in need of improvement, strong but kind in promoting changes in your outcomes, Kimberly was the real deal. I would recommend her, hands down, to anyone in need of executive coaching in healthcare.

Suzanne Watnick, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Kimberly has been an incredible coach and mentor over the years both formally and informally through the retreats, books and resources she has created for healthcare leaders. Her style is comfortable and engaging, and at just the right pace. She has a variety of tools/inventories that assist in examining strength and opportunities that provide insights Invaluable to ongoing growth and development. I highly recommend her for any leader ready to accelerate their skills to be more highly effective at leading teams, creating alignment, and improving overall effectiveness of your team or organization.

Theresa Braungardt, MN, RN, FACHE

Senior VP, Patient Care Services/CNO

I just completed an 18 month experience of executive coaching with Kimberly McNally. I negotiated an executive coach as part of my package when I decided to take a new role in a new state. I interviewed several excellent coaches but chose Kimberly because of her experience in healthcare specifically with leaders in academic medical centers but also her experience working with leaders in academia /university settings. Kimberly also has a strong depth of knowledge and practical experience serving on a variety of boards. Throughout the coaching experience Kimberly actively engaged with me to set goals and assist me to assess how effective my leadership style and approaches were. She worked with me on enhancing my self-knowledge of strengths -and how to leverage-and my blind spots /areas of opportunity -and how to enhance. Kimberly has a very easy manner and takes genuine interest in her clients. I was fortunate to also bring Kimberly on site to meet with key stakeholders and to lead work with my team on emotional intelligence. Both of these experiences were incredibly valuable. Kimberly is a true professional, she has context that is critical as she is a nurse and her years of coaching experience have created great depth and breadth to what she brings to clients. Kimberly has co-authored a book on executive coaching for nurse executives that is an amazing resource. If you are seeking executive coaching, I highly recommend Kimberly McNally!

Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Connelly Foundation Chief Nurse Executive Officer/ Executive Vice President

For anyone looking to sharpen their talents and increase their capacity to impact the change we so desperately need in healthcare – I highly recommend Kimberly! I do not take it lightly to say that working with Kimberly changed my life and the trajectory of my career. She helped me through one of the hardest years in my career by simultaneously challenging me to think differently while encouraging me to access my strengths to find the answers I needed to the problems I was facing. The combination of Kimberly’s style and expertise was ideal for making this truly a transformational experience rather than a transactional exercise. Healthcare needs extraordinary leaders and investing in growing and developing ourselves and our leaders is no longer a plus measure or a “nice to have”. Its critical and our industry is counting on it for success! Kimberly, I am grateful for you and for all you do to serve healthcare and the leaders who are fortunate enough to engage in this work with you!

Adrienne McDougal, RN, MN, NEA-BC

Director of Nursing, Critical Care

Kimberly has an uncanny knack for targeting areas for growth, even those that may not be obvious to the client. She takes the time to discover key issues and work with the client to develop skills that will spearhead growth and development. Kimberly’s use of diagnostics, combined with a firm, yet honest touch, provide client’s with the tools needed to truly see themselves and find ways to be “the best they can be”. During my 6 months working with Kimberly I learned not only how to be a better leader, but also a better mentor. The safe space she created provided a priceless opportunity to look at all the possibilities for the future. Under her guidance and expertise I was able to develop new skills and insights that will enable me to continue growing not just in my career, but personally as well.

Bonnie Thompson

Senior Operations Partner
Kimberly is effective, challenging and doesn’t ever let me rest in the most positive, inspirational manner. She listens, gives me space and then tells it to me in a clear and useful manner. She is trusting, knowledgeable, observant and respectful. Thank you for pushing me to my limits and helping me discover my true potential and value. I have benefited and the company I work for has benefited.

Lee Mills McGrath, MHA

Executive Vice President, Health Care Services

I initially connected with Kimberly at a crucial point during the infancy of my leadership career when my span went from a small team of 5 to greater than 300 diverse and specialized caregivers in a short period of time. Kimberly was an incredible resource through a number of critical issues and confrontations and, more importantly, helped me develop the skills needed to build a resilient highly functioning team of clinical leaders. She was an inspirational thought partner in strategic planning and organizational development. With Kimberly’s coaching I was able to pursue greater executive roles confidently and successfully. Kimberly has a warm approach with a wholistic perspective. She invites her clients into a safe space for exploration of one’s own values, innate strengths, and unique contributions – enlightenments which have been invaluable that I will always cherish in my professional and personal journey.

Kimberly Ackerman, MN, MBA, RN

VP, Operations

Kimberly was my executive coach during my time as the COO for Adventist Health Kern County. She helped me better understand my own personality quirks, my leadership strengths, and develop a robust plan for addressing the areas leadership in which I was less skilled. she was a great sounding board and a resource when I ran I to roadblocks during this role. I would recommend her as an excellent coach for leaders at any level during their career.

Misty Cantrell, PhD, MSN, MBA, RN, NEA-BC

Chief Nursing Officer

Kimberly encourages and inspires you to become the best leader you can be.

Kimberly is a coach with an amazing ability to connect, encourage, and push you to places you hadn’t considered going or being as a leader. As a coach Kimberly increased my emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and ability to self-reflect. Her style was encouraging, positive and supportive, while also pushing you to self-reflect for opportunities in each situation. She was very skilled at teaching me how to acknowledge, reflect and celebrate my successes.

She makes herself readily available as a coach and is highly reliable. She has a tremendous knowledge around organization function, team dynamics, and resources that help assess leadership and teams.

Kimberly taught me how to breathe, and take time to reflect, she taught me how to be balanced and the importance of self-care as a leader. She taught me how to navigate organization politics, and team dynamics.

Kimberly excels at helping you identify self-growth opportunities and applying strategies for success. She is empathic, respectful, and most of all she is “fun” to work with. I look forward to every call, and interaction with Kimberly, as after each session I had energy, motivation and desire to succeed. She challenged me and supported me. She pushes me to take risks that I wouldn’t otherwise consider. I highly recommend Kimberly and have had the opportunity to work with her as my coach through transitions into other organizations over the past several years, and I am looking forward to continuing my growth and coaching with Kimberly.

Cindy Davis, MBA, RN

CNO, multiple organizations
My coaching experience with Kimberly was extremely valuable and rewarding. Kimberly helped me shape and identify my personal objectives and align them with our organizational goals. Kimberly provided valuable insight and feedback as she guided me to dig deep and identify where I was getting in my own way.

Kimberly’s insightful questions helped me gain self-awareness, recognizing progress over perfection. Her guidance has increased my ability to lead with executive presence and effectively communicate with influence in my large, very matrixed organization.

The role of the executive coach is invaluable when staying focused on big goals. Kimberly kept me on track, while remaining flexible to my busy professional and personal schedule! I have grown exponentially during my time with Kimberly as my Coach, and I feel very fortunate to have her sound, reasoned and steady leadership cheering me on!

Kara Klement

Director of Corporate Governance

It was a profound experience to have been coached by Kimberly McNally. She has the ability to inspire you to make the changes in your life to be the best you. She was exceptionally proficient in coaching me to be able to increase my Self-Awareness and Self Knowledge which has enabled me to fast track my development as an Executive. Kimberly’s coaching style has helped me to have broader perspective of understanding the problems and the unpredictable challenges as an executive. She has guided me in identifying the sustainable practices I need in my life and in my workplace to ensure long-term success. She taught me how to be unstuck from the dilemmas of the daily work and transfer the results for the organization. Kimberly has inspired me to make the behavioral changes needed to transform myself to increase the results and performance of myself, staff and organization. Kimberly is an amazing coach and being coached by her is a great investment.

Anne Blunden, PhD, RN

Executive Director of Nursing, King Abdullah Bin Adbulaziz University

Kimberly served as an executive coach for me for 6 months this year. She guided me in establishing goals for our sessions as well as for my career. As the director of a leadership development program, I found our sessions to be thought provoking and the insights gained have helped to shape my approach in developing future projects. I plan to work with Kimberly again and highly recommend her as a coach.

Ann O’Doherty, EdD

Director, Danforth Educational Leadership Program