“At Their Most Vulnerable”
This week I’m speaking to hundreds of healthcare leaders about one of their toughest challenges: the rise of workplace violence. One leader said something that stayed with me — that the people attacking their workers are often “at their most vulnerable.”
That phrase reframed everything. The harm isn’t just cruelty — it’s pain turned outward. I’ve seen it firsthand at the homeless hospice where I volunteer. When an angry new resident lashed out, the leader didn’t react with punishment; she sat beside him, set boundaries, and showed compassion. He stayed. Weeks later, he was calm, kind, and grateful.
Leadership is holding that same tension — protecting your people while still seeing the humanity in those who are struggling. True accountability is not harshness or avoidance. It’s clarity delivered with heart. It’s saying, “You can go if you want, but we want you to stay. You just can’t act like this.”
That is what culture looks like at its strongest — grace and firmness, side by side.
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