EPISODE · Aug 14, 2023 · 47 MIN
Hiring Family in Business: Alisa Applewhite on Emotional Leadership Mistakes
from My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership · host Mark Graban
Episode page with links, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #223 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Alisa Applewhite. She is the CEO of Top of the Line Healthcare Staffing, TOTLHS Heart of Gold Inc., and The Real Alisa Applewhite Consulting. Alisa describes herself as a Nurse, CEO, Wife, Mom, Child of God, Friend, Daughter, and Sister. In this episode, Alisa shares her favorite mistake story about hiring 18 family members based on emotion, paying them too much. How did she discover performance issues and her mistake? Did she have to let some of them go? We also discuss a number of issues in healthcare, including proper staffing levels, “travel” nurse staffing, and the mistake of not listening to the patient's family about how they're doing. Questions and Topics: Working at the bed when Covid started? What was it like? The story of starting the staffing company? How Covid affected her mentally The business need for a staffing agency like hers? Staffing level mistakes in healthcare? What’s standard vs. what’s sufficient?? Determining the “true” ratios for staffing?? What’s standard vs. what’s practical? The dynamics where nurses are increasingly wanting to be a “traveler” nurse? More to it than just higher pay? “Stigma” of travel nurses can be unfair? Videos — 5 nursing mistakes Mistake to NOT listen to patient’s family about how the patient is doing? A time your listening saved a patient’s life? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support
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What this episode covers
Alisa Applewhite, nurse and CEO of Top of the Line Healthcare Staffing, shares her favorite mistake: hiring 18 family members based on emotion rather than structure or skill. The decision led to chaos, overpaying, and painful leadership lessons—but also growth. In this episode, Alisa and Mark discuss emotional decision making, family dynamics in business, restructuring after mistakes, and leadership lessons shaped by frontline nursing during COVID. The conversation also explores staffing challenges in healthcare, listening to patients’ families, and advocating for compassion alongside accountability.
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Hiring Family in Business: Alisa Applewhite on Emotional Leadership Mistakes
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