Building a Culture of Safety Through Leadership Coaching and Development
The challenge
New York Medical Center has long been recognized for excellence in patient care. Yet, like many healthcare systems under constant pressure, safety performance was plateauing.
The issue wasn’t a lack of knowledge or policy—it was how leaders were communicating, coaching, and promoting purpose-driven conversations in high-stakes environments.
The most critical departments were feeling the stretch. And while everyone understood quality and safety are a priority, they often competed with the urgency of patient flow, staffing shortages, and regulatory demands.
Leaders described it clearly, “We have the safety protocols. What we need is a new mindset to tackle relentless change.”
Behind every incident was a pattern of hesitation—staff not speaking up, mid-level leaders avoiding difficult feedback, and teams operating in silos. The question was not what to do but how to lead differently.
The goal
New York Medical Center partnered with Mind Market to strengthen its culture of safety by elevating their leadership team’s potential. Together, we set out to:
The executives wanted more than compliance—they wanted to reinforce daily connections, where safety is not enforced but lived daily.
The approach
Mind Market introduced its People-Centered Change Leadership Program, customized to the unique rhythm of a healthcare environment. The design blended evidence-based data with customized team conversations, problem solving circles, one on one coaching, and 360-feedback modalities.
1. 360° Change Leadership
We began with a deep discovery process and a monthly 360 assessment for department heads. The culture assessment and team feedback revealed a recurring theme: leaders are technically strong and emotionally stretched. They needed just in time tools to be present, grounded, and to communicate with empathy and curiosity so as to elevate psychological safety during uncertainty.
2. Individual Coaching & Reflection
Sixty (60) leaders were paired with a Mind Market executive coach for 3 months using short, focused sessions. The goal was to help them learn about their strengths, influence and liabilities. They learned how to pause, reflect, and lead with calm presence. These private sessions, led by credentialed coaches, addressed the modalities of change, the impact of stress wellbeing and leadership influence. They learned how to communicate to different workstyles and generations, deliver feedback effectively, and model accountability without intimidation.
3. Group Learning Circles
The team facilitated cross-department learning sessions where leaders practiced effective problem solving and taking part in real conversations to improve their ability to give and receive feedback, listen when stakes are high, and de-escalate tension when uncertainty prevails. These circles built trust among cross-functional teams and helped leaders connect around shared purpose rather than shared pressure.
4. Executive Alignment & Reinforcement
Every 45 days, leaders met with their executives to review insights, celebrate progress, and share stories of what was working. These check-ins turned isolated improvements into system-wide habits.
The results
In just 160 days, senior leaders saw meaningful shifts in both mindset and behavior:
A nurse executive summed it up best: “Coaching gave us permission to slow down long enough to see each other—and that made all the difference.”
The impact
The transformation went beyond the numbers. Conversations that once focused on compliance began centering on learning and care.
Frontline staff reported feeling safer speaking up. Mid-level leaders began coaching instead of correcting. Senior leaders started modeling vulnerability—sharing lessons, not just results.
The Chief Nursing Officer reflected, “Safety doesn’t live in a policy—it lives in how our leaders communicate, listen, and show up.” In the words of the COO, “Coaching helped the team reconnect to elevate humanity in healthcare.”
The Mind Market difference
At Mind Market, we don’t teach leadership—we transform it. With a PhD-level team and over 125 years of corporate and healthcare expertise, we help organizations strengthen culture from the inside out because often times, your competition is internal, not external.
