TL;DR: Yes, and the way this CEO did it stuck with me. On May 10, 2018, I spoke at Atrius Health’s nursing conference in Boston. The event planner wanted me. The CEO wasn’t sure I was the right fit. She booked me anyway, and he sat in the back for every single minute.
In 2018 I got my first real taste of the healthcare market. Atrius Health in Massachusetts brought me in to speak at their annual nursing conference on May 10, in Boston. But that booking almost didn’t happen. When the event planner told the CEO she wanted to hire me, he wasn’t sure I was the right person for his room.
She hired me anyway. That was her call to make, and she made it, even though the person above her had doubts.
I arrived early, like I always do. Then I got thrown a curveball. There was no introduction, so I had to walk up and do it myself: hi, I’m Kelsey Tainsh, ready or not. It rattled me. I took a breath and started with the story that always gets a laugh.
The whole time, the head of the company was sitting in the back of the room — quiet, attentive, taking in every word. He didn’t skim his phone in the hallway or duck out for the part he’d been unsure about. He stayed for all of it. When I finished, that room of nurses stood up, and so did he.
I’ve spent years since as a healthcare keynote speaker turning that day over in my head. Two people led well. The planner backed her own judgment against her boss. And the boss, who could have hidden his doubt behind a busy calendar, chose to sit down and find out he was wrong.
Those experiences were proof that courage goes both ways—it takes courage to stand on stage, but it also takes courage for someone to hand you the microphone for the first time.
— I’m Not Limping. That’s Swagger!, Chapter 5
Doubt is a normal place for a leader to start. Where it goes wrong is ducking the room so you never have to find out you were wrong. He didn’t duck it.
When your team makes a call you weren’t sure about
- Let the person closest to the decision own it.
- Show up in person for the thing you doubted.
- Stay for all of it, not the safe parts.
That story is one I love bringing to health system leaders as a healthcare keynote speaker, because it’s really about trust that runs both directions. If you’re planning a leadership session or a nursing conference where the theme is backing your people, let’s talk. And the fuller version lives in my book.
Book: https://kelseytainsh.com/kelseys-book/ · Speaking: https://kelseytainsh.com/nursing/
Things leaders ask me about this story
Why does it matter where the boss sits during an event?
Because everyone notices. When the head of an organization sits in the back for the whole session, the room reads it as: this matters, and so do you. When leadership drops in for the opening and leaves, the room reads that too. Presence is a message you send whether you mean to or not. He sent the right one by staying.
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