Leadership coaching for healthcare professionals

Step into leadership with someone who has walked the path.

I'm Liz Madigan — a nurse of more than 40 years and a certified executive coach. I help nurses, midwives, and healthcare professionals grow into the leadership roles their field urgently needs.

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Liz Madigan, leadership coach and consultant

ICF & Board Certified Coach40+ years in global health nursing

Why this work matters

Half the healthcare workforce. A fraction of the leadership.

Nurses and midwives make up half of the world's healthcare workforce, yet they remain under-represented in leadership — formally and informally. That gap is not for lack of talent. It is for lack of preparation, sponsorship, and someone in your corner. My work exists to close it, one leader at a time.

How I can help

Three ways to grow as a leader

Whether you are an individual ready for your next step or an institution building its leadership pipeline, there is a path here for you.

Coaching & Professional Development

One-to-one coaching for healthcare professionals and executives ready for their next step. Executive coaching gives you a confidential space to sharpen strategic thinking and lead with greater clarity and impact. Career and life coaching is for anyone navigating uncertainty, transition, or a quiet sense that something needs to change — helping you reconnect with your strengths and build a path forward on your terms.

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Leadership Development

Workshops and programs for teams and institutions building their next generation of nurse and healthcare leaders. Liz has designed and led leadership development programs across the US, Canada and Brazil, and led the development of the Sigma Nurse Leadership Competency Framework — a global framework for nurses from novice to luminary. She can help you co-create the program that will have impact in your setting.

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Mentoring & Sponsorship

Guidance for emerging leaders, and help for organizations designing mentor, preceptor, and sponsor programs that genuinely move people forward — not just on paper.

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About Liz

Four decades of nursing leadership — now in your corner

Liz Madigan has been a nurse for more than 40 years, spending the majority of her later career in leadership positions in global health. Along the way she has mentored and guided many nurse leaders into the next steps of their careers.

She is a certified coach at the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) level through the International Coaching Federation, and a Board Certified Coach through the Center for Credentialing & Education — pairing real leadership experience with formal coaching craft.

In addition, she is a Certified Global Nursing Consultant and a Certified Association Executive from the American Society of Association Executives.

Credentials & Recognition

Weatherhead Foundations of Coaching Certificate

Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (2006)
Fellow Ad Eundem, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (2019)
Honorary Fellow, Academy of Associate Degree Nursing (2023)
Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom (2025)
Named one of the Top 100 Women in Global Health (2021)

Free self-assessment

Find your highest-leverage leadership shift

The Executive Edge is a free, five-minute self-assessment. It looks at five dimensions of leadership and shows you where your attention will pay off most — the one shift that makes everything else easier. Self-scored, private, and yours to keep.

It is the same exercise I would walk a client through in a session. Start there, on your own time.

Get The Executive Edge

Download the free five-minute self-assessment.

Download the assessment

What leaders say

Coaching, in their words

“

Elizabeth (Liz) has been a monumental positive influence in my career, providing the essential support I didn't realize I needed. Working with Liz as a career coach was a truly transformative and life-changing experience. Her skill, kindness, knowledge, and support helped me define a new career trajectory with clear, appropriate objectives. Beyond professional guidance, Liz also facilitated crucial self-discovery. Before meeting Liz, I was strictly future and goal-oriented, pursuing paths I thought I wanted, but in reality, they were an incorrect fit. I neglected introspection and appreciation for my current situation and future goals. Liz challenged these old perspectives, fostering a deep exploration of myself. This introspection not only refined and clarified my professional goals but also taught me the importance of slowing down and enjoying the present moment.

Danielle Curran-CookMacEwan University

“

I have not realized the importance of having a coach and a mentor in leadership training. As much as it can be said that leadership training can enhance someone's knowledge and competence in leadership, I personally feel that having a coach is of essence. My journey in the coaching session was a self-discovery, of the influence that shaped and contributed to the way I lead and made decisions in my leadership role. And above all to Elizabeth Madigan, for coaching me through this journey. I am confident and have a good standing in my leadership position, and also have taken up the coaching and mentoring role. The coaching has been an enriching experience. Leaders need support.

Mary SamorChief Nurse, Ministry of Health, Papua New Guinea

“

I want you to know how often I think about not only your guidance, but especially the values and purpose worksheet we worked through together. Those conversations and reflections have truly become a "north star" for me. I cannot tell you how many times they have replayed in my mind — especially as life and work have become increasingly busy and demanding. They continue to help keep me grounded and aligned with what matters most. Your impact is deeply felt, and I am sincerely grateful for the influence you have had on both my personal and professional journey.

Karla KerkoveIowa State University

Insights

Latest thinking on leadership

Short, practical reflections on leading well — drawn from four decades in healthcare.

Leadership

The real ceiling isn't effort

Why the leaders who break through aren't the ones working hardest — they're the ones who found their single highest-leverage shift.

Leadership

We Need to Talk about Imposter Syndrome

Last week at the fabulous Graduate Student Nursing Academy (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, AACN), the topic of imposter syndrome came up at the lunch table and during my presentation. I am increasingly convinced that we all* have it when we move to a new position, regardless of our career stage or past experience.

Leadership

Strengths in Context: Reconsidering Your Professional "Challenges"

As I coach professionals, I am noticing a compelling pattern: what manifests as a "challenge"* in one environment often emerges as a strength in another. When reflecting on your perceived professional limitations, consider whether these traits truly require correction — or whether they might flourish in a different context.

Let's talk

Your next role is closer than you think.

Let's talk about where you want to go — and how to get there. A discovery call is free, relaxed, and carries no obligation.

Book a free discovery call