Catherine Robinson-Walker
People of the Foundation
Catherine Robinson-Walker is a passionate advocate for leadership development for nurses, with more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in complex health organizations, national commissions, and academic consortia.
As a strategic consultant, master certified executive coach, speaker and best-selling author, she is the president of The Leadership Studio which offers a range of customizable programs.
For three decades, Catherine has co-created multiple leadership programs and resources for nurses. Her passion for working with nurse leaders ignited in 1984 when she was invited to create the inaugural leadership development and fundraising effort for the Florence Nightingale Museum in London, UK.
To execute this commitment, she commuted between the US and the UK for two years. During this time, she was the CEO of the Network for Healthcare Management (a 15 university consortium in the US and Canada). Along with others from the Network, Catherine worked with AONE and the Royal College of Nursing, to create the curriculum and guest list for the 10 day program.
One of the biggest surprises for Catherine was seeing for the first time - Florence Nightingale's personal items come out of a cardboard box stored in a dusty back closet of the old St. Thomas hospital building in London.
“Those two years gave me a ground floor view, if you will, of nurses and how much Florence Nightingale means to them. I was very fortunate to be able to see all of [Florence Nightingale’s] things before there was a museum.”
“The whole museum experience gave me a deep understanding of the values that nurses hold. In the ensuing years, I also gained a strong appreciation for nurses’ clinical competence, and - in my mind - their unique ability to be extremely successful healthcare leaders. Being invited to launch the funding program for what was to become the Florence Nightingale Museum was truly a gift.”
Catherine has taken all her passion and knowledge to paper as the author to Women and Leadership in Health Care: The Journey to Authenticity and Power, and, more recently, she wrote Leading Valiantly in Healthcare, which she says was inspired by and written for nurse leaders, published in 2013 by Sigma Theta Tau.
Catherine was also the featured coaching columnist for Nurse Leader magazine, the official journal of the American Organization of Nurse Executives/American Hospital Association, from 2006 through 2018. Many of these columns have been collected and curated for her upcoming book called Leading with Mastery and Heart: The Coaching Companion for Thriving Nurse Leaders, published by Elsevier and available Spring 2020.
“In offering this collection, it is my purpose to give you, the nurse leader, immediate access to practical, proven strategies for the complexities you face. The stories in this collection are dedicated to your learning, your mastery, and your ability to focus on what has heart and meaning for you. Most of these stories are “tales from the front.” That is, they were inspired by nurses, nurse managers, and leaders just like you.” - Robinson-Walker, Catherine. Leading with Mastery and Heart: The Coaching Companion for Thriving Nurse Leaders. Elsevier.
Catherine puts a great deal of heart into her work, including choosing her book title for her newest collection.
“The reason I selected the title is because I think there is an awful lot literature and research about what mastery means, how we obtain mastery, that mastery is a continuing journey. But there isn’t as much about how we stay connected to our values and who we truly are as we take this extensive leadership journey, especially nurses leading in healthcare. That’s why I have the word heart in the title - it’s really important for us, any of us who are leaders, to remember and stay true to what has heart and meaning for us.” Robinson-Walker, C. 2019, Nov. 26. Personal interview.
For many years, Catherine has worked with and supported AONL. She is generously donating all author proceeds from Leading with Mastery and Heart to the AONL foundation to help support their mission to advance and nourish leadership growth in healthcare, a mission in which she sincerely believes.
Florence Nightingale's items just before the launch of the 10-day leadership program to start the fundraising for the building of the Florence Nightingale Museum in London.
“That flame continues to grow and that's really what started this for me.”
Catherine was also the 2019 Sigma International Honorary Membership Award recipient for her superior achievement and continued contributions to the advancement of nursing and global health.
