What if leadership could be both courageous and compassionate, without compromising results? Cathy Thorpe, CEO of Nurse Next Door and author of Bold Kindness: A Caring, More Compassionate Way to Lead, believes that not only is it possible, but it’s essential for the future of work.
In our recent conversation, Cathy described a leadership approach rooted in care, humility, and trust—what she calls “bold kindness.” It’s a leadership philosophy born from her own journey: years of working under both great and not-so-great bosses, learning through experience, and building a culture that reflects the values she believes in. When she became CEO of Nurse Next Door 11 years ago, she asked herself, “What kind of place do I want people to come to every day?” The answer has evolved into a model of leadership that’s inspiring organizations far beyond healthcare.
Redefining Boldness and Kindness
Cathy describes boldness as caring deeply about someone’s development and being willing to have conversations that help them grow. But it’s not just about giving feedback—it’s about the intention behind it. When a leader is focused on helping someone get better, she says, “you find the right words and tone that allows that person to hear whatever the feedback is.” Kindness, on the other hand, is about understanding who someone is as a person and building a relationship strong enough to support honest dialogue.
These aren’t vague ideals—they’re practiced daily at Nurse Next Door. And Cathy is clear: this is not a soft approach to leadership. It’s an intentional, courageous way to support people while driving accountability and excellence.
Letting Go of Control to Create Autonomy
One of the boldest moves Cathy made as CEO was removing traditional management roles. About eight years ago, she decided that the role of “manager” no longer belonged at the company. In her view, when people are truly self-led, they don’t need someone looking over their shoulder. “You know when you have to get to work. You know what your job is. You know how to ask for help,” she said. “You don’t have to have a manager behind you telling you those things.”
In this model, titles still exist for practical reasons, but they don’t define status or hierarchy. Leadership becomes more about mentoring and support. Cathy insists that her job isn’t to tell people what to do; it’s to support them when they need it. This perspective has redefined her role and helped build a team that is more innovative, independent, and confident.
What does a self-led culture look like?
- Quarterly check-ins replace annual performance reviews
- Feedback happens in real time, not once a year
- Leaders focus on coaching rather than controlling
- Titles exist, but relationships are peer-based
Cathy adds that in a self-led environment, people are more willing to take calculated risks. That’s where innovation happens—not when people are afraid of making mistakes, but when they feel trusted to try new things.
Vulnerability Builds Connection
During our conversation, Cathy opened up about the personal loss of her husband during the pandemic. Rather than compartmentalizing her grief, she chose to be open with her team, sharing what she was going through and being fully present even in the midst of difficulty. She believes this decision helped deepen the sense of connection within the company.
“When people aren’t able to be who they are at work, they’ll never find happiness and joy there,” she told me. Creating space for people to show up fully—even on hard days—is, in her view, a critical part of building a resilient culture. That vulnerability, she says, has become a key leadership strength in her team as well.
Flexibility Isn’t a Perk—It’s a Principle
Like many of us, Cathy’s views on work were reshaped by the pandemic. Before 2020, she believed firmly in being in the office from 9 to 5. But as remote work became a necessity, she began to see the freedom and balance it offered—not just for herself, but for the entire organization.
“I feel more connected to my full life now,” she said. “If I’ve done the stuff I’m here to do, I can go for a walk. I can live my life.” She believes flexibility isn’t about creating rigid policies—it’s about trusting people to figure out what works best for them. At Nurse Next Door, they’ve embraced an individualized approach: people are encouraged to define how their life and work should flow together, and the company supports that choice.
Paying People Well and Ditching the Performance Review
Cathy has also reimagined compensation and performance management. At Nurse Next Door, performance reviews were eliminated years ago. Instead, the team sits down quarterly to reflect on what being “self-led” means and how they’re growing. Feedback happens daily, not annually, and development is treated as an ongoing process rather than an HR checkbox.
Compensation is handled in a similarly progressive way. Rather than adhering to rigid pay bands based on title, Cathy prefers to look at individual contributions. She’s made unconventional compensation decisions based on impact and value, not hierarchy. “We need to get away from this mindset that your title determines your salary,” she said. “It’s about what you bring to the organization.”
Curiosity Drives Improvement
For Cathy, curiosity is a leadership superpower. She encourages her team to challenge ideas, ask better questions, and resist taking the first answer at face value. And curiosity isn’t just intellectual—it’s emotional. “It’s hard to be curious when you’re defensive,” she told me. “But when you stop taking things personally, you can actually solve real problems.”
That mindset proved essential during the pandemic. When travel restrictions halted in-person franchise visits, Cathy and her team quickly developed a virtual model. What began as a workaround became a better, more scalable solution. The change stuck—and it’s a perfect example of how curiosity, flexibility, and bold kindness work together to build resilience.
10 Things That Require Zero Talent—but All the Difference
In Bold Kindness, Cathy outlines 10 foundational habits that shape her company culture. They may seem basic, but they’re surprisingly powerful:
- Showing up on time
- Being prepared
- Following through
- Working well with others
- Being kind
- Asking questions
- Being honest
- Owning your actions
- Listening with intention
- Offering help when it’s needed
These behaviors aren’t revolutionary—but when people commit to them consistently, they create the conditions for trust, collaboration, and personal accountability.
Looking Ahead: A Future Built on Bold Kindness
When I asked Cathy what the future could look like if more leaders embraced bold kindness, her answer was hopeful. She sees a future where people feel agency over their lives, where work and life blend more naturally, and where organizations thrive because people are free to bring their whole selves to work.
She believes we’ll see more employees working like they’re “doing their own thing,” even within companies. That’s not a sign of disconnection—it’s a sign of ownership. And it reflects the heart of bold kindness: leading without fear, listening without judgment, and building cultures that people love being part of.
The Bottom Line
Leadership doesn’t have to be a choice between kindness and results. As Cathy Thorpe demonstrates, you can lead with empathy and set high standards. You can build trust and take bold risks. And you can create cultures where people feel seen, heard, and empowered—not in spite of their humanity, but because of it.
In a world still recovering from control-based management and burnout culture, bold kindness isn’t just refreshing—it’s necessary.
Brandon Laws is a workplace culture and leadership enthusiast, host of the Transform Your Workplace podcast, and VP of Marketing and Product at Xenium HR.