Angie West, MSN, RN, ACC, ELI-MP
Angie West, MSN, RN, ACC, ELI-MP, is a seasoned healthcare leader and executive coach dedicated to fostering growth, collaboration, and meaningful change within organizations and individuals. As the Founder of Genuine Growth LLC, based in Lawrence, Kansas, she leverages her coaching certifications and leadership expertise to empower healthcare leaders to navigate complex systems while maintaining their values and identity. With over a decade of experience in nursing and healthcare administration, Angie has specialized in cultural transformation, operational excellence, and leadership development, ensuring teams and organizations thrive even under the pressures of modern healthcare. Prior to founding her coaching practice, Angie served as Assistant Director and Nursing Manager at The University of Kansas Health System, where she led initiatives in cultural transformation, nursing research, and operational management across multiple specialties, including cardiology, vascular and bariatric surgery. Her hands-on leadership during challenging periods, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, underscored her commitment to psychological safety, ensuring that both frontline staff and leaders received the support they needed to succeed without compromising their well-being. Through these experiences, she cultivated a deep understanding of the misalignment between healthcare systems’ productivity metrics and the human-centered motivations that bring people into the field. Angie’s mission is to “bring the heart back to healthcare” by creating spaces for leaders to reconnect with their purpose and develop sustainable, values-driven practices. She conducts one-on-one coaching, group coaching, and webinars like Brave Leadership: Reclaiming Agency in Systems That Wear You Down, and facilitates the Brave Culture-Shift Lab, a program designed for healthcare leaders to learn both hard and soft skills while gaining peer support. Certified as a professional coach and an Energy Leadership™ Index Master Practitioner, Angie continues to champion leadership development, mental health, and systemic transformation in healthcare, ensuring that those who lead are empowered to thrive as they guide others.
• Registered Nurse
• Energy Leadership™ Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP)
• Associate Certified Coach
• Western Governors University - MSN
• DAISY Nurse Leader Award (2020)
• American Nurses Association (ANA)
• International Coaching Federation (ICF)
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the hard work and dedication that it took to get to where I am today. I was a nurse for 15 years in acute care and ICU, which led me into a leadership role about 4 years into my nursing career. I've done everything from managing an ambulatory clinic to leading large teams through projects. During COVID, I had quite a bit of influence on ensuring that our teams were supported and we didn't have to furlough anyone. That experience really shaped my passion for psychological safety of leaders. I won the DAISY Nurse Leader Award in 2020 for my work during that time. I've had my own business, Genuine Growth, for a year now, and my love keeps growing for helping leaders who are active in their roles. I work hard to provide the support and courage that they need through one-on-one coaching, group coaching, and workshops like my Brave Leaders Culture Shift Lab.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is that you have the power to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others while continuing to grow personally and professionally. Inspired by this, I am now enrolled at Deep Roots Herbal Academy, pursuing my certification as an herbalist to deepen my knowledge and expand the ways I can support the health of others.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this industry is that it’s absolutely possible to build a fulfilling and successful career while maintaining your well-being. You can create a path that you love, one that allows you to thrive both personally and professionally.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge for me right now is being a new business owner and needing to get the exposure that is needed so that I can help everyone that may need my services. I want to be able to reach more healthcare leaders who are struggling with burnout and need support for their mental health and psychological safety. Getting my name out there and building credibility as I step out with this new business is really important to me so I can make the impact I want to make in bringing the heart back to healthcare.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is being able to work hard to guide others down a more healthy path that is needed for them so that they can thrive. I love what I do and I'm really passionate about being active in my community. Creating safe spaces for leaders to explore their true feelings about leadership is what my reputation has been built on. I want to help people keep their heart in their work, because people go into healthcare to help others, but it often becomes about metrics and productivity instead. My whole mission is to bring the heart back to healthcare, and that drives everything I do both professionally and personally.