Her Story
About Shelly
Shelly Little, MSN, RN, serves as President and CEO of Superior Leadership Solutions, a healthcare leadership consulting firm dedicated to providing specialized guidance and support to healthcare organizations. With more than 33 years of healthcare experience, Little has progressed through a diverse range of clinical and executive leadership roles, including Charge Nurse, ICU Charge Nurse, House Supervisor, Chief Nursing Officer, and Chief Executive Officer. Her extensive experience across both clinical practice and healthcare administration provides a strong foundation for her work in leadership consulting, organizational development, and healthcare operations. Little earned an Associate Degree in Nursing from Northern Oklahoma College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas at Arlington. She continued her education at The University of Texas at Arlington, completing graduate studies in Nursing Administration and Nursing Education. She is professionally affiliated with the Kansas Organization of Nurse Leaders (KONL), American Nurses Association (ANA), Kansas State Nurses Association (KSNA), and Kansas Hospital Association (KHA). Her professional accomplishments include receiving a Nursing Excellence Award. Little credits her family as a significant source of encouragement and motivation throughout her career and places a strong emphasis on integrity, continuous learning, trust, and purposeful leadership. Beyond her executive and consulting responsibilities, Little is an accomplished author who uses her professional experiences to encourage effective and people-centered leadership. She authored Leading with Purpose: Real-World Lessons for Building Trust, Developing People, and Making a Lasting Impact, which explores practical principles for developing people and strengthening trust within organizations. She also writes fiction under the pen name B. B. Lynn, including the Heavenly Hunter adventure series, which she pursues as a creative outlet. Through her leadership, consulting, and writing, Little is committed to helping others recognize opportunities, take initiative, develop their potential, and make a meaningful impact in healthcare and beyond.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shelly
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my family. My family's always been my motivator. They've always been supportive of anything I do. Now that my children are grown and I have grandchildren, they are just so supportive, and I want them to be proud of me and have a legacy.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received is don't wait for things to happen, just go ahead and do them. Make them happen. Be the change.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Seize every opportunity. I didn't even want to get into leadership at first, I just wanted to be a nurse, but I seized every opportunity that I had to grow, and I'm glad I did because I wouldn't be as successful as I am today if I didn't.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
My biggest challenge right now is starting a whole new business. I'm a leader but not a CFO, and finances were not my strong point, but now I'm having to do everything in my own business, and there's a lot of learning curve to it. I'm in my office every day learning new things.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is most important. I'm also a lifelong learner, I never want to stop learning because there's new things out there all the time. Trust is a big key, especially in leadership, trying to build meaningful and trusting relationships.
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