We recently connected with Carol Hill and have shared our conversation below.

Carol, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?

I’m a registered nurse of 26 years. And that matters—because nursing teaches you how to see the whole person, not just the problem in front of you. I’ve spent my career listening deeply, reading between the lines, holding space in moments of uncertainty, and helping people navigate change when the stakes are high. That clinical grounding shapes how I coach.

Everything that I do is person centered and customized to the individual. Academically, I have an associates degree in Nursing, a bachelor’s degree in Community & Human Services, and my Masters degree in Healthcare Administration with a specialization in Healthcare Leadership.

Carol, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started my career as a nurse in 1998, I worked my way up to nursing leadership and found that leading and helping to develop other future leaders was something that I strived to do. They say that nurses often eat their young but I always felt the need to nurture the new incoming staff and I did so through education and mentorship. I have worked from the bedside to the boardroom and everywhere in between and feel its those varied and diverse experiences that have shaped my practice as certified professional coach. As a coach and as an educator I have helped my clients to feel clearer, to decide and make decision from a critically based thought process and I’ve helped them to move forward confidently with intention and with a sense of purpose.I know what it’s like to carry responsibility, make hard decisions, pivot when things stop working, and build something meaningful from the ground up. I understand the real-world pressures of leadership, growth, finances, time, and energy—not theoretically, but personally.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

This entire entrepreneurial experience has been a lesson in flexibility, creativity, and resilience. I have been faced from the get go with a number of challenges that have also shaped my practice as a coach and have made me a stronger and more self aware. When I originally started my business I started mainly as a gift basket and gift shop during the 2020 pandemic, from the start it was a challenge to work with all of the various restrictions and guidance we needed to abide by. It was during that time that I adopted the use of a private shopping appointment system as a way to give my clients an in person shopping experience while maintaining their health and safety. Over the years of running the shop and coaching and consulting on the side, the business it self went through a number of dips and dives and a period of an identity crisis. By 2021 I was doing both jobs, and running a tea shop, and dealing with external challenges like downtown construction that impacted my business operations and which would eventually force a move, and then another move shortly thereafter. It wasn’t until this past Summer, the Summer of 2025, that I decided to listen to the advise of my own business coach and made the decision to really sit back, pause, and determine what I really wanted to do. It was then that I decided to make my last pivot to where I am today, the founder and senior coach at LeadWhole Coaching & Healthcare Advocacy. A business model that I feel better encompasses all of my passions under one roof, but with greater clarity and with a defined purpose. It’s been a long and winding road of challenges, but it’s been well worth the trip and I couldn’t be happier with the direction I am now taking with LeadWhole.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I would say the most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been in the fact that I always, no matter the size of my client load, make every attempt to remain consistent in in my attention to details and to customer satisfaction. I am always striving to provide the best client/customer experience I can. Some may say that I have been a bit over the top on occasion, but I would argue that I have remained true to my brand and to my mission. I feel that my work is rooted—because lasting change starts with a solid foundation that I help create for my clients. I feel that It’s whole—because my clients are not a problems to be fixed, they are people who are ever evolving and ever growing, and it’s a process of becoming for both my clients and myself—because growth is a process, not a destination to reach. I think that is what my clients have come to appreciate about my services and I believe that has help us to build a foundation of trust and mutual respect.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.leadwholecoaching.com
• Instagram: Coachcarolleadwhole
• Other: www.leadwholeshop.com

Image Credits
All images are done by me and are mine.