You don't have to figure this out alone.
Stepping into an Administrator or Executive Director role is like drinking from a fire hose: decisions, expectations, compliance, difficult conversations, team dynamics, and financial pressure, all at once. Most new leaders spend their first few years trying to look like they have it together while quietly wondering if they're doing it right.
Most new leaders spend their first few years figuring it out alone.
The New Administrator Leadership Lab gives you a place to think it through. Six weeks of live, small-group sessions where you work through what's actually happening in your building right now with both experienced guidance from someone who has held the role and peers who are navigating the same terrain.
Who this is for:
The leaders who get the most out of this Lab come in with situations they're actively dealing with and the willingness to think out loud about them.
This is a fit if you:
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Are in your first three years as an Administrator or Executive Director
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Are already making high-stakes decisions and want to feel more grounded in them
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Second-guess yourself more than the people around you probably realize
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Want a confidential space to talk honestly, not perform or have the right answer
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Are carrying a team, a building, and a lot of pressure and doing it largely alone
- Value guidance from someone who has actually held the role you are in
- Are willing to show up, participate, and apply what you work through
This lab works because participants bring their actual challenges. What you're dealing with right now is exactly what belongs here.
"I'm not exaggerating when I say I've used every single tool Denise taught us. I brought them into my one-on-ones, my meetings, my daily check-ins and I felt more confident showing up as a leader because of it. What made it different is that we weren't doing hypotheticals. We were working through real things that were actually happening, and getting real input from people in the same boat. You build rapport fast in that group, and you leave with tools you'll keep reaching for long after the program ends."
~ Brian MacDuff, Executive Director, Eliseo ~
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The New Administrator Leadership Lab
Begins May 14, 2025 at 3 EST
How The Lab Works
This is a live, small-group leadership lab focused on real-life situations you’re dealing with right now.
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Length: 6 weeks
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Start: Thursday, May 14th 3:00 PM EST
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Format: Weekly, live sessions with built in time to apply what you work through
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Session Time: Up to 90 minutes
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Group Size: Capped at 12 participants
Each session is structured, but flexible to respond to what participants need most that week. You’ll work through current challenges with experienced facilitation and peer perspective so you leave with clearer thinking and next steps you can actually use.
Between sessions, you'll apply what you discussed in practical ways that fit into your schedule.
Click here to join the lab
"Before this program, I had my squirrels running in ten different directions. The Leadership Lab helped me learn how to delegate, trust my team, and stop trying to control everything myself. What I didn't expect was how much it would help me look at myself, not just my team. Denise doesn't tell you what to do. She gives you the tools to figure it out for yourself, and there's something really powerful about working through it alongside people who are dealing with the exact same things you are."
Stephanie Davidyan, Executive Director, Sodalis Austin
Important:
The Leadership Lab is not for everyone
This lab works because of who participates. Everyone in the room is dealing with tough situations and willing to think honestly about them.
This may not be a fit if you:
- Want passive training OR information delivered to you
- Are not willing to speak openly about challenges
- Are looking for quick fixes without reflection or follow-through
The value of the lab comes from showing up, participating, and using the space intentionally. If that sounds like you, this is the right space for you.
Join The Leadership LabWhat You Get:
The New Administrator Leadership Lab
$497
$3,650 of total value, you get it for $497.
"I honestly didn't know what to expect going in. What I found was a group of people facing the same challenges I was, and a space where it felt safe to be honest about them. I started looking forward to every session. The tools Denise shares are practical. I printed them out and still use them in my team meetings. If you're a new administrator trying to figure out how to lead well, this program is worth it."
~ Deniz Brousseau, Executive Director, The Greens at Greenwich ~
Reserve My Spot for $497
About Denise
In my first days as an administrator, I didn't know how to act. So I copied the administrator before me, who was an angry person and a yeller. A few days in, my Director of Nursing pulled me aside and said, "That doesn't seem very you." I was embarrassed. And relieved. She called out the mask I was wearing before it became who I was.
That moment changed how I led from that point forward. I spent 17 years leading senior living communities as an Administrator and Executive Director, and I never forgot what it felt like to be brand new in the role, trying to figure out who I was supposed to be.
I also know what it takes to stop surviving the role and to start leading with confidence.
Leadership shifts when you stop operating in constant reaction and start creating space to think clearly. That shift changed how my teams showed up and the results my communities achieved. It's also what shaped how I support leaders today.
I created the New Administrator Leadership Lab because I watched too many capable new leaders white-knuckling their way through the role with nobody in their corner. There was no place to slow down, think, and work through situations with someone who had actually been there.
Every session and tool in The Lab comes from leadership moments I lived, in an organization like yours, with stakes that mattered.
It's practical support for the decisions you're already making.
That photo is me raising a glass to new leaders who show up even when it's hard, and choose to keep growing. You're exactly who this Lab was built for.
The Lab exists because of that DON who pulled me aside. Come find your people.
With gratitude (and a little champagne),
Denise
"One of the most valuable things about the Leadership Lab is watching other people's situations that aren't happening to you, so you can actually think clearly about them. I came in as a newer administrator still figuring out how healthcare leadership works, and I left with frameworks I've been using ever since, especially around taking the focus off what's urgent to spend time on what actually matters."
~ Joseph Herst, Administrator, Accura Healthcare of South Des Moines ~
Reserve My Spot for $497
Our Commitment to You
Complete the Lab requirements and receive 100% of your tuition back as credit toward future Drive support. That credit can be applied to:
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Individual coaching with Drive
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Drive leadership courses priced above your tuition
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Future Drive leadership programs priced above your tuition
Credit is issued at the end of the Lab once completion is confirmed.
How to Earn the Credit
The credit is earned through participation and follow-through.To qualify, participants must:
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Attend at least 5 of the 6 live sessions, fully present
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Attend the private orientation session with Denise
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Attend the private feedback session with Denise
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Post one weekly exercise reflection in the community
In addition, complete at least one of the following to support our field's broader leadership:
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Share your Leadership Lab experience on LinkedIn and tag Denise
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Share your experience in an Administrator Facebook group
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Refer one colleague to a 15-minute strategy call with Denise
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Provide a written testimonial at the end of The Lab
