In this episode of After the Chaos, Angela Adams, RN, and Kandice Garcia, RN, reflect on their conversation with Dr. Kernesha Weatherly—a leader whose wisdom blends empathy, perspective, and calm under pressure. Her statement, “what looks like resistance is often misunderstanding,” becomes the anchor for a deep and personal discussion on leadership, communication, and growth.
Angela and Kandice explore what it means to meet people where they are, to pause before reacting, and to see conflict as a signal to listen more closely. They draw from Kernesha’s reflections on travel—how experiencing other cultures reminds us that people everywhere are more alike than different—and connect those insights to leading diverse teams with humility and authenticity.
The hosts also share their own ways of recharging outside of work, from gardening and pottery to poetry and puzzles, emphasizing how creativity and reflection sustain great leadership. Together, they remind us that resilience isn’t about doing more, it’s about stepping back, listening deeply, and finding meaning in the quiet moments.
Whether you’re leading a team, mentoring others, or simply trying to navigate the chaos of daily life, this episode offers a refreshing perspective on slowing down, building connection, and rediscovering the human side of leadership.
Full Transcript
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Angela Adams, RN
what looks like resistance is often misunderstanding.
Probably if somebody could have told me that like earlier in my career I probably would have saved a lot of tense moments, but she’s absolutely right if you see resistance ⁓ on the team Usually it’s time to do a one-on-one there because it’s usually not It’s usually not resistance in the way that you think it is.
Kandice Garcia, RN
Yeah.
Angela
Welcome to After the Chaos, where Candice and I ruminate on everything that we just heard. We just had Dr. Kernesha Weatherly on, and what a delight. I have been so excited about having her on. Number one, she’s just amazing to work with and get to know, but she gave us so many amazing, what just wisdom in that.
Kandice
Hahaha!
Oops.
I know. I
know.
Angela
30 minute session. ⁓ I think her travel stories are hilarious to listen to, but it was cool how she translated like travel into learning moments because I think she’s right. The more you travel, the more you realize how similar we are. don’t, you don’t feel like the world is as big and different from you. It people are people and like that’s the same with leading teams like
It was just such a cool way that she kind of tied that all together.
Kandice
Yeah, that’s my favorite thing about travel too is like, you’re like, oh, we live in apartment buildings. We live in silly cities. We live in big mansions. We live in like small huts.
we all just like live in our homes. We’re all like just raising our families. We’re all just like trying to like have this experience as humans. And when you get to immerse yourself in other people’s communities, you really start to see the similarities and really appreciate the differences. Also, like she said, you know, I can see people and I can see where they’re from. I can see like their perspective and how they might be viewing me or the situation. It’s a real like
meet people where they’re at kind of skill. ⁓ And I mean, she’s the kind of leader that I like, look for. I’m like, can I work for somebody like this? Like, this is what I want. I feel like she would make me a better person. I feel like she’d make me a better leader. ⁓ Just like being in her presence feels so, so like inspiring.
Angela
Agreed. mean, and we’ve seen her with her team. They all absolutely adore her. They absolutely learn from her. She inspires them to be better. I think she’s given people a lot of opportunity to she recognizes talent in people that sometimes they don’t even recognize themselves, which is the true kind of calling of a leader. So yeah, it’s really cool to watch. One thing that she said just right out of the gate that ⁓ I wrote down was what looks like resistance is often misunderstanding.
Probably if somebody could have told me that like earlier in my career I probably would have saved a lot of tense moments, but she’s absolutely right if you see resistance ⁓ on the team Usually it’s time to do a one-on-one there because it’s usually not It’s usually not resistance in the way that you think it is. It usually is like there’s something behind it So I love that she kind of pulled that through
Kandice
Yeah.
Yeah. I feel like, you know, resistance can be, there can be a misunderstanding in the resistance also. Like she was saying, I don’t try not to take things personally. Like this isn’t about me. Like they might have a lot of emotions and if I don’t internalize those things.
I’m much more effective in supporting them in what they need to do or solving their problem. So I think it kind of goes both ways, not just like, resistance is the cue or the signal that I need to reset expectations or I need to like gain alignment. But it’s also that like, hey, there’s more to this than I understand and let me help this person navigate the situation. just.
I just kept thinking multi-dimensional. She’s just like such a multi-dimensional leader with like vision, communication, support, emotional intelligence, was really the total package.
Angela
She is, she is. ⁓ The other thing that she said that was really neat and I’ve watched her do this in rooms is, you know, she comes in listening. We have had this conversation with multiple leaders that have been on and it is this, you like humility and authenticity and leadership and the fact that you don’t have to have all of the answers. In fact, it’s better not to because if you walk in the room,
Kandice
Nice.
Yeah.
Angela
acting like you have all of the answers that kind of says to your team, like, I don’t need you to do the work. I’m going to tell you, I’m going to command you. I’m going to, you know, I’m going to do the work for you or whatever the scenario is. And I love how she kind of tied that theme through because we’ve heard it from John Hill, who we’ve had on the podcast. We’ve, heard it from, you know, ⁓ foster mobly.
We’ve heard it from, I mean, gosh, name six different people as far as leaders that have come on and have that same sense of like, sit, listen, understand, be humble, be transparent. ⁓ And she offered that clarity around the facts. The one thing that kind of stood out and I loved her analogy, like, is this a glass ball or is this a plastic ball?
Is it just gonna be, is it loud and obnoxious and you know, or is it really important? And I think that’s something that is pretty crucial to understand about every problem that you’re trying to solve.
Kandice
Yeah, the loudest thing is not always the most important thing. And the squeaky wheel doesn’t always need the oil. Like what we’re saying is like, this be set down? Can you distinguish between the two?
I think it kind of goes back to her leadership skill is that I’m not here to solve their problem. I’m here to help them process the information that they need to know to make the decisions. Good leaders are able to discern the information that they need to understand so that they can make decisions to move forward. They don’t need to be told what the decision is. And I love that, that boundary or that definition of how do I kind of make sense of the chaos that I’m living in.
so that it can be manageable. And also, like to her point, having a life outside of work. I mean, I know in healthcare, we all say it’s so difficult. It becomes all consuming. Like, I just want to solve problems. I’ve been here all day. You know, like I just, can’t stop thinking about it. But the need, absolute necessity to travel, to garden, to do something that isn’t work, I think is to her habits of pausing.
giving herself a moment to think or to not think and let things just process and settle. I think her leadership style is really actually not only supported, but really like defined by her ability to come in, step away, come in, step away in a real way that just makes her so impressive.
Angela
Yeah, I mean, I’ll admit, not my not my strength there. So when she was like, I have started this amazing garden, I’m like, ⁓ I’ve been telling my husband, like, I don’t I don’t really have time to start a garden, even though I want a garden, even though I want a garden. And, you know, if Kernesha Weatherly is doing it, then like, don’t think I have whole lot of experiences. She’s making time for travel. She’s making time for all of the things. And I’ve often, you know,
Kandice
Yeah.
I know.
Angela
Going back to my early days in nursing, sitting with patients that were, you know, in their last hours of life, they always said they didn’t wish for more things. They didn’t wish for more money. They didn’t wish for fancy cars. They wished for more time, more experiences, more time with their loved ones. And I always come back to that. Even like when I’m in my most stressful moments, I’m like,
Kandice
It’s nice.
Angela
balance this and like make sure that you’re being the best version of yourself for your team. And I love that she does that. Yeah, in the time that I’ve known her, she’s probably taken six international trips. She loves to travel and you know, that’s a big part of her. That’s a big part of her stepping away and then being her best self in front of her team. But I think she brings those experiences, like the experiences back with her into her leadership style. And just that story about
Kandice
Yeah. ⁓
point out.
Angela
being at that market and like some deep voice being like, you need to go.
Kandice
Yeah
I can’t imagine how many of those stories she has like in her back pocket. I’ve gotten to hear a few of them and it is just, it is wild. It is wild, like what you can get yourself into. I think we have to remember also is like the travel, yes, and like the garden, yes, but those are like huge commitments. To me, that feels very overwhelming. So I feel like sometimes I’ll like lay out a puzzle for a day or two and I’m like, okay, I just need something quiet that I can like step aside or like.
I really like to read poetry. It just turns my mind off and it taps into another side of me that lets me not focus on the structure and the organization and all of the improvement that needs to be done and just be and feel and listen and just, I think we can do it in smaller bites that maybe don’t have to commit to growing things over the course of a season.
Angela
I love
that I learned something new about you every time. didn’t know you loved to a tree. Look at you!
Kandice
I know. I do. I know.
I just actually got a book for my daughters. I don’t remember, like, what was it? Shel Silverstein? A Light in the Attic. And yeah, I just got it for theirs and they were like, oh, what is this? was like, girls, it’s poetry. mean, yeah, this is all new. So they’re loving it too. It’s been really fun.
Angela
Yeah.
There was a whole monologue
from that book that I like memorized when I was little and said it in school. And it was about like, I’ve got the measles, I’ve got the mumps, I’ve got the hiccups. I cannot go to school today. And then at the end it’s like, what’s that? It’s Saturday? I’m going out to play. And it was like, I still have it like embedded.
Kandice
I cannot go to school today so little Peggy, I’m okay. I the measles and the most.
Yeah. I know.
Me too. It’s just like, I love that so much. I just like try to give those of my experiences to my girls as much as I can to remind them that yes, school is not all the things and like art and, and we love to dance also. So, you know, bringing creativity into your life. I think it helps me at work also because when I’m more creative and I’m more free,
then all the structure and the organization and the standard processes that I do at work have a little bit more like room to breathe. You know, I’m a little bit more relaxed. I’m a little bit more ⁓ creative in the work that I do. So I feel like it kind of supports one another.
Angela
for sure, you know I do pottery and I used to feel guilty for going to do pottery. And I would be like, I should be doing something for work. I should be doing something for home. should be. And my coach, you guys know John Hill, my CEO, coach and mentor. When we would be in the thick of it, he would really tick me off when he would say, do you need to go like throw a pot or something? And I would be like, so like,
Kandice
Yeah.
Angela
No, I don’t need to go through and that’s exactly what I actually needed to do is I needed to step away. I needed to like bring my energy down. I needed to take a breath. I needed to go find that place of calm and relax. And most of the time that I did that, I actually ended up like without even realizing my subconscious would like solve the problem that I felt like was overwhelmingly tall. And
Kandice
Yeah.
Angela
Yeah, I love that. Kernesha balances that and has so many extracurriculars. She’s one of those women that like you want to be beside her in the boardroom and you also want to be her friend and at dinner hearing her lovely travel stories. So what a treat that we got to have her on. Good to see you.
Kandice
I know.
Good to see you. I know we don’t get to be in the same space very often, and so this is such a treat.
Angela
All right, well, thank you. ⁓
Kandice
We’ll see you next time.
Angela
Perfect. Bye.
Kandice
Bye.
