Stop Chasing Approval and Start Walking in Your Joy

What happens when two cardiac arrests and a near-death experience force you to ask the hardest question: Why am I here?

Nio Queiro, CEO of The Queiro Group and Chief Strategy Officer at Nashville General Hospital, spent decades climbing the healthcare leadership ladder. She delivered results, earned titles, and built a reputation as an innovator. Then in 2021, everything stopped. After surviving sepsis, multiple surgeries, and waking from an induced coma, Neo realized she had been living for everyone else's approval but her own.

In this conversation with host Megan Bozzuto, Nio shares the moment she decided to stop chasing and start accepting herself. She breaks down the three phases of a leadership career, why imposter syndrome is really about being an imposter to yourself, and how presence — not performance — becomes your greatest asset as you rise.

Key takeaways from this episode:

- Your presence is the experience people have with you, not your resume
- Imposter syndrome means you are an imposter to yourself — everyone else sees you as you show up
- Know when a seat at the table no longer serves you and plan your exit intentionally
- Identified joy lives in the small moments — a perfect strawberry, a favorite pen, a pink disco ball catching the light
- Accept yourself. You are good enough. You do not need to change — you need to expand

If you are ready to stop seeking approval and start leading on your own terms, this episode is your invitation.

Connect with Nio:
https://www.queirogroup.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nio-queiro/

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