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In Part Two of Be Where You Are: Leadership, Caregiving, and the Courage to Pause, Carla Davis reflects on a transformative year away from executive leadership—one shaped by caregiving, reflection, and rediscovering her deeper purpose. What began as a pause became a profound reaffirmation of calling. Carla shares how stepping out of the day-to-day demands of leadership gave her Clarity around stewardship, alignment, and the responsibility to use her gifts—leadership and mercy—with intention and courage.
Drawing from her personal experience navigating a fragmented healthcare system while caring for her mother, Carla offers an unfiltered look at the gaps in care coordination—and the urgent opportunity Hospice and end-of-life leaders have to model something better. Innovation, she argues, isn’t just about big ideas. It’s about tighter coordination, presence, responsiveness, and getting the fundamentals right—because in hospice, we only get one chance to do it well.
At the heart of this conversation is a simple yet powerful leadership mandate: Be where You Are. In a distracted, high-pressure world, Carla reminds healthcare leaders that presence is the ultimate act of service. Whether leading teams, caring for patients, or mentoring the next generation, the future of hospice depends on leaders who choose to fill their time with purpose.
5 Key Takeaways
- Clarity Comes in the Pause – Stepping away from leadership can reinforce—not redefine—your purpose and calling.
- Alignment Drives Leadership Effectiveness – Leaders are at their best when their strengths, values, and roles are aligned.
- Healthcare’s Greatest Innovation is Coordination – True transformation in hospice and healthcare begins with connected, responsive care—not just big, disruptive ideas.
- Presence is Leadership – “Be where you are.” The most powerful leadership moments often come from simple, undistracted presence.
- Legacy is Leadership Multiplication – You’re not truly a leader until you’ve developed leaders who develop leaders.
Guest: Carla Davis, Executive in Residence for Cressey and Company
Host: Chris Comeaux, President / CEO of TELEIOS
The Anatomy of Leadership podcast explores the art and science of leadership through candid, insightful conversations with thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers from a variety of industries. Hosted by Chris Comeaux, each episode dives into the mindsets, habits, and strategies that empower leaders to thrive in complex, fast-changing environments. With topics ranging from organizational culture and emotional intelligence to navigating disruption and inspiring teams, the show blends real-world stories with practical takeaways. The goal is simple yet ambitious: to equip leaders at every level with the tools, perspectives, and inspiration they need to lead with vision, empathy, and impact.
https://www.teleioscn.org/anatomy-of-leadership
I am currently the President/CEO of Teleios Collaborative Network which is like a co-op of nonprofit hospice and palliative care organizations. I am also CEO of Teleios Consulting Group. The goal of the collaboration is to harness the best of each hospice and enable the network to better care in each community for the patients and families being served as well as introduce innovations across the membership network and work with payers for new innovative solutions for those dealing with serious or advanced illness.
I am also host two podcasts, Anatomy Of Leadership and TCNtalks. Anatomy of Leadership was inspired by my book "The Anatomy of Leadership" which I wrote for Leaders, visionaries, and change-makers. The podcast delves deep into the essence of purpose-driven and high-performance leadership.
The show guides you through a journey of discovery—revealing how effective leadership can significantly alter the trajectory of our teams, organizations, our lives, and the world at large.
We examine topics like:
- Self-Mastery
- Caring for Others
- Influence
- Intention
- Cause and Purpose
Bio
Over the years, I have become nationally known as a leader in our country’s hospice and palliative care industry, where I spent a large portion of my career as President/CEO of Four Seasons in western North Carolina, a 2009 American Hospital Association Circle of Life Award Winner. In 2005, the Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care honored me with the Peter Keese Leadership Award.
In 2006, I left Four Seasons for two years to build an alliance between the prestigious national healthcare consulting firm, the Studer Group, and Covenant Hospice in Pensacola. The vision was to transform, develop, and grow leaders throughout the hospice and palliative care world. With this venture from its infancy to an established coaching firm partnering with post-acute healthcare organizations from New York to California. I returned to Four Seasons in 2008 to apply everything learned in the trenches on leadership to an organization I knew and loved.
My hospice career began in 1997 at Covenant Hospice in Pensacola, Florida. Earlier in my career, where I worked with KPMG Peat Marwick, a “Big Four” CPA consulting firm, and with Cooper Industries, a Fortune 100 Company, in its Executive Development Program.
I have a Masters in Leadership from the Thayer Institute for Performance Virtuosity.
I am blessed to have a wonderful wife, Deshia and a proud parent of 5 children (3 boys and 2 girls). Love spending time outdoors with my family, reading, and learning in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
