EvenMORE For You

New Year, New Professional Goals

What do you hope for professionally in the new year?

As the sun rose on 2026 while 2025 sank into the sunset, Crossroads leaders identified a group of team members. The team members would be asked a question with their responses shared across the company in EvenMORE for You.

The question was, “What do you hope for professionally in the new year?” Here are some of the responses.

Mindy McKnight, RN Pharmacy Team Lead Northeast Ohio
My 2025 professional goals will carry over into 2026:

1. For our nursing staff to become highly proficient in our new order entry system. I plan to reach this goal by ongoing monitoring and one-on-one training, as well as group training in our monthly nurses’ meeting.
2. To become more proficient in pediatric care by attending all work-related pediatric training classes.

Keena Huss, RN Team Lead Philadelphia
When I think about my professional growth with Crossroads, I genuinely feel excited. We have an incredible team here in Philadelphia, and it’s truly an honor to work alongside them. In the coming year, I hope to continue strengthening my ability to support, mentor and advocate for our team while consistently providing high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care to our patients and their families.

On a personal level, I plan to work toward achieving my CHPN certification and would love to encourage and support my fellow nurses in pursuing it as well. Here in Philadelphia, we live by a simple saying: “Do right by the patient.” By continuing to lead with that mindset in 2026, I believe we will grow not only in our patient population but also in our presence and impact within the community.

Angelina Muñoz, RN Cleveland
Hi there team! My name is Angelina Muñoz. I am currently a RN with the on-call team for our Cleveland office. I have been asked to share my professional hope for the new year. My professional hope is continued growth! Many of you do not know me but I have grown up in this company. I started back in 2019 as an STNA, working primarily for our EMC assignments. While working as a hospice aide I decided to go back to school, then achieving my LPN and most recently receiving my RN. But my love for hospice is deeper than that! I’ve wanted to work in hospice since the young age of 11, when I experienced my grandmother going through hospice care. I feel like I was assigned this passion! That being said, my professional hope for the new year is to continue being a compassionate advocate for our patients, to continue to facilitate peaceful and meaningful end of life experiences, and most importantly help mentor our new hires focusing on the importance of what we do here at Crossroads! Because this isn’t just a job, it’s a calling! 

Robin Clark, RNCM Memphis
I hope to see growth in the healthcare workforce. The pandemic unfortunately led to many individuals leaving their careers in healthcare. This has had a huge impact on employers, workers and patients. Professionally, I would love to see healthcare delivered in such a way that brings tranquility to everyone involved.

Ready For a 2026 Glow-Up?

By Emily Hammer
Check the temperature of your attitude. 
Do you wake up cranky, wishing you could crawl back under the covers? The first 17 seconds of your morning are vital for setting your mindset for the day. Don’t immediately reach for your phone. Instead, breathe deeply, think about what you’re grateful for, and visualize your desired outcome for the day. Your co-workers will thank you. 

What kind of contribution do you want to make in the world? 
Do you feel like you’re going through the motions or doing things because they’re on your to-do list or expected of you? Have you ever explored your gifts and what you can uniquely contribute? Everyone has something special to offer. If you’re breathing, you have purpose. 

What patterns do you want to change? 
Ditch the “I have to do it this way because it’s the way I’ve always done it” mindset. No more! It’s time for intentional action. Are you going to bed too late because you have to finish that Netflix episode? Try going to bed 15 minutes earlier. Then you can wake up 15 minutes earlier to meditate or read something inspirational before your day starts. Are you eating donuts for breakfast? Try a high-protein chocolate shake. They’re delicious and healthy.  

How’s your physical health? 
Even a 15-minute walk around your neighborhood can yield real benefits. What about water intake? Are you hydrating? Try adding a pinch of Himalayan salt to your Stanley cup; it’s a cheap and effective electrolyte boost. 

What are you doing that you love? 
Whatever that is, do more of it! When you’re truly doing what you love, it doesn’t feel like work. If you’re unhappy, remember only you have the power to change it. Small tweaks in your habits can make a huge difference. If you need help, you could think about hiring a coach or get down on paper what you want your life to look like and start working toward it. 

2026 is here. Let’s make the most of it!

Is More Better?

By Danny Gutknecht
So you want to grow? Be a better you? Of course—we all want to live a vibrant, fulfilling life. One where our inner sense of self feels connected to our outer experience. But there's so much guru candy out there—books, coaches, advice—it's hard to know what's worth your time and what isn't.

My friend Joe Pine writes about the transformation economy—how businesses are rushing to help people achieve their aspirations, their dreams, their conceptions of who they are and who they strive to be.

But can you achieve transformation through more?

More frameworks. More models. More content. More tools. More skills. Stack enough on top of someone and surely, they'll transform, figure it out, right?

Except that's not how transformation works. That's accumulation. And accumulation isn't transformation—it's weight.

I've been working with leaders on this problem for more years than I'd care to admit. I've spent years learning ways of helping people become themselves—the best version of themselves. And what I've learned from everyone I've worked with at Apple, Crossroads, and elsewhere is this: transformation isn't about adding. It's about uncovering.

One of my senior executives at Apple put it bluntly: "Apple doesn't hire you for what you've done, but for who you are. If who you are is an a_ _hole, it doesn't matter if you're brilliant with a boatload of skills. A great business is all about collaboration, execution, and innovation—and you don't get any of those unless you're constantly exploring who you are."

But how much of what you carry around is actually you? The accumulated habits you picked up to survive. The frameworks you adopted because someone said so. The personas you manage to fit the role—or to hide. It's a lot to carry. And sometimes we clutch it. I know I have.

People are usually afraid of really seeing themselves because they imagine the worst—I'll have to leave my spouse, move overseas, blow up my life. But that's not what happens. What happens when you get more of you is that you gain more influence to shape your destiny.

I had a conversation recently with someone at Crossroads who went through the program. I asked them to tell me about their experience. They said: "I just became more comfortable with me, my own patterns. So many of my relationships have changed for the better. I don't stress certain situations. I'm more present and feel more connected. It's been good for my nervous system."

Less reactivity. More space. Better health. Not more information.

This is why conventional development—no matter how good the models are—doesn't stick. There's plenty of world-class training out there, expertly delivered. But as one participant noted, "Nobody really uses it." Why? Because stacking a new model onto patterns that are already you—patterns often wiser than you realize—is like installing apps on a phone with a different operating system. Nothing runs the way it should.

Real transformation works in the opposite direction. Not adding. Removing. Not accumulating. Excavating.

The paradox is that removal creates more.

So is more better?

If you mean more content, more models, more noise—no.

But if you mean more you? More of who you actually are, uncovered and freed from everything that was never yours to begin with?

That kind of more changes everything.

What’s Your Word for the Year?

By Emily Hammer
I believe in the power of words. Not in a trendy, motivational-speaker way. In a real, everyday, this-actually-changes-how-I-live kind of way. Words matter. They shape how we think, how we talk to ourselves when no one’s listening, and how we move through the world. They can quietly wear us down… or they can bring us back to life.

That’s why, at the beginning of each year, I choose one word to guide me. This year, my word is adventure.

I don’t do well with long lists of resolutions. My mind is too busy for that, and honestly, rigid plans have never worked for me. By February, they usually feel more like pressure than possibility. One word feels different. Lighter. Something I can come back to when I feel stressed, scattered, or stuck in my head.

This isn’t a “New Year, New You” thing for me. I’m not trying to fix myself or become some upgraded version of who I already am. It’s more of a check-in. Who do I want to be this year? Where do I want to put my energy? What actually matters now? It’s about alignment—especially on the days when it would be easier to slip back into old habits.

Just as important as the word I’m choosing is the word I’m letting go of. This year, I’m releasing fear so adventure has room to show up. And it’s funny how my word always seems to find me when I need it most—when I’m doubting myself, stuck in a decision, or tempted to say yes out of guilt. I can pause and ask, does this line up with my word? The answer is usually clearer than I expect.

I don’t choose a word to pressure myself. I choose it to inspire me. To ground me. To remind me who I am when things feel loud.

Choosing a word for the year is how I set myself up for success—without overcomplicating it. One word. Spoken often. Posted everywhere. Lived imperfectly. And trusted to do its quiet, steady work all year long.

What’s your word for the year? (Please let us know in the comment box below)