Meet Judy Cirullo
What Four Practices Taught Me
While owning 4 private practices in 4 states, I realized that developing others as leaders was critical to transforming and maintaining the best culture.
I built four private practices across multiple states. I hired good people, worked hard, and grew — and I still watched talented employees leave because I had built no real path for them to grow. Staff conflicts landed on my desk. Accountability was a constant struggle. I was the most reliable person in the building, and I knew it.
That was not a team problem. It was a leadership problem — and it was mine.
Rather than accept that, I went back to school. I became a certified professional coach, earned advanced certifications in team coaching, and rebuilt my entire approach to leadership from the ground up. What I learned in that process became the People First Culture Framework™ — a 6-step system for building accountable, self-directed teams that I have now used across healthcare, dental, and academic organizations.
Ultimately, This Led To a Framework…
Here is what I know to be true after 40 years in this work:
Conversations are the backbone of organizational culture. Get the conversations right — make them clear, direct, and values-aligned — and the culture follows. Miss the conversations, and no policy, handbook, or reorganization will fix what is broken.
Leaders who struggle with accountability are often missing one thing. They built no system. They hired good people and expected ownership to be automatic. When it was not, they blamed the team instead of examining the gap in their own leadership.
That gap is exactly where I do my best work.
Advanced Certification in Team Coaching
Certified at the Highest Level — Because Your Team Deserves It
One of the certifications I am most proud of is my International Coaching Federation Advanced Certification in Team Coaching — a distinction held by fewer than 1% of credentialed coaches worldwide.
This certification required years of deep study, supervised practice, and a rigorous exam process. More importantly, it challenged me to refine how I partner with teams — helping them think clearly together, communicate honestly, navigate conflict with confidence, and build real accountability at every level.
At the core of it all is a belief I have held for decades:
When leaders stop carrying everything alone — and teams learn to lead together — they think more clearly, resolve conflict faster, and deliver on what matters most.
Who I Work With
I work with healthcare, dental, academic, and mission-driven organizations where leaders are doing their best — and still find themselves stuck in daily operations, managing conflicts that should resolve two levels below them, and carrying a weight that was never supposed to be theirs alone.
The pattern is consistent. A strong clinician gets promoted to clinic lead but has never been taught to run a meeting or navigate a difficult conversation. An owner grows a team of 15 but has no leadership bench to lean on. A director watches good people leave and cannot figure out why — until we look at the culture together.
These are not performance problems. They are leadership culture problems. And they are solvable.
I work with organizational leaders as a coach, consultant, and fractional executive partner — stepping in at the level of depth each organization needs, and staying until the change holds.
Why This Work Matters to Me
I grew up on a small farm where hard work, responsibility, and caring for something beyond yourself were simply part of everyday life. That upbringing shaped how I lead, how I coach, and what I hold non-negotiable in the organizations I work with.
Faith, family, and genuine connection matter to me. I bring those values into every coaching relationship — not as a talking point, but as the reason I still do this work after four decades.
I was not always the leader I am now. I made the mistakes my clients are making. I carried what my team should have owned. I promoted people without setting them up to succeed. I paid the cost of getting
culture wrong — in attrition, in exhaustion, and in the slow erosion of the work I had built.
That lived experience is not a footnote. It is the foundation of how I coach.
When I am not working, I spend time with my husband, two adult sons, and seven grandsons. I love hiking, traveling, and the occasional old movie that reminds me why good stories — told well — change how people see the world.
Hi, I’m Judy. It’s Lovely to Meet You!
My Professional Journey
While owning 4 private practices in 4 states, I realized that developing others as leaders was critical to transforming and maintaining the best culture.
Throughout this journey, I gained experience leading, mentoring, and developing others, while also learning from my challenges, mistakes, and successes. I realized that conversations were the backbone of my business.
My Coaching Approach
Ultimately, this led to a framework for executives and teams that want to retool, transform and revive their culture utilizing strategic consulting, coaching, and facilitation.
The main theme of this framework is knowing how to connect people to purpose, personally and professionally. As a result, the leaders and their teams gain clarity, mitigate chaos and convert to a culture-first workplace.
I developed my coaching style and expertise by becoming a certified professional coach (CPC), followed by several certifications. These support the system and approach that I use with my clients, partnering and working together with executives, teams, and groups.
Advanced Certification in Team Coaching
One of the certifications I am most proud of is earning my International Coaching Federation (ICF) Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ACTC), a distinction held by just over 1% of credentialed coaches worldwide.
This advanced certification required years of deep study, supervised practice, and a rigorous exam process. Most importantly, it challenged me to refine how I partner with teams, helping them think clearly together, communicate honestly, navigate conflict with confidence, and build real accountability at the highest level.
I’m grateful for the teams who trusted me with this work and for the mentors who helped sharpen my craft. I’m energized about what’s possible when teams stop operating as individuals and start performing as a true unit.
Because at the core of it all is a simple belief:
When leaders stop carrying everything alone—and teams learn to lead together—they think more clearly, resolve conflict faster, and deliver on what matters most.
As a seasoned business owner, a 40-year clinical healthcare practitioner, and an Executive, Team, and Fractional Coach, I leverage my experience, training and passion to help leaders and teams navigate challenging and difficult conversations; ultimately supporting them as they transition themselves their team and their culture.
My Clients
Business owners and executives can find themselves caught up in the weeds, in the drama, adding more stress to their daily responsibilities. Their passion for their work tends to be eroded by these ongoing frustrations and can seep into their business and team culture.
As a Fractional Coach, I work with CEOs, leaders, and their teams on a part-time basis to help them make sense of the complexity of issues bombarding them, gain clarity on what they want and how to get there, and ultimately, shift, transform, and transition into the direction they need and want.
Ready to See What’s Possible?
A focused strategy and coaching conversation — built around your specific situation — where we identify what is holding your organization back, get clear on what you actually want, and map a realistic path toward a culture where your team leads with accountability and you are no longer the answer to every problem.
Why This Work Matters to Me
When I am not working, I spend time with my husband, two adult sons, and seven grandsons. I love hiking, traveling, and the occasional old movie that reminds me why good stories — told well — change how people see the world.
Client Success Stories
Developing Leaders Podcast
Real Conversations. Practical Solutions. Leadership That Actually Sticks.
Leadership is the leverage most businesses are missing. On the Developing Leaders Podcast, Judy shares practical insights, real-world leadership lessons, and proven strategies to help leaders strengthen communication, develop self-directed teams, and create cultures where people and performance thrive.
Drawing on decades of experience as a business owner, clinician, executive coach, and team development expert, Judy explores the challenges leaders face every day—from difficult conversations and accountability to delegation, trust, and building strong workplace cultures.
Stop Micromanaging. Start Leading.
The People First Culture Framework™ eBook gives you a clear, practical roadmap for building a workplace where your team is engaged, accountable, and self-directed — so you can lead with confidence and focus on what only you can do.