Hartcore Leadership LLC | Contact us at (513) 509-0254
You've made it on talent.
Imagine what happens with the right support.
Nicole Link coaches leaders, managers, and founders who are already exceptional, and finally gives them the one thing their career never came with: someone in their corner.
Nicole's career has never followed a straight line and that's exactly what makes her coaching different.
She spent years as a speech-language pathologist in inpatient rehabilitation, working alongside patients navigating some of the hardest moments of their lives. She learned to communicate in high-stakes environments, to meet people exactly where they are, and to believe in someone's potential even when they couldn't see it themselves.
Then she took a leap. Today she's also the owner and operator of a small coffee shop inside a hospital. Hiring, delegating, making hard calls, and building a team culture from scratch. She knows what leadership actually feels like under pressure, not from a textbook, but from living it every day.
From the bedside and the counter, she brings a perspective that's hard to find anywhere else.
Nicole's career has never followed a straight line and that's exactly what makes her coaching different.
She spent years as a speech-language pathologist in inpatient rehabilitation, working alongside patients navigating some of the hardest moments of their lives. She learned to communicate in high-stakes environments, to meet people exactly where they are, and to believe in someone's potential even when they couldn't see it themselves.
Then she took a leap. Today she's also the owner and operator of a small coffee shop inside a hospital. Hiring, delegating, making hard calls, and building a team culture from scratch. She knows what leadership actually feels like under pressure, not from a textbook, but from living it every day.
From the bedside and the counter, she brings a perspective that's hard to find anywhere else.
Who She Works With
Most of Nicole's clients have one thing in common: they've gotten far on grit and talent alone, but nobody has ever truly invested in them. They're mid-level managers who were promoted because they were excellent at their jobs and handed a team with no instruction manual. Founders and small business owners doing all the emotional heavy lifting for everyone around them. Individual contributors who are ready to step into something bigger but don't yet have the language for what's holding them back.
She coaches on the human side of leadership: emotional intelligence, self-awareness, communication, feedback, delegation, and mindset. Not because these are nice to have, but because they're what actually determines whether someone thrives once they're in the room.
"As AI changes the way we work, the human side of leadership matters more than ever. Emotional intelligence, communication, self-awareness ... these aren't soft skills. They're the skills."
— Nicole Link, Founder, Hartcore Leadership
Nicole's Background
Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology
Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach
Certified Unreasonable Hospitality Coach
5+ years of leadership coaching experience
Speech-language pathologist, inpatient rehabilitation
Small business owner & operator, Columbus, OH
Outside of Coaching
Nicole lives in Columbus, Ohio with her two kids and three dogs. She's obsessed with growth, learning, and the idea that every human being is fundamentally curious if you give them the right environment to explore. She started Hartcore Leadership because she believes the world needs more people who genuinely show up for others. That's what she does every day.
Ready to work with nicole?
Whether you're an organization investing in your leaders or an individual ready to level up — the first step is a conversation
No pressure. Just a real conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
