Industry
Workforce Development, Training, Healthcare
Our Role
- Designed and facilitated a high-impact professional development session
- Introduced the concepts of consensus culture and followership
- Delivered an immersive learning experience using simulations and real-world case studies
- Drew connections between high-stakes decision-making and organizational behavior
- Taught the Star Followership framework for individual and team development
- Equipped healthcare leaders with tools to enhance transparency, engagement, and alignment
Situation
Like many professional healthcare associations, the South Dakota State Medical Association (SDSMA) faced mounting cultural challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, and ongoing workforce instability. Medical group managers and clinical leaders were being called upon to lead through heightened uncertainty, often without formal training in organizational culture, team dynamics, or decision-making frameworks. SDSMA sought to empower these professionals with actionable insights and leadership development tools to strengthen communication, decision-making, and team performance across diverse clinical environments.
Solution
The Hill Group partnered with SDSMA to deliver a dynamic 90-minute session, Consensus Culture and Flawless Followership. Participants began with an immersive simulation that highlighted the perils of poor communication and incomplete data, followed by a structured analysis of organizational culture, decision-making, and followership. Real-world historical examples were paired with practical frameworks to help leaders understand how to build cultures rooted in transparency, collaboration, and accountability.
The session emphasized that empowered followers are essential to strong leadership, and that cultures of trust and shared mission are achievable and necessary in today’s healthcare organizations. This work laid the foundation for continued cultural transformation across clinical settings in South Dakota, equipping healthcare leaders to not only withstand future challenges but to thrive through them.
Results
- Delivered leadership development training to over 100 healthcare professionals
- Increased awareness of cultural pitfalls in healthcare environments
- Fostered dialogue on leadership, ego, and decision-making in complex systems
- Provided tangible tools for embedding followership best practices into teams
- Reinforced the importance of consensus and constructive dissent in clinical leadership
- Sparked long-term interest in cultural and operational leadership development