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H&H Associates Consulting Helping leaders and organizations build stronger cultures, develop effective leaders, and improve employee experience.

A decision is final. Your team’s frustration isn’t.Some of the hardest leadership work occurs after a decision has alrea...
10/13/2026

A decision is final. Your team’s frustration isn’t.

Some of the hardest leadership work occurs after a decision has already been made, especially when people disagree with it or feel they weren’t heard.

The questions keep coming:
Why did this happen?
Why weren’t we involved?

Those questions may be fair. But at some point, a decision you cannot change starts taking energy from what you CAN influence.

I have used a simple exercise with leadership teams:

What can we control?
What can we influence?

The decision may be made. What happens next isn’t.

You can decide how you respond. You can decide what needs to be said. You can decide how you continue to lead.

You don’t have to agree to continue giving it your full energy.

Where could your team’s energy make the greatest difference right now?

Even strong leaders struggle when the rules are unclear.“We need this person to be a stronger leader.”Maybe. But before ...
10/09/2026

Even strong leaders struggle when the rules are unclear.

“We need this person to be a stronger leader.”

Maybe. But before recommending coaching, it helps to ask:

• Are they responsible for results without the authority to make decisions?
• Are expectations clear—or changing depending on who’s asking?
• Do two people believe they own the same decision?

Coaching can help someone build skills and navigate ambiguity. But it shouldn’t become a workaround for organizational confusion.

At H&H Associates, we often come back to one question:

Is this a capability problem or a clarity problem?

Capability can be developed.
Clarity requires someone to decide.

Before investing in leadership development, make sure you’re solving the right problem.

Where did the 16 minutes go?A 2026 JAMA study followed 8,581 clinicians across five academic health systems after they a...
10/07/2026

Where did the 16 minutes go?

A 2026 JAMA study followed 8,581 clinicians across five academic health systems after they adopted AI-powered scribes.

The result?

Clinicians spent 16 fewer minutes documenting for every eight scheduled hours of patient care. They also had about one additional patient visit every two weeks.

That sounds like a win.

But after-hours EHR time did not significantly change.

So where did those 16 minutes actually go?
Did the day go more smoothly?
Did clinicians feel less rushed?
Did patients experience better access?

Time saved is an important measure. It is not the full story.

For leaders considering AI tools, perhaps the conversation shouldn’t stop at “How much time did we save?”

The next question might be, "What became possible because we saved that time?"

Source: Rotenstein, L. S., et al. (2026). Changes in clinician time expenditure and visit quantity with adoption of artificial intelligence powered scribes: A multisite study. JAMA, 335(16), 1408–1417.

Ever leave a meeting thinking, “Haven’t we already talked about this?”Another meeting gets scheduled. Someone emails for...
10/01/2026

Ever leave a meeting thinking, “Haven’t we already talked about this?”

Another meeting gets scheduled. Someone emails for clarification. A decision we thought was made finds its way back onto the agenda.

We pay a lot of attention to operational rework. But what about communication rework: the time and energy spent having the same conversation again?

Sometimes, revisiting something makes sense. We learn something new. Circumstances change. Someone offers a perspective we hadn’t considered.

But sometimes, we repeat the conversation because we never really finished it. The decision wasn’t clear. No one knew who owned the next step. People were asked for input but never heard what happened afterward.

Before scheduling another meeting, it may help to ask:
What’s still unresolved from the last one?

A clear decision, a named owner, or a simple follow-up may do more to move things forward than another hour around the table. - Terri

Years ago, a professor said something that has stayed with me:If it isn’t budgeted, it isn’t valued.I understood what he...
09/29/2026

Years ago, a professor said something that has stayed with me:
If it isn’t budgeted, it isn’t valued.

I understood what he meant then. I think I understand it even more now.

As organizations build their 2027 budgets, many priorities compete for attention. Growth, people, technology, provider experience, leadership, culture, retention, and change all matter.

But saying something matters and making room for it in the budget are two different things.

A budget tells us a lot about where an organization is headed and what it believes will be important along the way.

So as we plan for 2027, maybe the question isn’t only:
What are our priorities?

It is also:
Does our budget reflect them?

If someone looked only at your 2027 budget, would they know what your organization values?

09/29/2026

If no one disagrees with you, that may not mean you have a strong team.

I've worked with leadership teams where very little disagreement surfaced. On the surface, things looked good.

But strong teams question assumptions, surface risk, and are willing to say, "I see this differently."

Especially in healthcare, where decisions carry real consequences, silence can be mistaken for agreement.

When was the last time me someone on your team challenged your thinking?

You can be highly competent and still struggle to influence the room.My sister and I were talking about this the other d...
09/24/2026

You can be highly competent and still struggle to influence the room.

My sister and I were talking about this the other day, and it was a great reminder that leadership requires both warmth and competence.

Vanessa Van Edwards says people are always asking two questions.
Can I trust you?
Can I rely on you?

For leaders, those questions show up in every interaction with their employees.

As my sister and I talked about it, we found ourselves reframing them from an employee's perspective:
Are you going to do what you say you will do?
Do you know what you are talking about?

Most of us naturally lean more toward one or the other, warmth or competence. The challenge is recognizing what the people around us need at any given moment.

Sometimes we need to turn up the warmth.
Sometimes we need to demonstrate more competence.

So, which side of your leadership dial might need some attention today?

You received a professionalism complaint. It may tell you what happened. But does it tell you what needs to change?This ...
09/22/2026

You received a professionalism complaint. It may tell you what happened. But does it tell you what needs to change?

This study reminds us why that distinction matters and why it's worth a look. Before deciding how to respond, make sure you understand the problem.

What does leadership development actually look like?At H&H Associates, it depends on what an individual, team or organiz...
09/19/2026

What does leadership development actually look like?

At H&H Associates, it depends on what an individual, team or organization needs.

Sometimes, it’s one-on-one coaching with a physician or executive who wants to become a more effective leader.

Sometimes, it’s helping an organization tackle challenges like psychological safety, burnout, communication, AI in healthcare, influence and leadership gaps.

And sometimes, it’s building the structure that’s missing including clear expectations, accountability and leadership systems that help people work better together.

We also create customized leadership development programs, conduct 360 assessments, facilitate educational sessions and create self-guided learning tools.

The common thread? Helping people lead better — and helping organizations build cultures where people can do their best work.

That’s what H&H does.

What if leadership development didn't end when the workshop was over?H&H Associates' Leadership Development Series gives...
09/17/2026

What if leadership development didn't end when the workshop was over?

H&H Associates' Leadership Development Series gives organizations a practical way to keep learning and growing month after month.

Each customized, web-based edition explores a timely leadership challenge selected around a client's needs.

One recent topic, Psychological Safety in Clinical Environments, guided participants through a focused 15-20 minute learning experience that included:

A self-reflection assessment
Relevant research and articles
Practical leadership tools
Questions to consider
Actions leaders can take right away

It's leadership development built for busy professionals: customized, self-guided and relevant to the challenges their teams are facing now.

Could a customized Leadership Development Series help support your organization's leaders throughout the year? Let's talk.

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Hudson, OH
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