What does it take to build resilience, strengthen culture, and lead people effectively in a high-pressure healthcare environment? In this episode of the Transformational Leadership Podcast, Jeff Harnois sits down with Dr. Molly Hamilton, SVP & CHRO for Southern Illinois Healthcare, after rising through roles in HR Business Partner, Talent Management, and Interim CHRO, to explore resilience, employee engagement, executive development, organizational culture, and continuous learning. Molly shares lessons from her journey across HR, manufacturing, academia, and healthcare. She discusses completing her PhD while raising three children, teaching as adjunct faculty for around 12 years, and eventually moving back into the practitioner world. She also explains how routines, faith, exercise, coaching, and intentional structure have helped her stay focused through demanding seasons of leadership. The conversation explores Molly's approach to taking care of the people who take care of people. At Southern Illinois Healthcare, which has around 4,000 employees, she focuses on supporting employees so they can provide the best possible care to patients. She also shares how the organization improved employee engagement from the 2nd percentile to the 44th percentile in three years while reducing turnover. In this episode, you’ll discover: How leaders can build resilience through structure and consistent routines Why taking care of yourself helps you lead and support others How leaders can model the behaviors they expect from their teams Why employee engagement is about more than a survey score How healthcare leaders can connect employee and patient experience Why getting uncomfortable is an important part of leadership growth How junior executives can prepare themselves for senior leadership Why executive presence, preparation, and system-level thinking matter How curiosity and withholding judgment can make HR leaders more effective Why kindness, grace, and continuous learning matter at every leadership level Molly also shares a simple message for leaders who want to grow: sometimes you have to get uncomfortable to grow. This episode is packed with practical insights for executives, HR professionals, healthcare leaders, emerging executives, and anyone focused on building stronger cultures, developing people, and becoming a more effective leader. 🎙️ Guest: Dr. Molly Hamilton 🎙️ Host: Jeff Harnois 📌 Podcast: Transformational Leadership If you found this conversation valuable, like, subscribe, leave a comment, and share this episode with another leader who could benefit from these insights. #TransformationalLeadership #Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #HRLeadership #HealthcareLeadership #EmployeeEngagement #OrganizationalCulture #ExecutiveLeadership #HumanResources #HighPerformanceTeams
