by Scott Kashman

How many of us can really say we enjoy feedback? Many people say they want feedback yet rarely seek it out like they would a good meal or vacation getaway.

Recently, our healthcare leadership team completed the Right People, Right Roles 360 Leadership Behavioral Assessment. It is designed with coaching in mind, with each leader developing a coaching plan specific to their focus areas.

Personally, I'm a big advocate of coaching plans and continuous leadership improvement. They can greatly impact leaders.

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Coaching plans provide focus and evaluation on the seven attributes of demonstrated leadership ability. It is based on peer, self-imposed, top-down feedback, and in our case, feedback from those reporting to us.

The leadership attributes include:

1. Has an optimistic and forward-looking orientation
2. Has a high emotional intelligence (demonstrates good communication and people skills)
3. Has an open-minded perspective (is willing to change and seen as a "change agent")
4. Is respected by others (leaders, peers, physicians and staff)
5. Is focused on results and outcomes (is achievement oriented and sets goals)
6. Has a high capacity to perform in a fast-paced environment
7. Is humble, maintains composure and behavior (the ability to handle high levels of stress well)

Overall, my rating was strong. With that in mind, I still have areas to work on and improve.

But feedback is really a gift. It will make us stronger leaders and in turn, better healthcare organizations for our patients and the communities we serve.

Scott Kashman serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of Cape Coral Hospital, part of the Lee Memorial Health System in southwest Florida.