Year End Reflection
As you approach the end of the year, it is an important time for leaders to self-reflect on how the year has gone, celebrate successes and develop plans for the new year, and think about priorities for your own personal development as well as the development of the leaders and teams that you lead.
In many organizations, the performance review process kicks off at the end of the year or right at the beginning of the new year. This typically focuses on the achievement of specific measurable targets/goals (the “what am I getting done” of your job) and a self-rating on core leadership behaviors expected at the company (the “how am I getting things done” of your job). While this review process is important, it is structured to drive to a numerical performance rating (typically used for compensation purposes) and isn’t a great tool for self-reflection.
Carving out time for self-reflection as a leader is difficult given all of the competing personal and professional demands on a leader’s time. That said, there is ample literature about the benefits of leader self-reflection. An article that goes into more detail is here: The Rewards of CEO Reflection. While this article focuses on CEO’s finding time for reflection, the information shared is relevant for leaders at all levels.
As you approach the end of the year, I’d encourage you to schedule two hours for self-refection. With how busy leaders are, it is often hard to remember what you were spending your time on back in January or February 2022 and what your priorities were then vs now at the end of the year. Take this reflection time to revisit how things have gone throughout 2022, whether you have been spending your time on the important things to you, and what changes might you make in the coming year to get the results you are looking for both personally and professionally.
There are many templates for this kind of self-reflection. I’m providing a link to an example template that provides some prompts for reflection.
- What has been the highlight for me – professionally and personally?
- What goals did I achieve? What did I do to contribute to this?
- How happy/fulfilled do I feel?
- Who am I grateful for?
- One word to describe who I want to be?
- What are my 3 priorities/goals?
As you reflect, document your thoughts, successes, and opportunities. Leaders can use what they capture through reflection to build a personal “business plan” for the coming year. This ensures that they develop SMART goals for their own lives and measure progress similar to what they do for their teams and organizations. Schedule time to revisit your plan each quarter to see if you are staying true to what you hope to achieve in your personal and professional life.
ACHE and Personal Development Plans
The end of the year is a great time also to think about your own personal development plans. I’d encourage you to consider a few options for furthering your career through CAHL and ACHE:
Becoming a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives
The FACHE credential brings continuous value to you as a healthcare leader, to your organization and to your community. The FACHE credential:
- Provides recognition as a leader among leaders in healthcare management
- Demonstrates your competency in all areas of healthcare management
- Signifies your lifelong commitment to change and improvement
Becoming a Fellow requires planning to achieve this goal. You can join a FACHE Overview Webinar to learn more about the requirements, the process, set expectations around the Board of Governors Exam, and decide whether now is the right time to pursue your Fellow credential. The webinar will give you the opportunity to ask ACHE staff any questions you might have about the FACHE process. The next webinar is December 8, 11am-12pm Pacific time (1-2pm Central). You can register for the webinar here:
https://www.ache.org/fache/earn-my-fache/fache-overview-webinar
If you do decide to move forward, CAHL offers a Board of Governors Prep Session Series comprised of five 1.5-hour virtual sessions that cover all 10 knowledge areas on the exam. You can also report the sessions as Qualified Education sessions as part of the ACHE education requirement for your FACHE. The Fall BOG Prep Session series is already underway; the Spring series typically begins in March. You can learn more here:
https://ache-cahl.org/fellow-advancement/
Volunteer Opportunities with California Association of Healthcare Leaders (CAHL)
Volunteering with CAHL can be a great part of your personal development plan, benefitting you through growing your professional network as well as developing skills in areas such as mentoring, leadership, and program development. CAHL is a critical component of the work that ACHE does to advance professional development of healthcare leaders through education and mentorship. As a volunteer organization, the programs put on by CAHL could not happen without ACHE members stepping up and giving back to the profession. In addition to the benefits above, volunteer service through CAHL is recognized with ACHE volunteer service credits. ACHE members are recognized with service awards over time for both national ACHE and chapter service.
You can see the list of committees and submit your interest through the following link: https://ache-cahl.org/california-association-healthcare-leaders-cahl-volunteer-opportunities/
ACHE Congress Registration
ACHE Congress will be March 20-23, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn and network with peers from across the country as well as gain 12 Face-to-Face education credits needed to certify or recertify as a Fellow. During Congress, CAHL hosts a California state networking event with our two sister ACHE chapters in Southern California so you can meet (or reconnect with) colleagues from all over California.
As you think about what education you will put on your personal development plan for 2023, I’d encourage you to strongly consider Congress as part of your plan. Those who have been to Congress know what a great experience it is with an exciting week of networking and learning. Registration for Congress opens Wednesday, November 16 at https://congress.ache.org/
ACHE Congress – Present at the Management Innovations Poster Session
If you are planning to attend Congress in March, there is an opportunity to present an innovative practice from your team/organization. ACHE is inviting authors to submit narratives for consideration for the 38th Annual Management Innovations Poster Session to be held at the 2023 Congress on Healthcare Leadership. Focus for the session includes improving quality or efficiency, improving patient or physician satisfaction, implementation of electronic medical records, uses of new technology and similar topics. Learn more about the full selection criteria and expectations. Narratives should be submitted as an email attachment to postersessions@ache.org by January 17, 2023.
Fund for Healthcare Leadership
A final year-end thought – have you made all of your charitable contributions before end of the tax year? One option to consider is ACHE’s Fund for Healthcare Leadership.
In 2022, the Fund for Healthcare Leadership has funded 56 scholarships. The Fund acts on ACHE’s mission to advance our members and healthcare leadership excellence by providing scholarships to access unique educational opportunities for developing leaders in our field. The Fund wholly supports the Thomas C. Dolan Diversity Program (12 scholars), and the Thomas C. Dolan Career Accelerator Program (25 scholars). Additionally, the Fund provides scholarships to the Executive Program, divided into three cohorts, Executive (11 scholars), Senior Executive (seven scholars) and Physician Executive (one scholar).
Contributions are tax deductible as provided by law. Find out more about the Fund for Healthcare Leadership and view a full list of all our distinguished donors this year by visiting www.ache.org/Fund. Please make your contribution online or by mail:
Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives
3376 Eagle Way
Chicago, IL 60678-1033
The Fund is another way that you can contribute to the development of the next generation of healthcare leaders; I have been a donor for the past seven years. I encourage you to be a donor at whatever amount works for you. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Philip Chuang
Regent, Northern and Central California