| Course | HS850 Advanced Health Leadership |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 10 |
| Paper type | Development plan |
| Length | About 850 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HS850 Unit 10
Three Cued Behaviors for Sixty-Six Days and Beyond: A Unit 10 Development Plan for a Hospital President Rated as Too Forceful by Physicians
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HS850: Advanced Health Leadership
Unit 10 Development Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The writer, the hospital and the ratings are composite and shown as placeholders; the research cited is real.
The Development Goal
My self-assessment found that physicians rated my forceful behaviors, taking charge and declaring my views, as too much and my enabling behaviors, listening and inviting input, as too little, while every other rater group saw me as about right. Written comments located the problem in group decision meetings with physician leaders, where I tend to state my answer first. The goal is narrow: in decision meetings with physician leaders, increase listening and invitation before I state my view, without losing the follow-through that all rater groups valued.
Why Behaviors, Not Intentions
Wanting to listen more is not a plan. Gollwitzer (1999) reviewed experiments on implementation intentions, plans written as "if this situation arises, I will do that," and concluded that linking a goal to a specific moment made people far more likely to act on it than holding the goal alone. The plan therefore defines three behaviors, each tied to a specific cue.
Behavior One: Questions Before Answers
Cue: a decision item is introduced in a meeting with physician leaders. Behavior: before stating any view, I ask at least two open questions, such as "What would this change for your service?" and "What are we missing?", and I let at least two physicians answer.
Behavior Two: Restating Before Responding
Cue: a physician raises an objection. Behavior: I restate the objection in my own words and ask whether I have it right before responding to it.
Behavior Three: Saying What Is Open
Cue: the start of any agenda item that needs a decision. Behavior: I state what is already decided, what is open and how the final decision will be made.
If a behavior cannot be seen by someone else in the room, the people who rated me cannot tell me whether I am doing it.
How Long Change Takes
In a study of volunteers forming a new daily habit, the median time for a behavior to reach its peak automaticity was about sixty-six days, with a range from under three weeks to well over half a year, and missing an occasional day did not derail the process (Lally et al., 2010). My behaviors occur in meetings, not daily, perhaps [three] to [five] times a week, so I expect them to take longer to become automatic. The plan runs nine months.
Who Will Track Progress
Three physician leaders who rated me, the medical staff president and two department chairs, have agreed to act as observers. After each monthly medical executive committee meeting, each will note whether I asked questions before answering, restated objections and said what was open, using a three-item checklist. I will also ask one of them each month for a two-minute comment on one thing to keep and one thing to change.
Multisource feedback improves performance modestly on average, and improvement is more likely when leaders respond constructively, set specific goals and discuss the feedback with raters (Smither et al., 2005). The plan builds in those conditions by sharing the goal with the raters and asking them to track it.
Timeline
Months one to three: practice all three behaviors, review checklists monthly with my executive coach and adjust the wording of my questions where they feel scripted. Months four to six: continue, and add a short debrief with one observer after each executive committee meeting. Months seven to nine: reduce checklists to every other meeting and ask whether observers notice any drop. At month nine: repeat the Leadership Versatility Index with the same physician raters.
Supports
My executive coach will meet with me monthly. My assistant will add a short reminder of the three behaviors to the top of every agenda for meetings with physician leaders, a visible cue that does not depend on memory. After every such meeting I will jot two lines in a log, noting where I did or did not follow the plan and why.
Measures of Success
1. Observer checklists show all three behaviors in at least [80] percent of observed meetings by month six.
2. Physician ratings of forceful behavior on the repeated index move toward the right amount.
3. Ratings by direct reports and peers of my follow-through do not fall.
4. At least one decision during the nine months changes in response to physician input, and I report the change back to the group.
Risks
The main risk is that under pressure I revert to stating answers first, particularly during the hospitalist contract negotiation scheduled for months four and five. My coach and I will plan for those meetings in advance. A second risk is that physicians read the new behaviors as a technique. The plan addresses this by keeping behavior three honest: I will say what is genuinely open, and if nothing is, I will say so.
References
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493-503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493
Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
Smither, J. W., London, M., & Reilly, R. R. (2005). Does performance improve following multisource feedback? A theoretical model, meta-analysis, and review of empirical findings. Personnel Psychology, 58(1), 33-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.514_1.x
Reading the HS 850 Unit 10 instructions
The final unit typically asks learners to write a leadership development plan that builds on earlier self-assessment and course concepts. Five to seven pages is common. The plan should state a specific goal, explain how it follows from evidence gathered earlier and define behaviors that can be observed. Instructors look for realistic timelines, named supports and measures that someone other than the learner can verify. Many prompts ask learners to use research on behavior change or feedback to justify the plan's design. Risks and how they will be handled are usually expected. A plan that protects existing strengths while developing new ones tends to show greater self-awareness.
How the HS 850 Unit 10 example is put together
The plan restates the development goal from the self-assessment and explains why behaviors, not intentions, are needed. Three behaviors follow, each with its cue. The highlighted sentence states why every behavior must be visible to others. A section on timing uses the habit formation study to justify nine months. Three physician raters agree to complete a three-item checklist after each executive committee meeting, and the plan explains why multisource feedback works better under these conditions. A timeline runs in three phases ending with a repeat assessment. Supports include a coach, agenda reminders and a log. Four measures and two risks close the plan. The four measures include a check that follow-through ratings from staff and peers do not fall.
Where the points sit in the HS850 Unit 10 rubric
Development plans are commonly assessed on the link to prior assessment, specificity and observability of goals, grounding in research, feasibility of the timeline and supports, and quality of measures. Specificity often carries the most points; a goal such as "listen more" earns less than a cued behavior an observer can record. Grounding rewards plans that use evidence on habit formation, implementation intentions or feedback to shape their design. Feasibility credit goes to plans with realistic frequency and named supports. Measures score well when they include ratings by others, not only self-report, and a follow-up assessment. Organization and APA style complete the grade. A repeat of the original assessment at the end of the plan is often what earns the top measurement score.
HS850 Unit 10 help from the desk
The most frequent weakness is a plan built on broad aims, such as becoming more collaborative, that no one could observe. Another is a timeline of a few weeks for change that research suggests takes months. Some learners rely entirely on self-report to judge progress. Others ignore the strengths that earlier feedback praised and plan changes that would weaken them. Plans without a named risk and response look untested. If your development goal differs, perhaps delegating more or speaking up with senior leaders, send your assessment summary, and a plan can be drafted with cued behaviors, observers and a realistic timeline. Choosing observers who report to you, and so have reason to be generous, also weakens the evidence of progress.
Get an HS850 Unit 10 example written to your instructions
Gather the finding your earlier HS850 work produced, whether an instrument result, rater feedback or a pattern in your records, and describe the meetings or moments where it shows up. Add the Unit 10 prompt and rubric. The plan ties each behavior to a cue and an observer, and arrives within 24-48h, free the first time. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HS850 Unit 10 questions, answered
Must the plan build on an earlier self-assessment?
Many HS850 sections expect it to, and a plan tracing each behavior to evidence gathered earlier in the term is easier to defend. If your earlier result was weak or inconclusive, say so and use other evidence, such as feedback or records of your decisions. What matters is that each commitment answers something specific rather than a general wish to lead better.
Is sixty-six days a rule?
No. It is the median from one well-known study, which also found wide variation between people and behaviors. The sample cites it to justify a horizon longer than a few weeks, not to promise that a habit will be set by a given date. Reporting the range alongside the median keeps the plan honest about uncertainty.
Who can observe my behaviors?
Anyone present when the cue occurs who has no reason to flatter you: a meeting secretary, a peer, a clinical lead, even a calendar or minutes. Tell observers exactly what to record and when. Where the original raters can be asked again, as the sample does with the chairs, the plan closes the loop between the problem and its evidence.
Where can I find a free HS850 Unit 10 sample paper?
The complete Unit 10 development plan is posted here, turning physician feedback into three cued, observable behaviors tracked for nine months.
Why does the plan run nine months?
Habits took a median of about sixty-six days to form in one study, with wide variation, and these behaviors occur only a few times a week, so the plan allows longer.