Public Health Leadership In The 21st Century

Abstract

Leadership in public health requires stretching the mind and soul in almost unimaginable ways. Living the dynamic tension of health as “part individual good served by medicine and part public good secured by public health activities” (Institute of Medicine, 2003a) represents a privilege and an awesome responsibility. Upholding the health of others requires complementing a foundation in science with skills in government, policy, media, economics, sociology, ethics and other dimensions. To survive and thrive, public health leaders must practice the “tactics of the transcendent” (Parks, 2005).