This commentary identifies attributes of successful crises leadership and proposes strategies to teach these attributes to public health leaders.
Under circumstances of extreme stress, crisis leaders must recognize the crisis, make rapid decisions based on limited knowledge, communicate effectively, and balance centralization with delegation. Based on reviews of crisis leadership in multiple disciplines, the authors posit the following attributes for effective public health crisis leaders:
- Competence in public health science
- Decisiveness
- Situational awareness
- Coordination
- Communication
- Trustworthiness
Crisis skills leadership will better prepare public health response leaders to exhibit innovation and take initiative during extremely trying circumstances.
