Leadership in Public Health

Demonstrates integrity with their actions, which helps rally others to support the common cause. 
Demonstrates an interest in the success of everyone on the team through mentorship and supporting the professional development/advancement of team members.

In my experience, leaders that trust their team members to branch out and pursue areas of interest and skill, not only leads to advancement of the individual, but the team itself. 

I think a good leader supports their team, elevating and pushing them to achieve new things and to have ownership of their work. But to also be transparent while being supportive. Good communication.

A poor leader LACKS COMMUNICATION with their staff. Poor leader takes credit for work that their team does, with acknowledging the work others did. Doesn't support them in their work.

Good leaders display high emotional intelligence – they know their strengths and weaknesses (and are open about them), seek feedback from others, share praise with their team, are dependable and are available to their staff. And borrowing from Rebecca – communication is key – staff need to know what is going on. These traits are important because they make people feel validated which helps them work well together – being knowledgeable in your field is not enough to make you a leader. Poor leaders display the opposite of traits listed above.

Good leaders are generally good at both management and thinking about the larger picture of their group and/or agency. They provide the support and mentorship needed for their employees to both succeed at the tasks assigned and grow in their careers. Leaders also consider the short- and long-term goals of their group in order to plan their activities. When planning these activities, good leaders consider what other groups should be alerted or involved in the planning process. The most important trait through all of these aspects of leadership is communication. 

Mediocre or poor leaders can be good at portions of these activities, but struggle with others. Sometimes they're good at most of the leadership aspects, but they lack the effective communication. 

Good leaders have the ability to inspire and motivate their teams to perform their best. While they may sometimes make unpopular decisions for the good of the organization, they rely on their teams for input and information. Good leaders share mutual respect and trust their team members. They communicate clearly and openly with their team members.

Poor leaders frequently do not trust or have not earned the trust of their team members. Communication is often poor, infrequent and guarded. Because they do not trust their team members, they do not seek input from the subject matter experts and may make decisions that lead to negative, unintended consequences for the organization.

Adding on to what Rebecca and Carrell said, in my experience, being a good leader includes being supportive when your team members are feeling down and elevating them (and letting them shine) when they succeed. Good leaders also try to seek out new, innovative ways of improving their team's work/program and avoid getting stuck in "outdated" ways of thinking (especially if that was what was accepted as the "easiest" way of getting things done). Good leaders also know respect is a two-way street.  

Conversely, poor leaders often struggle with communication. With a lack of communication comes a lack of trust and respect for the leader. Poor leaders also tend to ignore the expertise of others, especially when it is a topic they are not as familiar with, and think their way is the only way of doing things.

Agree with all that has been said. Also would add that a good leader has a strategic vision that s/he can can communicate and get buy-in from staff to implement plan. 

From my point-of-view, there are few people that naturally come by all of the important leadership traits, most people will have one or two but need to develop the others. In my experience, leadership skills, or development of these skills, is not highly prioritized. For that reason, I think good leaders are rarer than they can and should be.

I also agree with all that has been said previously. As others have mentioned, I believe leaders should be effective communicators and provide frequent communication with the team. They should also listen to their staff and respect their ideas but also be able to redirect them as well if needed. Leaders should help their team make progress and act in the right way. They should also set clear goals and expectations. I think it is also important for a leader to have a positive attitude and figure out ways to keep the team motivated. They should also provide opportunities for growth and skill development. 

Poor leaders may only focus on their ideas and may not communicate effectively. Poor leaders also may fail to inform other of decisions being made and don't provide opportunities for feedback. 

I think others have made many great points. I can’t agree more. From my observations, I think great leaders are also knowledgeable in their area. They don’t have to be the top subject matter experts. They don't have to have advanced degrees to be knowledgeable either. But they know enough to recruit the best-fit team members, guide their teams effectively, and tell what makes sense (vs. not). And their knowledge could very well be developed at work.   

In contrast, poor leaders may not have sufficient subject matter expertise; or they don’t have open minds to learn; or they fail to acknowledge their team members’ achievements; or even worse, that they take credits of other’s achievements. 

I think a great leader is essentially someone who is able to keep their eye on the big picture, is able to communicate the goals and purpose of the team to its members, and works to keep everyone aligned, working towards those goals. They work to make the team members invested in the purpose of the group and does not just expect them to do what they are told unquestioningly. 

I think a poor leader is one who does not communicate clearly with their team, does not set clear expectations, and simply expects what them to do what they are told.

From my experience, great leaders are people who can nurture talent, who are visionaries that can implement short term and long term infrastructural goals in place to achieve their objectives. I think that great leaders have a purpose, are direct and upfront, and they lead by demonstrating their willingness to include others and know how to extract knowledge and skills from others in way that they feel valued, respected, and apart of the vision.  Great leaders are willing to learn and not afraid to be wrong and acknowledge it. They can learn from their mistakes, they apologize, they leave a line of communication open, they companion their teams.

Poor leaders are those silo people, knowledge, skills, and resources. Those who don't care about what they are doing but just trying to "get ahead." Poor leaders seem to like to keep up chaos and confusion, are egocentric, and have a need to make others feel less than them. Poor leaders seem to be petty people who have grudges and try to hurt others.