A Leadership Toolbox

 

by Thomas H. Hatfield

 

 

Strategies not on the internet

 

1.    Talk with your colleagues, supervisors, and directors about strategy and leadership.  No web site needed here!  That’s right – the people you work with every day should be your first source.  In my younger days, I thought this exercise would be useful to learn what not to do.  I didn’t always think I had the greatest supervisors…   Years later, I realize it’s a lot harder than it looks, the vast majority of my supervisors were outstanding, and my concept of leadership has, well, evolved.  In any event, your progress will undoubtedly depend on the very people in your office, so you may as well join the conversation.  I am also amazed at how each story seems to raise new insights, even with colleagues I have known a long time.

2.    Run for CEHA office.  I am always surprised by the folks who claim that it’s so hard to break into leadership position.  Running for CEHA office is actually fairly easy, and you will get a great lesson in leadership with this group.  I make no claim that CEHA is the perfect organization (although we have a mighty fine journal…).  But you don’t learn about leadership under pristine conditions.  Jump in, get your hands dirty --  we’re waiting for you!

3.    Read with an eye towards strategy and leadership.  This particular issue of the journal is explicitly devoted to strategy and leadership, but every issue is ultimately connected with these concerns.    You will be surprised at what you missed if you start reading with this focus.

 

Training

 

4.    The Art and Science of Leadership.  This is a fairly standard web site, but it’s always good to have at least one traditional source that covers the basic concepts of leadership.  I welcome alternate candidates.

5.    CDC Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute (EPHLI).  This is the program that Mel Knight referred to in his letter to the editor.  A number of Californians have participated in this program, including Margaret Blood.  Margaret details some of her work with this group in her column of this issue.  I have heard nothing but good things about this program and, by the way, Mel and Margaret have both been  recognized as innovative and effective leaders.

6.    10 Essential Environmental Public Health Services.  Strategy seems to begin by reviewing this classic work from the CDC.  It is absolutely required reading for anyone thinking about strategy and leadership in our field.

7.    Center for Health Leadership and Practice   The Center for Health Leadership & Practice has designed and implemented a full range of leadership development programs and consultation activities targeted to the public and private health sectors, the community sector, and academia.  Their partners include Alameda County, the American Public Health Association, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.  They have suggested readings and suggested web sites (independent of the list you are currently reading).

 

Strategic Action Plans

 

Strategic Plans.  They can be death laid out in 10 point font.  Many of them ultimately end up gathering dust.  But for those willing to wade through them, they can provide insights on the leaders who wrote or approved them, they can provide clues for what is missing in your current strategy, and they can even be insights on how things go wrong. 

 

8.    NEHA Strategic Directions   NEHA has eschewed classical approaches to strategic planning in favor of what they call strategic directions.  Since NEHA and CEHA are formally affiliated, and since the next two incoming presidents of NEHA are from California (Mel Knight and Alicia Enriquez), this is a huge opportunity for CEHA members to become involved in strategy and leadership.  

9.    FDA Strategic Action Plan  Although this plan is a few years old, it is instructive at several levels:  it lays out specific strategies for strengthening the agency itself, which remains a timely theme during the budgetary woes in California; it emphasizes the development of public trust, which is also a recurring theme for agencies (see John Schillinger’s column in this issue); and it emphasizes access to new products.   It is this last theme that may warrant further attention from our readers.  The FDA is, of course, in a unique position to emphasize access to products.  However, if we think of products in a broader way, such as online or informational products, this could play a role in marketing the work of our agencies.

10. EPA’s Strategic Plan   EPA’s Strategic Plan sets forth the Agency’s long-term vision, strategic goals and objectives, and strategies to achieve them.  The Plan also introduces strategies for changing the way EPA does business, at least two of which may be of interest to California agencies:  Strengthening partnerships, and Strengthening the workforce.  While this may not always involve direct connections to local agencies, it nevertheless hits upon themes that are relevant to a larger population.

11. Environmental Health: High-level Strategy and Leadership Needed to Continue Progress toward Protecting Children from Environmental Threats   This EPA site is a good example of providing justification for the renewed push for work on children’s health.  Notice that it references previous strategic plans in its justifications. 

12. EPA Leadership.  This site is also devoted to children’s health protection, but is a good example of how the EPA integrates their overall strategy into programs. In this case, the emphasis is on outreach and partnerships, risk assessment, and development of standards and regulations.  This is a good site to consult anytime the concerns of children arise (which is often), but also a good look at how strategy translates to programs.

13. NCEH Strategic Plan O.K., so this is an older plan.  But it is quite specific and comprehensive in its treatment of performance measures.  Soaring rhetoric can only go so far, and this report is a good example of the specificity that can be achieved in strategic plans.

14. ATSDR’s Strategic Plan   This plan is for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and is closely tied to its budget proposal.  It is a good example of how strategic plans tie to budget proposals.

15. NIEHS Strategic Plan   The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is, of course, a more research oriented agency.  However, it is interesting to observe some of the same themes that appear in this strategic plan, including partnerships, workforce development, and connecting new scientific knowledge with public health decisions.

16. California Department of Public Health Strategic Plan  This is an obvious must-read for our readers, and repeats many of the themes mentioned in these pages, including the essential public health services, the need for partnerships, and even SWOT analysis.

17. Cal EPA's first Agency-wide Strategic Vision.    This Strategic Vision commits the Agency and its member boards, departments and office to better understand relationship between social, economic, and environmental issues, with a focus on simultaneously improving the quality of life in all three areas.  It is a good example of many things, especially in making connections between prevention and the economy.

18. State Water Resources Control Board Strategic Plan    Instead of including all the boards, we focus on this plan, because it makes specific reference to the budget cuts and furloughs in California, with subsequent effects on the completion of work from previous strategic plans.  It even identifies shifts in priorities as a result of the budget cuts.  At the same time, it is also careful to document accomplishments to date.   It is a good example of strategic plans during a time of dramatic budget cuts. 

19. OEHHA’s  Strategic Plan   OEHHA's strategic plan charts the direction we will take to accomplish our governing mission. The plan consists of four primary goals, which are aligned with the agency-wide Strategic Vision of Cal/EPA. Each goal is supported by a hierarchy of objectives and cross-media strategies intended to address California’s environmental challenges in the air, in the water, and on land and to identify processes that ensure we will achieve measurable results.

20. CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE OF DIRECTORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH    This site lays out the agenda for the next (as of this writing) CCDEH strategic planning session.  It provides clues as to the next conversation you should have with your director.  In all likelihood, your director will already be approaching you with these issues.  Still, it may help to pick up the clues.

21. CEHA Strategic Plan Committee   And finally, the most obvious of all strategic plans on our list: our own CEHA Strategic Plan Committee.  If you’ve taken the time to wade through the previous reports, you’re an obvious candidate for joining this committee.  These are the kinds of entries on a resume that lead to promotions, and my guess is that it is the kind of conversation that is welcomed by supervisors and directors. 

22. City, County, and private strategic plans. The bad news is that there are too many of these plans to list within this column.  The good news is that you may have a better chance in participating in these plans, especially if you’ve followed the previously mentioned plans. 

 

Awards

 

Finally, after you have demonstrated outstanding leadership and strategic planning, you may as well pick up the accolades for your fine work.  But there is more to these sites than just feeding your ego.  For one thing, you can pick up ideas by observing who is being awarded and, more importantly, why they received these awards.  And for another, it never hurts to show support for your fellow Californians who do outstanding work for the profession.  

 

23. NEHA awards    Many of our California readers have received these awards, and they tend to be regarded as leaders in our field.  It is easy for cynics to regard these awards as nothing more than a collection of wood, glass, metal, and bloated egos.  But a closer look may reveal the habits that led to these awards and, more importantly, the strategies that led to genuine improvements in environmental health. 

24. CEHA Awards & Scholarships   Our last stop on this list: CEHA.   It is understandable during these difficult budgetary times to lose heart, or to imagine that it is impossible to accomplish outstanding work. But the evidence from this group proves otherwise.  Applications must be postmarked on or before February 11,  2011.