The public health leadership institute: leadership training for state and local health officers.

This paper describes the Public Health Leadership Institute (PHLI), a program designed to expand and enhance the leadership skills of senior public health officials. The background of PHLI is discussed, and organizations responsible for its organization, governance and funding are revealed. Methods of selecting a cohort of scholars to participate each year, along with the characteristics of scholars selected, are briefly outlined. A calendar of events and description of PHLI curriculum is included. Specific features of the PHLI program, including peer-learning through electronic conferencing, the one-week learning retreat, and the required action-learning projects are described. Also included are results from an evaluation by 99 participants from the first two years of PHLI's existence. The evaluation is based on a survey of the participants' satisfaction with the program and its personal and institutional effects. The Public Health Leadership Institute provides a model of leadership development for senior public health agency officials. The program has been popular with participants, and the vast majority report improved leadership skills. The personal and organizational effects of PHLI address the deficits in leadership identified in the Institute of Medicine's report, The Future of Public Health.