Public Health Workplace Self-Assessment Tool for ‘Leadership for All’
Skill Statements for the Competency Area ‘Leadership for All’
(Note: These statements are to be incorporated into the Public Health Core Competency Surveys)
The skill statements are taken from the LEADS Framework and other sources[1] and have been vetted through discussions with Northern Health to identify the leadership skills that are unique to Public Health.
1. Lead Self: “Self-Motivated Leaders’
a. Aware of own assumptions, values, principles, styles, emotions, strengths and limitations, and able to take responsibility for own performance.
b. Demonstrates capacity and actively seeks opportunities for personal learning, growth and character building (honesty, integrity, resilience and confidence).
2. Engage others: ‘Engaging Leaders’
a. Able to foster development of others - supporting, recognizing, encouraging and motivating them to achieve professional and personal goals.
b. Able to create enabling environments where others have meaningful opportunity to contribute. e.g., building teams, facilitating environments that promote community capacity building, cooperation and collaboration.
3. Achieve Results: ‘Goal-Oriented Leaders’
a. Able to inspire a shared vision and to identify, establish and communicate clear and meaningful expectations and outcomes to achieve the vision.
b. Able to strategically align decisions with organizational/program purpose, objectives, values and evidence, and take action to implement these decisions with accountability.
4. Develop Coalitions: ‘Collaborative Leader’
a. Able to purposefully build partnerships and networks and facilitate collaboration, cooperation and coalition-building among groups with diverse perspectives.
b. Demonstrates political sensitivity in mobilizing support and resolving conflict.
5. System Transformation: ‘Successful Leaders’
a. Able to challenge the status quo, envision future needs or trends and foster a climate of continuous improvement, creativity and innovation to create opportunities for change e.g., champion and orchestrate change.
b. Able to mobilize knowledge and employ methods to gather intelligence, encourage open exchange of information, and use quality evidence to influence change.
6. Public Health Content Knowledge
a. Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of public health sciences and issues.
b. Understands and able to apply a population and determinants of health approach, using equity and social justice practices to improve the health and well-being of communities and populations.
7. Public Health Ethics
a. Able to be neutral (a-political, with no vested interest) to maintain focus on the well-being of others, and to ensure the best results are achieved for the broader group e.g., be an honest broker.
b. Able to apply ethical values that place emphasis on “doing the right things” for the health of the public/community as well as “doing things right”.
8. Advocacy
a. Able to act or speak out against the general opinion or stakeholder interest for the greater public good/health of the population.
b. Able to advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves, and for supportive environments, services and resources that foster health and well-being of communities and populations.
9. Citizen/Community-Centred
a. Able to foster and sustain a citizen/community-centred culture to respond to the needs of the community and facilitate community-capacity-building.
PHABC - Consultant Team: Zena Simces and Sue Ross, September 2010
[1] Public Health Agency of Canada – Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada Release 1.0, 2008;
LEADS Framework endorsed by the Canadian College of Health Executives, the Canadian Health Leadership Network and the Leaders for Life; PHABC Core Competencies Project, December 2008- Core and Technical Competencies for Public Health in BC Phase 1- Needs Assessment Final Report;
Paper prepared by Dr. Brent W. Moloughney (2008). Identification of a Draft Set of Leadership/Management Competencies for Public Health Managers: Draft 1.4. Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa.