Leadership in public health requires stretching the mind and soul in almost unimaginable ways. Living
the dynamic tension of health as “part individual good served by medicine and part public good secured
by public health activities” (Institute of Medicine, 2003a) represents a privilege and an awesome responsibility.
Upholding the health of others requires complementing a foundation in science with skills in
government, policy, media, economics, sociology, ethics and other dimensions. To survive and thrive,
public health leaders must practice the “tactics of the transcendent” (Parks, 2005)
