Case Study 2 – Part 1: Leadership Challenges as the CDC Director
Examples of leadership challenges one would face as the director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in assuring the system changes implemented will help significantly to mitigate, if not prevent, the next Ebola outbreak would be communication and information/data management. To explicate, the CDC must partner and work with various, multidisciplinary organizations to coordinate public health education (including medical personnel), surveillance and reporting of suspected and/or active Ebola cases, and response teams in containing and preventing the spread of the disease. In the example of the Ebola case in Sierra Leone, researchers found several challenges the investigators encountered when conducting Ebola virus disease (EVD) investigations and they included the following: transportation, communication, data quality and management, personal safety and fatigue, and community trust (Boland, Polich, Connolly, Hoar, Sesay, & Tran, 2017). With numerous factors at play in preventing infectious disease outbreaks, the CDC director must be able to communicate effectively and utilize robust influential skills to mobilize and sync the efforts of multidisciplinary teams.
The barriers that the CDC director face are no different than the leader in a different role and/or organization. The common denominator that all of these leaders have is that they all need to collaborate and work with others, whether in the form of vertical and/or horizontal leadership. To clarify, leaders must exercise versatility in being able to lead through influence and coaching by appreciating the work that all stakeholders in every level contribute to in solving systems, if not global, issues as it pertains to infectious disease outbreaks. As Robinson (2016) supported, leaders need to shift their paradigm by moving “beyond one set of leadership behaviors to increase flexibility in dealing with complex situations.” All in all, leadership challenges do not confine itself to a particular discipline.
Reference
Boland, S. T., Polich, E., Connolly, A., Hoar, A., Sesay, T., & Tran, A. A. (2017). Overcoming
operational challenges to ebola case investigation in sierra leone. Global Health,
Science and Practice, 5(3), 456-467. https://doi- org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-17-00126
Robinson, J. L. (2016). Connecting leadership and learning: Do versatile learners make
connective leaders? Higher Learning Research Communications, 6(1). Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost- com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1132945&site=eds -live&scope=site
WEEK 9 Reading Resources
Nahavandi, A. (2015). The art and science of leadership (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
· Chapter 6, “Current Era in Leadership” (pp. 178–201)
Gostin, L.O., Lucey, D., & Phelan, A. (2014). The Ebola epidemic: A global health emergency. Journal of the American Medical Associ.
Case Study 2 – Part 1 Leadership Challenges as the CDC Director.docx
1. Case Study 2 – Part 1: Leadership Challenges as the CDC
Director
Examples of leadership challenges one would face as the
director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) in assuring the system changes implemented will help
significantly to mitigate, if not prevent, the next Ebola outbreak
would be communication and information/data management. To
explicate, the CDC must partner and work with various,
multidisciplinary organizations to coordinate public health
education (including medical personnel), surveillance and
reporting of suspected and/or active Ebola cases, and response
teams in containing and preventing the spread of the disease. In
the example of the Ebola case in Sierra Leone, researchers
found several challenges the investigators encountered when
conducting Ebola virus disease (EVD) investigations and they
included the following: transportation, communication, data
quality and management, personal safety and fatigue, and
community trust (Boland, Polich, Connolly, Hoar, Sesay, &
Tran, 2017). With numerous factors at play in preventing
infectious disease outbreaks, the CDC director must be able to
communicate effectively and utilize robust influential skills to
mobilize and sync the efforts of multidisciplinary teams.
The barriers that the CDC director face are no different
than the leader in a different role and/or organization. The
common denominator that all of these leaders have is that they
all need to collaborate and work with others, whether in the
form of vertical and/or horizontal leadership. To clarify,
leaders must exercise versatility in being able to lead through
influence and coaching by appreciating the work that all
stakeholders in every level contribute to in solving systems, if
not global, issues as it pertains to infectious disease outbreaks.
As Robinson (2016) supported, leaders need to shift their
paradigm by moving “beyond one set of leadership behaviors to
2. increase flexibility in dealing with complex situations.” All in
all, leadership challenges do not confine itself to a particular
discipline.
Reference
Boland, S. T., Polich, E., Connolly, A., Hoar, A., Sesay, T., &
Tran, A. A. (2017). Overcoming
operational challenges to ebola case investigation in sierra
leone. Global Health,
Science and Practice, 5(3), 456-467. https://doi-
org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-17-00126
Robinson, J. L. (2016). Connecting leadership and learning: Do
versatile learners make
connective leaders? Higher Learning Research
Communications, 6(1). Retrieved from https://search-
ebscohost-
com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eri
c&AN=EJ1132945&site=eds -live&scope=site
WEEK 9 Reading Resources
Nahavandi, A. (2015). The art and science of leadership (7th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
· Chapter 6, “Current Era in Leadership” (pp. 178–201)
Gostin, L.O., Lucey, D., & Phelan, A. (2014). The Ebola
epidemic: A global health emergency. Journal of the American
Medical Association, 312(11), 1095-1096.
Melvyn R. W., Hamstra, N. W., Yperen, V., Wisse, B. &
Sassenberg K. (2011). Leadership styles and followers’
3. regulatory focus fit reduces followers’ turnover
intentions. Journal of Personnel Psychology , 10(4), 182–186.
Lindebaum, D., & Cartwright, S. (2010). A critical examination
of the relationship between emotional intelligence and
transformational leadership. Journal of Management Studies,
47(7), 1317-1342.
Silvia, C., & McGuire, M. (2010). Leading public sector
networks: An empirical examination of integrative leadership
behaviors.The Leadership Quarterly, 21(2), 264-277.
Weberg, D. (2010). Transformational leadership and staff
retention: An evidence review with implications for healthcare
systems. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 34(3), 246-258.
Babou. (2008, August 4). Transactional leadership vs.
transformational leadership. Leadership & Project Management
Champions. Retrieved from
http://leadershipchamps.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/transactiona
l-leadership-vs-transformational-leadership/
Gupta, A. (2009, June 29). Transformational leadership.
Practical Management. Retrieved from http://www.practical-
management.com/Leadership-Development/Transformational-
Leadership.html
Leadership-Central. (2015). Leadership theories. Retrieved from
http://www.leadership-central.com/leadership-
theories.html#axzz1dlH7YU4o
