The Essentials of Leadership and Management (ELM) Leadership Power Hour: Your Launchpad for Impact equips public health leaders with the strategic insights and tools needed to lead with confidence and drive meaningful change. Over the course of five sessions, these insightful one-hour programs explore key leadership competencies essential for driving organizational success.
The Leadership Power Hour prepares supervisors and managers to become more effective in their roles within governmental public health agencies. The power hours are designed to improve professional skills as a leader, which includes learning how to:
- Improve decision-making and credibility.
- Lead through conflict and handle strategic conversations.
- Take a high-performing approach to giving and receiving feedback.
- Lead with trust in complex environments.
- Identify roadblocks that impede growth.
This program includes live, facilitated online training, opportunities to collaborate with peers, and access to in-depth self-paced learning.
The Leadership Power Hour: Your Launchpad is a part of the ELM suite, which provides training that develops and sharpens skills among new and emerging public health leaders, resulting in a better and more sustainable work environment.
Session Details
Lead with a Clear Lens: Decision-Making that Fosters Trust
Date & Time: March 12, 2026, 2-3 p.m. ET
Speaker: Alice J. Schenall, DrPH, MPH, Senior Advisor, Leadership and Learning Unit, ASTHO
Description: Leaders that deal with competing demands in uncertain times build trust through intentional decision-making. In session one, attendees explore frameworks for decision-making and strategies for engaging with teams, communicating with clarity, and prioritizing competing demands. Participants will learn key techniques to articulate decisions in ways that build trust and drive action.
Participants will:
- Explore prioritization frameworks to inform evidence-based decision-making.
- Examine decision-making under uncertainty.
- Describe methods of communicating with trust and clarity.
Leading Through Conflict with Strategic Conversations
Date & Time: March 26, 2026, 2-3 p.m. ET
Speaker: Dawn Morriston, MPH, Director of Faculty Advancement, Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development, UNC School of Medicine
Description: Leaders committed to building strong teams must be able to navigate conflict effectively in professional and personal interactions and manage difficult or strategic conversations with confidence. Session two, Leading Through Conflict with Strategic Conversations, introduces practical strategies essential to strengthening team performance and enhancing professional credibility. This includes how to maintain productive forward momentum when leading critical discussions or delivering challenging information in the workplace.
Participants will:
- Explore conflict management approaches.
- List and describe types of conversations that lead to negotiation.
- Learn skills to navigate conflict and structure productive conversations.
High-Impact Strategies for Giving and Receiving Feedback
Date & Time: April 2, 2026, 2-3 p.m. ET
Speaker: Laura E. Knights, LCSW, Founder and CEO, Knights Consulting
Description: In fast-moving public health environments, the ability to give and receive feedback effectively is essential for building high-performing, mission-driven teams. Session three of this series, High-Impact Strategies for Giving and Receiving Feedback, introduces leaders to a strategic approach to feedback that strengthens trust, accelerates learning, and supports psychological safety. Participants will explore communication habits, a framework for delivering clear and actionable feedback, and practical tools leaders can immediately use.
Participants will:
- Feedback behaviors that contribute to accountability, learning, and psychological safety.
- How mindset impacts feedback exchanges.
- Frameworks for giving and receiving feedback that support healthy and collaborative team dynamics.
Trust Under Pressure: Leading Teams with Confidence
Date & Time: April 9, 2026, 2-3 p.m. ET
Speaker: Tim Rosselet, Manager, Digital Learning Design, ASTHO
Description: Intentional leaders create conditions for teams to flourish. This includes behaviors that cultivate trust under pressure such as transparent communication, empathy, and emotional regulation. Session four of this series, Trust Under Pressure: Leading Teams with Confidence, explores how steady leadership under pressure contributes to trust. Participants will learn actionable methods to identify trust gaps and lead teams with confidence in complex and demanding environments.
Participants will:
- Define trust and its role in leadership effectiveness.
- Build and sustain trust under pressure.
- Recognize early signs of stress in self and in a team.
- Create a leadership action plan.
The Adaptive Leader: Mastering Clarity, Resilience, and High-Impact Teams
Date & Time: April 23, 2026, 2-3 p.m. ET
Speaker: Christy "Coach Chris" Jones, Co-Founder, Monday Solutions Group
Description: Adaptive leadership requires balancing complex decision-making, competing priorities, and leading diverse teams. The fifth and final session, The Adaptive Leader: Mastering Clarity, Resilience, and High-Impact Teams, focuses on the critical skills that foster trust, promote accountability, and enable collaborative team dynamics under pressure. Leave with renewed clarity, actionable tools, and the confidence to inspire trust and drive meaningful outcomes, even in times of uncertainty.
Participants will:
- Lead Decisively: Confidently focus on what matters most while sustaining trust and managing stress.
- Build Connection: Communicate authentically and cultivate strong, collaborative team relationships.
- Create Your Roadmap: Develop a personalized leadership plan that translates insights into practical, high-impact action.