Distinguish the epidemiologic and operational characteristics of three recent public health emergencies (mpox 2022, Ebola Sudan 2022, H5N1 in dairy cattle 2024) — and explain how their differing incubation periods, transmission dynamics, and risk profiles shaped the response.
Evaluate the cascading impact of public health decisions across clinical operations, healthcare systems, and the broader social, economic, and political landscape — recognizing that choices made in one sector reverberate through many.
Apply 360-degree decision-making by integrating epidemiologic data, operational realities, workforce and resource constraints, political dynamics, and anticipated downstream consequences — within and beyond the healthcare sector.
Identify and reconcile the competing needs of diverse stakeholders — from frontline clinical staff and patients to interagency partners, elected officials, media, and the public — to build the trust and coalitions that sustain a coordinated response.
Advise a senior leader under uncertainty by proposing a suite of options, articulating clear pros, cons, and risk trade-offs, and drawing on trust in colleagues, staff, and prior experience to guide sound judgment when time is short and information is incomplete.
In this era of poly-crises, where health emergencies are increasing in frequency and severity, senior health leaders must be able to make good decisions and communicate them clearly and decisively in order to lead through crises that are fast-moving and high stakes, with implications to several sectors including health care, public health, private industry, education and all levels of government. Health Crisis Leadership: Decision-Making, Strategy, and Simulation is the Harvard Chan Advanced Learning Academy’s flagship on-campus leadership program for executives seeking practical tools to make sound decisions under pressure, navigate complex stakeholder and media dynamics, and strengthen crisis response in their organizations. Taught by renowned leaders Rochelle Walensky and Dawn O’Connell, this immersive program uses real-world health crisis cases and applied discussion to help participants interpret the broader communications environment, lead with confidence, and bring actionable insights back to their institutions.
Responding to a health emergency requires quick decision making with limited and often imperfect information. Leaders must understand the substance of each decision, the available options, the anticipated downstream consequences – both inside and beyond the healthcare sector – and undertake a risk analysis with very little time for consideration or margin for error. Each leader, across the larger enterprise, is making their own series of decisions that interconnect with the larger effort – from commerce and travel to education and security – all with possible political ramifications. Trusting your colleagues, your staff, and your gut – shaped by prior experiences – are critical elements to leading any response. Rochelle Walensky and Dawn O’Connell designed this class to provide you a front row seat to the behind-the-scenes machinations of a response, demonstrating how important it is to ground yourself in the facts, to cultivate strong relationships with colleagues, and to surround yourself with staff that you trust.
