Strengthening the public health workforce: three CDC programs that prepare managers and leaders for the challenges of the 21st century.

To address the need for management development in public health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established three independent workforce development initiatives aimed primarily at strengthening management and leadership capacity: the Sustainable Management Development Program, the Management Academy for Public Health, and the CDC Leadership and Management Institute. Though independently designed and implemented, the programs share similar guiding principles in their approach to management development: interactive (adult) learning, management tools that reinforce evidence-based decision making, individual feedback, continuous improvement of the learning process, posttraining support for networking and life-long learning, and teamwork. This article will discuss important lessons learned regarding best practices in management and leadership development.