Incorporating Lived Experience into Health Leadership Development

By: Ozi Ukandu

Over the past two decades, public health leadership training opportunities have expanded dramatically, and leadership has become a core competency for public health professionals (Public Health Foundation, 2021). Despite the recognition of the importance of leadership in public health training and the increasing opportunities to enhance leadership capabilities, a need remains for new leadership perspectives and insights (Brandert et al., 2022). At Proximate Learning, we embrace lived experience as a core leadership capability.

Lived experience is both the representation and acknowledgement of how “an individual’s human experiences, choices, and options…influence one’s perceptions of knowledge” (ASPE, 2025). This experience is often underutilized in our work on health, but it is highly valuable as it can inform and improve leadership efforts. These leaders offer insights that challenge traditionally exclusive notions of leadership. One example is psychologist Dr. Pat Deegan, who used her own lived experience as a person diagnosed with schizophrenia to develop a web application to support shared decision-making in psychopharmacology consultations. This approach to leadership aligns with Loughhead et al.’s (2024) findings that lived experience leadership thrives when “supported by collective efforts in both formal research and sector development activities” (Loughhead et al, 2024). This leadership perspective redefines credibility, not solely by credentials, but by the depth of personal reflexivity and the clear goal of prioritizing community-centered goals. Leadership development programs could be enhanced by utilizing lived experience as a foundation for growth.

What are some ways we can put lived experience leadership principles into practice? Some examples may include

1. Storytelling: Storytelling is a powerful tool for improving public health, and it is even more effective when it comes from a leader with lived experience. It provides opportunities to highlight hurdles, employ empathy for community building, and support group cohesion (Miller et al, 2024). 

   
   

2. Reflexivity: Individual reflexivity should be regarded as a core leadership skill, one that can foster community, transform organizational culture, and inform future practices and policies. Lived experience leaders often operate from a position both within and outside traditional systems, allowing them to counter institutional priorities and the power dynamics that typically shape decisions made by professionals, government agencies, and health bureaucracies (Loughhead et al, 2023). This unique perspective can enable leaders to continually grow by critically examining how policies and decisions are made and by observing how various forces influence the visibility and response to lived experience perspectives.

   
   

3. Appreciative Inquiry: Appreciative inquiry methodologies can be used to highlight the strengths that lived experience brings to leadership and organizational development. This approach can build teams and improve group dynamics.

   
   

Lived experiences should be implemented as a key foundation for leadership development in public health and healthcare. By reimagining who is seen as a leader and tailoring training to support their voices, we move toward a public health workforce that is better equipped to meet the obstacles they will face. Proximate Learning can help your organization prioritize lived experiences as a path for creating resilient and impactful leaders.

References

“Engaging People with Lived Experience to Improve Federal Research, Policy, and Practice.” ASPE, aspe.hhs.gov/lived-experience.

Brandert, K, Alperin, M, Lloyd, L, Rose, B, Bekemeier, B, Rogers, M & Grimm, B. (2022). Learning to Lead: 3 Models to Support Public Health Leadership Development. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 28, S203-S211. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001519

Loughhead, M., Hodges, E., McIntyre, H., Procter, N., Barbara, A., Bickley, B., Martinez, L., Albrecht, L. and Huber, L. (2024), Pathways for Strengthening Lived Experience Leadership for Transformative Systems Change: Reflections on Research and Collective Change Strategies. Health Expectations, 27: e70048. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70048

Miller R, Ehrenberg N, Jackson C, Stein V, Van der Vlegel-Brouwer W, Wojtak A. Just a story? Leadership, lived experience and integrated care. Health Expect. 2024; 27:e14084. doi:10.1111/hex.14084

Loughhead, M., Hodges, E., McIntyre, H., Procter, N. G., Barbara, A., Bickley, B., Harris, G., Huber, L., & Martinez, L. (2023). A model of lived experience leadership for transformative systems change: Activating Lived Experience Leadership (ALEL) project. Leadership in Health Services, 36(1), 9-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-04-2022-0045

Public Health Foundation. “Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals.” Www.phf.org, www.phf.org/resourcestools/pages/core_public_health_competencies.aspx.