“Real Collaboration: The give-and-take of human beings who are so dedicated to a mission they will set aside the politics of organizations, share the difficulties, and invent solutions together.”  William H. Foege, MD, MPH

Dr. Foege should know. Through his leadership and commitment solve some of the most significant global health challenges, he’s been credited, among other things with devising the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s. This is just one example of the impact he’s had throughout his illustrious career, as an American epidemiologist and global health leader and original thinker. In 2007, Dr. Foege was named among ‘Best Leaders’ by US News and World Report.  As he approaches his 75th birthday, he remains an important voice in global health, even as  in 2011. Dr. Foege’s a Senior Fellow in the Global Health Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle and a Senior Fellow at The Carter Center in Atlanta.

Dr. Foege concepts about collaboration were the foundation  for recently released book: Real Collaboration: How Global Health Can Succeed. Elizabeth Hayes, a recent guest on my Leadership-Everyday radio program, is one of the book’s four co-authors.  We spoke of the book’s key findings and recommendations. It is a great book with a companion DVD with videos to share a practical toolkits with relevant forms in PDF. Very user friendly. I’ll be writing more about collaboration and 21st Century leadership in future posts. It does take practice, but is well-worth it.

Marguerite