One of my favorite annual events is the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) conference. I always look forward to connecting with colleagues, listening to first-class plenary presentations, participating in the breakout sessions of my choice, applauding the work of nurses presented through poster sessions, and learning about the latest products and programs while walking through the exhibit hall. This year was an especially meaningful meeting, because AONE was celebrating its 50th anniversary. A timeline of the organization's history adorned the exhibit hall to remind us of our many milestones. Photographs of members from the distant and more recent past were flashed across screens at the President's Reception. Panels of speakers shared stories and lessons learned over the years. In multiple small group and one-on-one chats, colleagues shared the pride and nostalgia evoked by our individual and shared memories.
As this edition is going to press, I'm thinking about all of these conference activities, but especially about the personal conversations, some of which have continued (by phone and e-mail) after the AONE meeting. Many of my colleagues are contemplating retirement, or have already retired, from their full-time leadership positions. Their reflections at this stage of their careers seem to fall into 2 main categories: (1) how they plan to transition from their current roles to something else; and (2) what they see as their professional legacies.
The former discussions (on transitions) almost always include plans for new adventures that sound suspiciously like a continuation of their careers. These retiring leaders may be vacating their executive or management positions, but they have ideas for pursuing, at least on a part-time basis, new roles that serve others. Some look forward to teaching or research positions. Some are contemplating part-time or temporary (agency) jobs. Some speak of political involvement, community service, or volunteer work. They mention that they have more to give and want to "ease" into retirement. Several express an understanding that they will probably feel a significant loss when they leave successful, meaningful, and, in some cases, high-profile positions. They speak about how they will miss the professional roles that they have considered a major part of their identities.
In addition, they express hope that the work they've done will be advantageous to those who follow them. As one colleague said to me,
I've loved being a nurse executive, and I've had what many people would say is a very successful career. In truth, though, it's been full of some pretty stressful times, struggling to get a place at the table for nurses while facing a continual bias against females in hospitals even though most of the staff are women ... working to correct incorrect perceptions about the work we do ... having to prove, time and time again, that the organization will be financially successful if the patients get quality care from people who see them as individuals deserving of the very best care, and not just a payment source. I want to know that what I've been able to do will make it so CNEs of the next generation will have a leg up on their own struggles to make health care better. I don't want them to have to fight the same old battles I did ... at least not all of them.
What I heard her saying was that she wants her lifetime efforts to have resulted in progress that can be built on ... for the betterment of patients and nurses. While she didn't use the word, she was talking about her legacy.
A legacy is what we leave for those who follow us. Nurse leaders (along with our teams) leave an "inheritance" of organization cultures, care models, or evidence and research that will inform future models. We may have been successful in changing perceptions, prejudice, or poor/unfair practices. We may have influenced the development of laws and regulations. We have most likely mentored one, or dozens, of colleagues who will improve health care. In one way or another, we have touched and altered the lives of individual patients, caregivers, communities, and/or countries. My guess is that most of us desire, as my colleague does, to have changed the world (or at least our part of the world) for the better ... and we'd like what we've changed to have an enduring influence on the future.
None of us will know everyone and everything we have influenced. As Pam Thompson, CEO Emeritus of AONE, shared in one of the annual meeting presentations, she learned from a colleague that "we don't get to choose our legacies," because it is those who follow us who will decide what they value. However, we can take steps to ensure that our experiences are not lost. In that way, we can help the next generation of leaders get that proverbial "leg up." One way we do this is through sharing lessons learned.
The Nursing Administration Quarterly Advisory Board selected this edition's topic as a vehicle for preserving the wisdom of transitioning nurse leaders, many of whom are planning "retirement." Guest editors Joyce Batcheller and Frank Shaffer have collected an exceptional group of articles and interviews that document a generation of leadership knowledge. The authors and interviewees included here have contributed much to "nursing" and "health care." Their words serve as a testament to well-deserved legacies. I know you will enjoy, appreciate, and learn from what they have to share.
Thank you for choosing to lead.
-Kathleen D. Sanford, DBA, RN, FACHE, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief
Nursing Administration Quarterly