“The Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is one of the most important member volunteer positions in the organization, and here’s why: The main purpose of the LDC is to recruit, vet, and select ONS Board of Directors. As some of you may know, it has been three years since we moved away from members voting for directors,” ONS member Nancy Houlihan, MA, RN, AOCN®, 2020–2022 ONS president and former director of nursing practice at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about what it’s like to serve on the Leadership Development Committee. 

The advertising messages in this podcast episode are paid for by Ipsen.   

Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod  

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  

Episode Notes  

• This episode is not eligible for NCPD. 
• Oncology Nursing Podcast™ episodes: 
  • Episode 340: What It’s Like to Plan an ONS Conference 
  • Episode 337: Meet the ONS Board of Directors: Haynes, Wilson, and Yackzan 
  • Episode 270: Meet the ONS Board of Directors: Brown, MacIntyre, and Woods 
  • Episode 239: Meet the ONS Board of Directors: Allen, Mathey, and Robison 
  • Episode 224: Meet the ONS Board of Directors: Nevidjon, Geddie, and Garner 
  • Episode 213: Meet the ONS Board of Directors: Brant, Burger, and Knoop 
  • Episode 200: Meet the ONS Board of Directors: Houlihan, Ferguson, and Polovich 
• ONS Voice articles: 
  • Find Your Voice With ONS’s Leadership Development Committee 
  • Nursing Leadership Unlocked 
  • Nurses Empower Change Through Leadership and Advocacy Roles 
  • Think Tank Will Explore Nurse Leadership Development Initiatives 
• ONS course: Board Leadership: Nurses in Governance 
• ONS Volunteer Opportunities  
• ONS Leadership Learning Library 
• Contact the LDC 

To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  

To find resources for creating an Oncology Nursing Podcast™ Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. 

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email [email protected]. 

Highlights From This Episode

“I feel like I have come full circle, developing my knowledge and leadership skills over 25 years, both at ONS and in my professional career, applying them to ONS leadership as a director and an officer, and then transferring that knowledge to work with a diverse team of ONS members on the LDC to build the best slate of directors.” TS 3:52 

“There’s an annual review and editing of processes based on experience and discussion with board leadership and a review of the [notification of intent] and full applications of candidates for the board of directors. As you can imagine, reviewing the notifications of intent packages and the full applications, references, and interviews is very time consuming and requires significant at home and meeting time to complete. The application process is rigorous. The LDC members are the stewards of that work, ensuring fairness and ending with the best possible board of directors.” TS 6:22 

Each member of the LDC recognizes the importance of their role in identifying future leaders. They regularly interact with chapter members and leaders and others to relay the opportunities and processes for leadership roles, as I mentioned already, the LDC annually offers Round Table sessions at Congress and bridge. They are advertised to appeal to nurses with an interest in leadership in general, as well as at ONS.” TS 8:28 

“An important component to this role is meeting the diversity needs on the board, and every effort is made to ensure that our net is cast wide and is inclusive, while the skill set for board service is at a higher level, we uphold ONS principles relative to belonging and look for an inclusive compliment of directors.” TS 9:33 

“Frequently, the LDC works with qualified candidates who opt to wait to move forward because of work commitments, graduate school demands, or family concerns and come back when their lives are more settled, enough to take on the commitments of ONS. Support of employers is a required part of the application for the LDC and the board of directors, since time away from work can be challenging. However, many employees see ONS affiliation as a positive for their organization and are willing to engage in discussions with you about how to make a leadership role possible with your work responsibilities.”  TS 10:28 

“Historically, there has been a misconception that you can’t ‘break into ONS leadership.’ I have served the last four years, and my experience has been that we are always looking for new qualified thought leaders from every possible group that ONS serves. For example, we track what worksites our leaders come from so that we have every subspecialty’s voice over time.” TS 16:27  

“Bottom line is, ONS needs you. Don't be shy to try. The door is open to discuss, and the right opportunity could be available.” TS 17:00 

“I am constantly reminded about how smart and influential nurses are and how much they have to contribute. Working with an organization like ONS that unites you with others around a common purpose is very powerful.” TS 17:15  

“You know, ONS needs leaders; we’re always looking to talk with people about what their interests and strengths are and how they can develop some of those strengths through various volunteer activities.” TS 18:39