National Nurses Week 2023: Effective Mentors Helped Chief Nurse Lanie Ward Get Where She Is

A 5-part series celebrating nurse leaders who have claimed their place as a strategic partner in their organization's leadership.

Editor’s note: Hospitals and health systems have seen a steady evolution of chief nursing officers taking a seat at the executive strategy table, guiding and participating in operations and policies. HealthLeaders is featuring five of those nurse executives to discuss their experience as a strategic partner in their organization’s leadership.

Part 3 of a 5-part series

Lanie Ward, MBA, BSN, RN, chief nursing officer of Massachusetts-based Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), credits good mentors with helping her build a strong career of more than 30 years where she has served in senior roles in organizations across the country.

Now, Ward passes along the advice and help she received to nurses also seeking to one day take a seat at the leadership table. Ward spoke to HealthLeaders about what it takes to get there.

This transcript has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Lanie Ward, chief nursing officer, Cambridge Health Alliance / Photo courtesy of Cambridge Health Alliance

HealthLeaders: When did you first become part of the health system’s operational leadership and what was that experience like for you?

Lanie Ward: I came to CHA in July of 2020, and it was a unique and unusual experience for two reasons. I came to this organization as an interim CNO and during the height of the pandemic, and even though I was an experienced CNO with many, many years of experience, I'd never been an interim. I remember asking one of my peers who had been an interim how to best do it and she said, “Just think of yourself as the permanent CNO,” and that was great advice.

And obviously, it was very different coming to a new system, not knowing anyone and them not knowing me, during the pandemic. Instead of meeting in person, I met them via Google Meet from my office, so it was strange being in an organization and not having that personal face-to-face interaction.

However, even with these two challenges, it was so enjoyable. I enjoyed being part of the team during this really challenging time and being a major player in the Incident Command Center. I was truly moved by our healthcare workers, and extremely proud of the nurses and nurse leaders in the entire team, because everyone pulled together during this crisis and it was truly rewarding.

HL: When you first became an operational leader earlier in your career, what was that experience like?

Ward: I started out as a staff nurse and gradually got new projects, new experiences, and increasing responsibilities. When I became chief nursing officer and chief operating officer, I’d been groomed for that. I did some very good things and I still made mistakes and learned from them. But I was a novice CNO at first and so I sought the advice of others, and I was fortunate that I had great mentors.

HL: Nursing schools are adapting their curriculum to prepare nurse leaders to lead organizationally. But it hasn’t always been that way. How did you accumulate the skills to step into an operational leadership role?

Ward: That goes back to what I was saying about how I was fortunate to have those great leaders and mentors who allowed me to take on new projects and increasing responsibilities. They encouraged me to get my MBA, which I did, and they wanted me to attend local and national conferences, so I had a broader look, and they suggested I become a member of nursing organizations, and those were extremely helpful.

I would say that my leaders and mentors celebrated my success, but just as importantly, they allow me to fail and learn from it and get up again. I really, truly mean it when I say I've learned from every leader I've worked with. I’ve learned as much from great leaders as from not-so-great ones. I've also learned a great deal from informal leaders—staff who don't have a position or title, but they certainly are leaders in their area.

I've learned some pearls of what to do and some pearls of what not to do, but as a leader, you never stop acquiring skills and learning. It's a lifelong journey.

HL: What do you as a CNO uniquely bring to your organization's leadership team?

Ward: It’s not unique, but I bring the voice of the nurse to the leadership team and to the decision-making table. But as far as unique things, I have the ability to simplify complex things and bring focus and continued disciplined focus on strategic priorities and initiatives and actions and results. I don't have the tendency to get lost and in putting out all the daily fires, of which there are many.

As importantly, I also bring focus on recognizing and celebrating improvements and successes with the leaders and the frontline staff. That's important because that keeps their motivation and pride going. And I like to think I bring a good bit of fun and humor to our team as well, which is important to me.

HL: Nurses tend to be creative and innovative. How has this served you as an operational leader?

Ward: Nurses have to deal with complex and challenging situations and often the buck stops with us and to do that, we always have to be creative in finding solutions. You can always count on a nurse and nurse leader to figure it out and make it happen because there's nobody for them to turn to. Consequently, in my position, I avoid saying we can't do things, but always focus on how we can do it.

And so, I often like to, “go outside of the box” and look at new and creative solutions and to do that, sometimes I say to myself and to my leaders, “Let's start with a blank piece of paper, and design what we think is the best and a new and innovative approach.” This helps me and others avoid assuming that everything must start with where we are and helps us eliminate, “Doing things the way we've always done them.”

There are times when we need to transform and do things more efficiently, and that blank piece of paper, I think, is a great approach.

HL: How does your health system prepare CNOs to be strategic partners within their own organization’s leadership team?

Ward: Other members of the senior leadership team and I develop the strategic plan for the next few years, and we meet regularly to discuss it and the results and actions. We are strategic partners and recognize that we can't work in silos to achieve our goals, as far as grooming new leaders to move into CNO positions.

We’re very focused on our ACNOs and our nurse managers, finding out their career goals and encouraging them to do some of the same things I did. Certainly, they need to be degree-ready, but they also need to attend national conferences and be members and leaders of local and national nursing organizations.

If I have an ACNO that’s in a specialty area and doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed there and is looking at new projects and increasing responsibilities in other areas—which is what happened to me—we keep advising them and suggesting and encouraging them to do the things that will help them become a CNO, if that's what they want to do.

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