Congratulations to our newly elected Board members:

• President-Elect, Bill McDermott, MSW, LCSW
• Education Director, Heather Goltz, PhD, LMSW, MEd
• Director-at-Large, Linda Mathew, MSW, LCSW-R, OSW-C

We extend a warm welcome and look forward to working with you.

Speaking of elections, in the world around us it’s that time of year in an election cycle when candidates are emerging, debates are taking place and we begin to think about societal problems with more scrutiny. At its core, one of the major pillars in this democratic process is the idea of value and what matters most to voters.

Value can be defined in a variety of ways from our social work core values to the value-based care in an oncology care model. It can also be applied or assigned to nearly anything–personally and professionally. We work each day with people living with cancer and value comes up as a theme quite consistently. For example,

• When a patient is weighing decisions surrounding quality vs. quantity of life.
• When a parent is balancing competing demands in the role as “patient” vs. the role of “mom” or “dad.”
• When someone is seeking a “new start” after diagnosis in an effort to reduce stress, such as in a career or relationship.
• When anyone is surviving with limited resources and now has added financial stressors.

True story. As a young professional, I was sitting at my desk in a community mental health organization when realization hit me and I said aloud, “I am not valued!” I began planning my exit that same day. As I look back, I realize that moving to another employer wasn’t the only way to approach this goal. In my case, it worked out—but it could easily have backfired.

As I became a more seasoned professional, I realized there are other ways I could add value to my career. “When is the last time you stopped to think about your professional value and how it is being measured?” Our bosses evaluate our work performance, our health systems assign a monetary value to the services we provide and our patients may evaluate us on satisfaction surveys.

I can still recall the phone call I made to a colleague and friend about four years ago, describing the feeling I was having that something was missing. Things at work were going well, I was enjoying my work but I was still feeling like I needed more fulfillment without the ability to commit large amounts of time. This conversation led me to joining the AOSW Education Committee, then the Board as Membership Director and now President of AOSW. The feeling I couldn’t put into words was the desire to be involved in something I personally valued. It was as though I’d skipped forward to Erickson’s generativity vs. stagnation stage of psychosocial development ahead of schedule. In fact, a key question at this stage is, “Will I provide something of real value?”

Quite often when I think about the value of anything, I immediately think about how it’s measured. But what about the kind of value that cannot be measured? What about those times where there is incongruence on whether or not value exists or disagreement about the actual value of something? In recent interactions with local oncology social workers, the idea of value has come up quite a bit–most notably in the realm of the value that our health systems, supervisors or organizations place on each of us and the services we provide. In my experience this kind of extrinsic value is fleeting. As the only oncology social worker at my hospital, it has taken years to get my team to have an understanding of my role; at times it felt exhausting. Stepping out of my work “box” and getting more involved with AOSW was the way I could do something to feel valued.

So what do you value? Does your day-to-day work or your current volunteer activities provide the value to you and your career in the way you had hoped? This is the real measurement that matters most; think of it as a personal return on investment. According to Harry M. Kraemer, author of From Values to Action, “The objective of values-based leadership is to do the right thing by making choices and decisions that are aligned with your values” (2011, p . 4). Each one of us has so much to give. For some, the steps to add value will lead to a Board position, for others it may lead to join a committee, present at conference, become a mentor or decide to accept a student for the first time. There may be other avenues to explore, such as within your local or regional oncology social work group. Connect with colleagues or your AOSW State Representative to learn more! It all represents leadership!

• If you’re unsure of where to start, begin with what you are passionate about.
• If your passion is unclear, begin with what peaks your interest.
• If you’re not sure you have time but there is interest, begin with dedicating an hour or two.

I’ll end with a quote from Brenda Barnes, the first female CEO at PepsiCo. and former CEO of Sara Lee. “The most important thing about leadership is your character and the values that guide your life.”

Reference

Kraemer, H. (2011). From Values to action: The four principles of values-based leadership. New York: John Wiley & Sons.