e-Update: The Society of Consulting Psychology

A Letter From the President
Paul Winum, Ph.D.

New initiatives, new faces and renewed commitment- our Society is on the move! Last month at the 111^th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Toronto, a new board began its work to advance the profession of consulting psychology and to serve the members of Division 13 of the APA, the Society of Consulting Psychology. On behalf of the board, I would like to share the main elements of what we have planned for the year and how we hope the board’s agenda will benefit you, our profession and the clients we serve.

There has never been a more important or relevant time for consulting psychology. The landscape within which we operate is characterized by more complexity, diversity and continuous change than we have ever experienced. Organizations are faced with tremendous opportunities co-mingled with daunting challenges. The behavioral sciences are at their most developed state ever and there is a critical need to transfer what we know to individuals, groups and organizations in a variety of settings. It is within this context that the members of our Society are practicing and that our organization is working to capture the opportunities and meet the challenges. Here is what we are beginning to execute this year.

First of all, four goals were set by the board for the 2003-2004 year:

1. To advance the structure and clarity of board roles in alignment with the mission, direction and key stakeholders of our Society,

2. To enhance, extend and execute the core services of the Society to members,

3. To increase the membership of the Society by 170 members, and

4. To strengthen our treasury and balance sheet.

At the August incoming board meeting, all board roles and activities were organized around the three main components of the Society’s mission: to set standards and develop the profession, to provide services to members and to protect and serve the public (client) interests. Below are the specific initiatives and the individuals who will be taking primary responsibility for executing them.

The lifeblood of our Society is the membership and the board is firmly committed to growing the number and variety of Division 13 members. Andrew Berns, our Membership Chair and Steve Gravenkemper, our President-Elect have teamed up to lead several initiatives including the formation of Special Interest Groups for members from similar professional settings (e.g. academic, independent practice, consulting firms, etc.). Ann O’Roark, our representative on the APA Council and the Chair of the Committee on International Relations, is working to increase the engagement of consulting psychologists who practice outside the U.S. Rob Fazio and Richelle Reyes, the student representatives on the board, are beginning a membership outreach effort to students in doctoral programs across the nations who are interested in consulting as a career. Amy Owen, along with a special new committee comprised of Mark Sirkin, Kerry Cronan, and Member at Large Randy White, is advancing an exciting new initiative to engage our clients more in the activities of our Society. To accomplish this, a new membership category – Professional Affiliate – has been established to enable client and other organizational representatives to participate in the development of our profession. This initiative advances the theme of Past President Dick Diedrich’s Presidential Address delivered in Toronto, “Let’s Listen to Our Clients”. Dick, who is continuing as the Editor of the Consulting Psychology Journal, is backing up his talk by adding a new regular feature to this increasingly influential publication wherein clients and sponsors of our consulting services will offer perspectives about the challenges they face and the work we are doing to address their needs. Look for the first of these sometime in 2004. Parallel with the work to grow our membership are a number of significant service developments to continue the execution of recommendations of the Futures Task Force headed by John Fennig, the chair of our board’s Organizational Renewal Committee. Several educational and training offerings are being developed by the E&T Committee, chaired by Stewart Cooper, including a mentoring program, regional workshops and webinars on topics of interest to our members. Our Webmaster, Steve Kincaid, has updated our website and has included a job posting section where our Sustaining Professional Affiliate members can announce position openings within their organizations. Also, we are embarking upon an Media and Public Relations initiative headed by Judy Blanton and Randy White to cultivate relationships with journalists who can help get out the stories about the good work consulting psychologists are doing. Judy will also be continuing her efforts to address licensure portability and other important issues in the role of our Professional Affairs Committee Chair. Skip Leonard, the Internet Publications and Communications Chair, has agreed to support many of these initiatives.

The annual highlight of the Society’s program year is the Midwinter Conference and 2004 will be no exception. Working consistently since last February, Co-Chairs Virginia Mullin (also our Treasurer) and Kevin Somerville (also a Member at Large) have constructed an outstanding program of presentations and workshops featuring some of the most influential leaders in our field. The conference is scheduled from February 5-8 at the beautiful Westin Hotel in Pasadena, California, where Chris Argyris, David Campbell, Jag Sheth, Mike Csikszentmihalyi, Susan Mohrman and Alan Weiss will be delivering keynote addresses. In addition to the keynotes, a number of other stimulating sessions are planned including presentations by several client executives. This promises to be the best Midwinter Conference yet so mark your calendars and register soon to get the early bird rate. More information about this is now listed on the Society’s website (www.apa.org/divisions/div13).

There are some other people hard at work to advance the mission of our Society and to deliver first-rate services to our membership. Diana Gordick has agreed to serve as the Program Chair for the 2004 APA Convention scheduled from July 29 through August 1^st in Honolulu. Greg Pennington, Member at Large, is working on ethics, diversity and inclusion initiatives to ensure our Society is responsive to the broad interests and needs of our members and clients. Paul Lloyd and Rodney Lowman – both past presidents of Division 13 - have agreed to ensure the continuing recognition of outstanding contributors to our field as the chairs of the Fellow Committee and Awards Committee, respectively. Harriet Copher Haynes is again taking up the important roles of Board Secretary and Archivist to ensure our records and procedures ensure and enable continuity throughout and across the years. Jeff Crawford will be working to ensure that participants in qualifying programs are awarded the CE credits they accrue and will be assisting Sheila Kampa on the ground in Honolulu in constructing a terrific Hospitality Suite Program for the convention. Our old friend Lorraine Rieff and her staff at Rieff and Associates will again be handling all the registration and on-site logistics for the Midwinter Conference. Thanks to Debra Robinson, our electronic newsletter, The Consulting Psychologist, has been expertly edited to bring you the latest updates from your professional organization. Lastly, our Society’s able administrator, Barbara Keeton, will be providing critical support to most of the initiatives and programs just mentioned as well as ensuring our required reporting interfaces with APA and the IRS proceed without a hitch.

Well, that’s my summary of our goals and agenda for the year. I hope this gives you a taste of all that’s being done by the dedicated volunteers who comprise our board to develop our profession, our capacity to serve our clients well and to provide outstanding value to you as a member of this Society. These are the people you should contact if you have any questions or have a special interest in any of these initiatives. Contact information for all board members is listed on our website. I am grateful to have such a distinguished and committed group to work with this year and look forward to seeing you all in Pasadena at the Midwinter Conference. In the meantime, there are three things I would like to ask of you. First, please renew your membership promptly when your statement arrives from APA. Second, invite at least one person to join the Society (either as a Regular Member or Professional Affiliate) and to come to the Midwinter Conference. Third, designate as many votes as you can to Division 13 on the APA ballot that drives representation on the APA Council. These three actions will all strengthen our Society and help support the profession we have chosen for our careers.

I thank you for your support, your colleagueship and wish you a fulfilling and rewarding year in your work!