Ted Hayes, PhD

Hayes worked at the U.S Department of Justice as a personnel research psychologist.

Consulting Psychology Journal (CPJ) is devoted to advancing knowledge and practice in all areas of consulting psychology. It publishes articles that examine psychology at the individual, group, and organizational/systemic levels so long as there is a consulting focus. It does not publish articles related to mental health issues. Manuscripts crossing two or more levels are particularly welcomed. Articles may be academic or practitioner focused, and the journal’s reach extends anywhere consultants apply psychological principles to improve the functioning of organizations and the welfare of employees or customers.

Tell us a bit about your background: What is your area of research? What is your most recent journal-editing experience?

I am by training an industrial and organizational psychology scientist-practitioner. My areas of expertise include testing, survey development and feedback, diversity and inclusion, meta-analysis, and artificial intelligence. I have served as an associate editor at CPJ and have been on the editorial boards of several journals (e.g., Collabra: Psychology, Personnel Assessment and Decisions, and Journal of Business and Psychology). About half of my career has been in the private sector, and the other half has been in government service. I am an adjunct professor at George Washington University.

Briefly, what are your main priorities? For example, how will you grow readership, what type of scholarship would you like to see in the journal, and what kind of content are you hoping to attract?

CPJ will continue to build its momentum as it serves the members of American Psychological Association (APA) Division 13 and anyone else who seeks to build a business in consulting, become a better consultant, or to have a positive effect on organizations. Our diverse and expert team of associate editors and reviewers will contribute to CPJ by applying their skills and knowledge toward curating sets of articles and materials that have impact. Our team defines impact as an outcome that has an influence on one or more of the following:

• practitioners of psychology-based interventions in organizations
• the scope of psychology and behavioral science in organizations
• CPJ readers at any level (author, student, manager, faculty member, consultant, etc.)

A manuscript sent to CPJ needs the following characteristics to ensure that it can have impact:

• incorporation of topics related to inclusion and diversity
• conceptual clarity and emphasis
• empirical rigor

The CPJ team seeks materials with organizational applicability. This frequently distinguishes CPJ from other excellent academically focused journals. Fortunately, the quality of submitted manuscripts continues to improve. The editorial board at CPJ evaluates manuscripts using the following criteria, with some aspects receiving more weight than others depending on the topic:

• fit with the scope and mission of CPJ
• internal and external validity
• adequacy of literature review
• quality of writing and logic

We are not going to accept a manuscript just because—or sometimes even if—it has a significant statistical result. Statistical significance is not equivalent to impact, although impactful materials typically incorporate statistically significant empirical findings as part of their logic. Finally, preference will be given to manuscripts presenting evidence for effects that are generalizable.

Why is this journal important for the field? What is its relevance to society/public health? What are the hot issues in your area right now?

The world of work is trending toward diversity, climate consciousness, technology, multigenerationality, self-determination, employee development journeys, and demands for increasing productivity. Political and societal tensions cannot be escaped in the workplace. The pace of change continues to increase, sometimes daily. These trends affect the mental health and well-being of all employees. Managers and investors are increasingly savvy about the role of behavioral science at work but might have questions about which options are better. Consultants working in or with organizations need a venue that provides the best, most timely, most accurate—in a word, the most impactful—behavioral science information. CPJ is that venue. No other journal has the mission, capacity, focus, and passion that our team has.

What challenges, if any, lie ahead for the field?

CPJ faces two sets of challenges. One is intrinsic to the nature of applying behavioral science–based practices in organizations: Consultants and practitioners provide scalable products and services, from one-on-one consultation to multinational assessment programs. Other venues for behavioral science–based organizational practice articles range from those with a greater science emphasis (Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Business and Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Academy of Management Journal, etc.) to those with a practitioner or business school emphasis (Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Review, Human Resources Development Quarterly, etc.). A strong demand exists for the types of interventions and programs psychologically oriented consultants provide, and CPJ’s role relative to the spectrum of available journals and magazines is to be the most trusted resource. Our brand should be one that organizational leaders and thought leaders come to appreciate for reliable and valid information that, in turn, has impact.

The second challenge CPJ faces is space. Sometimes CPJ articles discuss applying interventions onboard forward-deployed warships, and sometimes our articles discuss the panorama of how artificial intelligence is changing the workplace. CPJ has published articles on high-potential leader programs, consulting with family businesses, learning agility, employing people on the autism spectrum, promoting women, and African American employees in leadership. In 2025, CPJ will have special issues on artificial intelligence, emotional intelligence, and working with veterans. Our canvas is broad and we invite participation. Inclusion requires space. A challenge for APA journals like CPJ is the very limited resources available through our traditional publishing platform. If the number of allotted pages goes up, as it seems it might, CPJ’s editors will need concomitant assistance from APA staff, and we look forward to this partnership.

Do you have plans for a special issue or changes to the editorial process? Have you introduced or are you planning to introduce any changes?

My plan as editor of CPJ is to continue to innovate as the nature of work and the demands for behavioral science in organizations increase. Some innovations include the following:

Special issues. CPJ started publishing more special issues in 2020 and that has worked well for the journal, contributors, and readers. Sometimes, as with a planned issue on Arabs and South Asians in organizations, fewer submissions than anticipated are received; in these cases, a special issue will become a special section, and the low response is viewed as a call for more work with the subject matter that was the intended focus of the submissions. I am constantly calibrating the balance between the number of special issues and the interests of readers, but the fulcrum is not yet fixed, so stay tuned for more special issues!

Bundled issues. A significant part of having the attention needed from leaders is providing them with CPJ materials in a familiar format. I am working with the CPJ team to have issues specially curated with bundles of topical articles that can address common subjects in one place instead of across multiple journal issues.

Multiple platforms. The CPJ team and I continue to explore the potential for podcasts, videos, and newer access vehicles that would reflect and amplify CPJ themes in a less text-centered manner. These efforts involve keeping the text alternatives from crossing over each other or other APA Division 13 initiatives. Some initiatives might not work. All we can do is try.

CPJ is building momentum to become a high-impact journal for practitioners and organizations seeking to leverage behavioral science in organizations. The CPJ team will accomplish this by embracing diversity in ideas and approaches; including multiple perspectives and models; and harnessing the talent and passion of the journal’s editors, authors, and readers.