Transitioning from psychologist to psychologist-manager: Leadership and management skills for success.

Abstract

Many psychologists, at some point in their careers, "find themselves" in leadership, management, and supervisory positions. While oftentimes they are selected to lead programs and organizations based on cognitive and interpersonal skills or factors such as organization and planning skills, they may have very little preparation for newly acquired management or leadership positions. This article provides an overview of a Transition Institute developed and delivered by experienced psychologist-managers for the Society of Psychologists in Management. The Institute is designed to facilitate a successful transition to leadership and management positions and focuses on 4 facets of leadership: (a) understanding yourself and your fit with leadership and management, (b) working with subordinates and managing others, (c) managing resources and achieving outcomes, and (d) strategic planning and implementation.

A new era for psychologist-leaders: Introduction to the Society of Psychologists in Leadership and the Psychology of Leaders and Leadership.

“…A sense of increasing urgency to solve global problems and a critical mass of individuals with specialized skills have contributed to renewed interest in psychologists in leadership (Bennis, 2007). Skills that make strong psychologists, such as analytic ability, skill to navigate emotionally challenging situations, collaboration skills, ability to integrate feedback, and systems thinking, are also critical skills for successful leaders (Bennis, 2007; Kelly & Finkelman, 2011; Thorn et al, 2015).…”

“…Recognizing the potential of psychologists, identifying the absence of formal leadership training for psychologists, and building on SPIM’s commitment to education, senior leaders at SPIM created an institute in 2011 to focus on the transition from psychologist to psychologist-manager (Thorn et al, 2015). The Institute focuses on four facets of leadership and management: (a) understanding yourself and your fit with leadership and management, (b) working with subordinates and managing work through others, (c) managing resources and achieving outcomes, and (d) strategic planning and implementation (Thorn et al, 2015). Similarly, APA’s Committee for Women in Psychology created the Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology to address the complex and interacting factors affecting women psychologists’ promotion to and success in leadership positions in professional settings (Miles-Cohen et al, 2020).…”

Becoming an organizational leader: A different career path for psychologists.

“…The membership also includes many psychologists who are executive consultants and coaches who work with organizational leaders. In addition, SPIM now offers an Institute titled Transitioning from Psychologist to Psychologist-Manager: Leadership and Management Skills for Success (Thorn et al, 2015) to facilitate a successful transition into management positions. SPIM's current and past presidents are listed online (https://www.spim.org/past-presidents) and awardees of SPIM's Distinguished Psychologist in Management are also listed online (https://www .spim.org/awards).…”

Transformational Leadership and Asian Indian Values: Duty, Selfless Service, and Nonviolence

“…For example, vocational psychology scholarship suggests that people have duties or responsibilities in the contexts of work, family, and society, and that the career duties of a life stage need to be completed or other stages can be hindered (Super, 1990). An underemphasized duty in the career development and training of psychologists is leadership (Thorn, Mosher, Ponton, & Ramsel, 2015). As counseling psychologists will continue to occupy leadership in business, consultation, and administration, it is important that they stay true to the ethical principles and values that define the field.…”