The APS Emerging Leaders program is equipping APS members with the skills and mentorship they'll need to become future leaders in the profession. Here's what some of the participants have learned so far.
Psychologists are well-versed in formal training designed to help them hone their skills, knowledge and practice around psychology. It's less common, however, to receive specific training and coaching around the development of leadership and advocacy skills.
That's what drew Adelaide-based psychologist and board-approved supervisor Ceara Rickard MAPS to the APS emerging leaders program – an initiative designed to prepare the future generation of psychology leaders with the skills they'll need to thrive.
As part of the inaugural pilot program, Rickard and her fellow emerging leader participants were given the opportunity to not only learn more about how to develop and polish their leadership skills, but were also given a behind-the-scenes look into how organisations such as APS operate.
"If you're going to be a leader or an activist, it's really useful to have a good understanding of all the different systems and processes that influence our profession, including how organisations operate and how the government operates," says Rickard.
"If you're early in your career and you want to learn practical leadership stuff, like how to put together a business plan, the [Emerging Leaders program] is really worth doing."
Here are some leadership tips that Rickard and her fellow participants have gleaned.
Tip#1: Relationships matter
Rickard's highlight from the program was a session with leadership expert Andy Fell.
"Andy gave me three key lessons. The first is that relationships are key. The second was to give before you get – how might you serve the people you're leading? And the last one was, 'Don't make decisions when you're tired,'" said Rickard, who is also Chair of the APS early career committee.
"What strikes me about these lessons is that they're the same skills as being a good therapist or psychologist. We know from the literature that relationships are really important and that attending to them helps us flourish.
"Finding ways to support others through altruistic behaviour is good for our mental health and it also tends to lead to good outcomes for other people," she says.
Another program participant, Raymond Kuhnell MAPS, who is an organisational psychologist, also found the insights about relationship building valuable.
"If you want to be a leader, you need to have followers," he says. "I've learned a lot about the importance of inclusivity and helping others feel heard.
"It's not just about making relationships with the people who might be following you, but also with people in other teams, across the business or externally because, ultimately, it's about learning how to influence others or bring them along on your journey."
Tip #2: Good leaders practise self-reflection
Rickard believes part of being an effective leader is having strong self-reflection and self-awareness skills.
"It's really important to know who you are – know your faults and your strengths. That can help you to be authentic and open. Humility is also really important and that idea of leading to meet other people's needs."
Gabrielle Williams MAPS, a clinical psychologist working in a multidisciplinary team in a hospital, said the emerging leaders program helped her develop influence with her medical and allied health colleagues by giving her a framework to help identify her strengths.
"It was quite a helpful framework in terms of thinking about what works for me in a group environment," says Williams. "As the only psychologist in that team, there's also an additional role around supporting other colleagues to feel confident in navigating some of the psychosocial aspects of healthcare that they're coming across.
"[The APS program] gave me confidence that I can step into a role like this early in my career and showed me that I have something to offer with my expertise and collaboration."
Tip #3: Make mentoring work
To be an effective mentor as a leader, you need to have specific guardrails and clear boundaries around what both parties are seeking from the arrangement.
"Start by being clear, and try to be as clear as you can about what you want," says Rickard.
"Look for someone who's the right fit for you. Just like when we suggest finding a psychologist who aligns with your needs, and that it's also okay to see a different person because no one's everyone's cup of tea, the same is true for mentoring arrangements. Take the time to find the best fit for you."
The APS has developed a guide of things to keep in mind when engaging in a mentoring relationship, which you can view here.
Tip #4: Practice servant leadership
Rickard is a fan of "leading with a servant's heart", which means following the 'servant leadership' model.
"Servant leadership in a team is about leaders who see their role as supporting their team to flourish and putting conditions in place that allow them to flourish.
"For example, a servant leadership approach to meeting KPIs wouldn't generally be too punitive… it would be saying something like, 'These are the expectations. What do you need from me to help you meet those? What can I do to support you to be your best?'"
It's also about considering the broader psychological safety factors in the workplace, Rickard adds. This includes creating an environment where respectful and healthy dissent is welcomed, where people feel safe to speak truth to power and where all ideas and perspectives are welcomed and considered.
Tip #5: Get comfortable being uncomfortable
Becoming an effective leader is about stepping into the unknown, says Williams.
"We learn by doing. I often overthink things and it's very easy for me to sit back and explore the idea of leadership as a thing I'll do one day, but actually practising these skills now is much more likely to take me towards more informal leadership roles in the future."
Rickard agrees, saying, "The practice of psychology involves holding uncertainty, sitting with uncertainty, not knowing how people will respond all the time, not being able to predict because humans are inherently unpredictable. You need to get pretty comfortable with that and hold those big feelings that come with it."
Tip #6: Be a lifelong learner
It's important to learn how to be both a learner and a leader at the same time, says Williams.
"There's this push to have client-facing time and to show improvements in healthcare, while also needing time and space to nourish the skill set that would actually make our work effective and up to date.
"Sometimes you need to inform people about the ethical guidelines that shape our role as psychologists. I'm fortunate that there's some time allocated for professional development leave in my EBA agreement. I've been making the most of that."
She suggests thinking about the space in between your work-related tasks and considering how you can use them strategically to upskill in both psychological research updates as well as leadership skills. This could be as simple as listening to a podcast episode or watching a YouTube video.
"Psychology is a lifelong journey of learning," says Rickard. "To be a good psychologist, you need to keep learning; the research is changing all the time. There is a lifelong expectation that as long as you're working in psychology, you keep up with the learning and research."
Tip #7: Give a voice to those who need it
One of the key factors driving Rickard's personal leadership style is a desire to always be advocating for those in need of support. One of her key focuses is advocating for student and early career psychologists.
"I do that primarily through being Chair of the early career committee in the APS and trying to hear from our student and early career members through the division, and then pushing those voices up through the APS to the president of the board."
She is also extremely active on psychology-focused social media groups.
"I talk about things like workplace rights, reasonable workload expectations and psychosocial risk factors. From my perspective, early career psychologists are the most vulnerable members of our profession and they're the most in need of support. So that's where I choose to focus my efforts."
Enhance your own leadership skills
Kuhnell says the APS emerging leaders initiative is a "fantastic program" to engage with at this stage in your career.
"As you're coming out of a psych degree, these types of programs aren't always provided. I see this as a great benefit of being an APS member. It helps you learn about how things work behind the scenes at APS and how to build your relationships to develop more influence towards the value you're trying to drive.
"I've been a part of APS and the college of organisational psychologists committee for a while now, so, in a way, it felt like a great return for my continued contributions to the APS."
He's also a fan of the diversity of participants in the program.
"There were people from all different backgrounds and avenues of psychology in [the group]. That's fantastic in terms of shared learning and understanding of the different challenges various streams of psychology face.
"I have a very strong learning mindset. So any sort of growth or learning opportunity is fantastic for me. This program is a great way to continue to grow, learn and develop."
This is also a fantastic opportunity to help shape the future of the profession, says Rickard.
"For those of us in the early career space, we are the future of the profession. I would strongly recommend getting involved. Get your views out there and work to build the profession that you want to see because you'll be the person who is most affected by what you do now."
Interested in signing up for the next Emerging Leaders program? APS members can submit an expression of interest here.