Why aren’t psychologists stepping up?

"Only those who provide care can, in the end, change care, and fundamental change… requires leadership" - (Callaly & Minas, 2005, p. 27)

The concept of leadership is flourishing as a topic of interest for scholars, business trainers and popular media. Within the psychology profession, leadership theory, research and practice are generally considered the realm of organisational psychologists. Outside organisational psychology, there would appear to be very patchy interest among Australian psychologists in taking on leadership roles.

While it is difficult to obtain data to corroborate this observation, anecdotal examples abound; anyone who has worked in the health system, for example, is not likely to have witnessed many psychologists in senior leadership roles. This is somewhat surprising given that the professional values and competencies of psychologists would seem to make them ideally placed to excel in leadership roles in complex systems that require people with strong interpersonal and influencing skills, an understanding of diversity, a capacity to deal with uncertainty and undertake complex reasoning, and an ability to collect and use evidence to inform strategic decision-making to apply for leadership positions. The aim of this article is to make a case for psychologists to reflect on their personal responsibilities in relation to the leadership process, identify the barriers to psychologists being involved in leadership, and describe strategies that might support psychologists to grow as leaders.

There is no agreed upon definition of leadership, although most definitions make reference to the goal of leadership being change and growth, and that the process of leadership involves influencing and motivating others. There is also a lack of consensus as to what makes an effective leader though the literature points to the importance of both personal/individual competencies and situational/system factors. There remains debate about the classic issue of whether ‘leaders are born, not made’ or whether ‘leaders are made, not born’. More contemporary views expand the notion of leadership beyond the individual leader, by viewing leadership as being shared or distributed and requiring everyone to contribute to the leadership process (Bolden, 2011). This view is enshrined in the first principle of the Australian Health Leadership Framework (HWA, 2013) that states that everyone owns leadership. Current approaches also emphasise ‘soft’ qualities such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills as more relevant to effective leadership than technical knowledge and skills (Goleman, 2004), while others give reference to ethical leadership that prioritises honesty, fairness, caring, modelling ethical behaviour and requiring the same in others (Brown & Trevino, 2006).

One possible reason for the flurry of interest in leadership is the rise in what Heifetz and Laurie (1997) describe as adaptive challenges that increasingly confront organisations. Adaptive challenges are not easily solved but instead require organisations to clarify their values and develop new strategies and new ways of doing things. Such challenges require effective leaders to involve employees in understanding the problem and generating solutions, while also assisting individuals to regulate the discomfort and distress they are experiencing as a result of the upheaval. One could be forgiven for thinking this was the description of a psychologist!

What can psychologists offer?

Although there is some literature on leadership for various health professions (e.g., psychiatry – Ng, Steane, & Scollay, 2018; social work – Rank & Hutchison, 2000), there is a dearth of literature or competency frameworks for psychologists. The British Psychological Society (BPS, 2010) has a Clinical Psychology Leadership Development Framework (CPLDF; based on the National Health Service (NHS, 2011) Clinical Leadership Competency Framework) that guides psychologists in the development of leadership competencies at all stages of their career, and there is a small body of largely American literature on leadership for school psychologists (e.g., Augustyniak, 2014).

The graduate competencies in the new Australian Standards for Psychology Programs (APAC) that commence in January 2019 do not include any overt reference to leadership competencies; however, included in the competencies are numerous personal qualities, values, skills and knowledge that should render psychologists well placed to develop effective leadership skills. These include interpersonal skills, team work, empathy, a capacity to self-reflect, cultural responsiveness and values and ethics. Of particular relevance is the fact that psychologists are bound to adhere to the APS Code of Ethics that is underpinned by respect for the rights and dignity of people and peoples, including the right to autonomy and justice; propriety, incorporating the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence; and integrity, reflecting the need for psychologists to have good character. Additionally, the CPLDF (BPS, 2010) suggests a potentially extensive range of skills that might be brought to leadership by psychologists; these include an understanding of the emotional impact of change (including resistance), emotional intelligence, an ability to collect data and use evidence to address problems, conflict management skills, influencing skills, an ability to integrate knowledge, and an understanding of the dynamics of relationships.

Barriers to leadership

Although there will be individual differences in the extent to which these competencies are developed among psychologists, especially at different stages of their career trajectory, it would seem that many psychologists choose not to develop or promote this aspect of their professional development. There are a range of barriers to leadership operating at the individual, organisational and professional level. In the absence of literature on barriers for Australian psychologists, it is reasonable to postulate that this may include personal preference for client-work (“I became a psychologist to help people”) over leadership roles, exacerbated by the perception that the traditional view of leadership is that it is predicated on authority, hierarchy and competition – values that seem to be at odds with dignity, autonomy, justice, propriety and integrity that underpin psychology. For some, taking on a leadership role is like “going over to the dark side”.

The practice of psychology also requires considerable investment in developing one’s own area of expertise and the work is demanding and often emotionally draining. Some psychologists may feel they have limited time and energy left to devote to leadership activities. The lack of overt focus on leadership competencies in psychology training programs may also mean psychologists, in general, lack confidence to engage in leadership activities and do not foresee their career incorporating leadership positions, and even if they do, the historically low number of psychologists holding such positions means there are few role models or mentors to support professional growth. Like many professions, psychologists who step into leadership positions can feel like they are cut-off from their discipline and feel professionally isolated.

Although there are challenges for psychologists wishing to adopt leadership roles, it cannot be ignored that psychologists often work in sectors facing significant adaptive challenges (e.g., health, justice, schools). These challenges involve system factors like service models, government policies, funding mechanisms, recruitment processes and so on that will increasingly determine how well psychologists can do their jobs. It is incumbent on psychologists, starting from a strong skill base, to develop high-level leadership skills and utilise these skills in organisations to address adaptive challenges and ensure that systems facilitate the delivery of high-quality psychological services to individuals and the community. It is vital for our clients and the profession that psychologists step up.

Developing leadership competencies

The CPLDF (BPS, 2010), albeit developed for use in the NHS, has utility in the Australian context in terms of positing a framework for personal and professional development of leadership competencies across all career stages (see right). This intentional approach is supported by recent work undertaken with psychiatrists that suggests that developing a leadership mindset requires being proactive in building leadership opportunities (Ng et al., 2018). Although there are obvious differences between the Australian and UK context, there is considerable value in the profession in Australia developing a similar framework to assist psychologists to plan and promote their leadership journey.

This article is a ‘call for action and service’. A similar call was made in an article on psychologists as leaders in American universities that also encouraged psychologists to prepare for and seek out leadership roles (Schmaling & Linton, 2017). The same call for action and service is relevant to psychologists working in multiple sectors in Australia where there is an urgent need for reform and innovation. Psychologists are increasingly confronted with a plethora of systemic challenges and barriers to the delivery of high quality psychological services. Should we leave the leadership on these matters to others while we get on with trying to deliver services as best we can under increasing pressures, or proactively develop our strong skill and value base so we can take part in leadership processes or even adopt leadership roles and guide well-devised solutions? While not all psychologists will aspire to or be able to achieve high-level leadership roles, there is potential for all psychologists to enhance their leadership behaviours so that they can influence change and motivate others at all stages of their career trajectory.

The author can be contacted at: [email protected]