The President's Message

Talya Bauer

It is a great honor to be representing SIOP both internally and externally. I began volunteering for SIOP in my first month of graduate school, and I have continued to do so since. However, as I learned more and more about how each role and committee was nested into the larger SIOP governance ecosystem, it felt like layers of an onion were being peeled away bit by bit. I would like to take a moment to reveal some of the SIOP onion for all of you reading this column. I think knowing what goes on behind the scenes helps me appreciate SIOP even more. If this isn’t for you, please skip ahead. I promise my feelings won’t be hurt!

Volunteering and SIOP Governance Structure

SIOP is governed by our bylaws (voted upon by SIOP members and fellows), and our structure is an executive board comprising elected officials including the presidential trio, the Financial Officer/Secretary, 8 Portfolio officers, and our APA Council representatives. We currently have four APA reps, but this number fluctuates depending on how many APA members SIOP has.

The eight Portfolio officers oversee a wide variety of tasks and committees. At last count, SIOP had 55 active committees and task forces. Quite literally, thousands of individuals volunteer to help make SIOP run smoothly and professionally every year. The eight Portfolios are as follows:

• Communications                             
• Conference and Programs
• External Affairs
• Instruction and Education
• Membership Services
• Professional Practice
• Publications
• Research and Science

The SIOP Executive Board and Committee Chairs. Pictured here are just some of the folks powering the SIOP engine.

The last year as president elect was a whirlwind, and it went by quickly. However, in reflecting back, the 3-year term of president elect, president, and immediate past president (affectionately referred to collectively as the presidential trio) works well for SIOP governance and continuity. In the past year, I went from zero to 60 as Fred Oswald, Mort McPhail, and I conferred, debated, and decided a large number of issues regarding challenges and opportunities facing SIOP—and we also kept the trains running. In Mort and Fred, I found two amazing colleagues who are thoughtful, supportive, passionate, and steadfast stewards of the trust placed in them by the membership of SIOP.

One of the major responsibilities of the president elect is the appointment and onboarding of new chairs and chairs-in-training. This is kicked off via a training session on the Sunday after the Annual SIOP Conference. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to help make our onboarding process more effective, and I asked Donald Truxillo (University of Limerick/Portland State University) and Julie Olson-Buchanan (California State University, Fresno) to lead the training. They took the previous training, which contained 138 slides of materials, and cut it back to the essential 40 or so slides. Because they got through so much material so quickly, we were able to dedicate large blocks of time for goal setting and team building both within and across committees.

One of the most salient activities (and biggest volunteer activities of the year) is our Annual Conference, where nearly half of our entire membership attend sessions. The conference touches so many of us and is a confluence of so much of the other portfolios. The behind-the-scenes roles that keep the conference running are truly something to watch in action. This year’s conference in Chicago did not disappoint!

Thank you to everyone who continues to volunteer to help make SIOP better!

Initiatives for the Coming Year

Looking forward at the year to come, I am excited about all the amazing momentum we have following a spectacular conference in Chicago and working with Eden King (president-elect) and Fred Oswald (past president). In my closing plenary I shared three example projects to illustrate the multipronged approach I am taking to work toward SIOP’s vision, “To be recognized as the premiere professional group committed to advancing the science and practice of the psychology of work.”

I am also excited to bring SIOP’s four strategic goals to life:

1. Become the premier and trusted authority on work-related human behavior.
2. Increase the awareness and use of I-O psychology.
3. Meet the needs of those engaged in the science and practice of I-O psychology throughout their careers.
4. Model and reinforce the effective integration of science AND practice.

When I think about what separates SIOP from other professional organizations, I think one key factor is diversity. When we have well-trained, passionate, smart individuals doing work in a variety of diverse contexts work together, good things happen. Since my first SIOP conference in 1990, I have enjoyed and benefited by learning from, partnering with, and living vicariously through SIOP members in work contexts different from my own. The fact that those who spend their days in organizations, in educational settings, and in consulting capacities all work together within SIOP, and to cross-pollinate ideas, needs, and solutions, is special and powerful.

I formed the SPOT Task Force (Science–Practice Opportunities for Translations) to generate ideas on how to more powerfully and effectively scale this cross-pollination. I was thrilled when Julie McCarthy of University of Toronto agreed to chair the group and when Paul Thoresen (SIOP’s Electronic Communication Committee chair), Frederik Anseel (King’s College, London and EAWOP president), Shonna Waters (BetterUp), Eduardo Salas (Rice University), Kathryn Dekas (Google and head of Google’s People Analytics PiLab), and Lorenzo Galli (Mercer Consulting and cofounder of Science for Work) all agreed to participate. In addition, Elizabeth McCune (Microsoft and SIOP’s Program chair-in-training) will be an ex-officio member of the task force. Work is underway to generate ideas and develop those having the greatest potential to move the dial on science–practice and practice–science translations.

My presidential theme of I am SIOP was born out of my desire to articulate what makes SIOP so special. I realized that it is simply all of you, with your diverse backgrounds and ideas. Every. Single. Member. You make SIOP. You are SIOP.

We are gathering I am SIOP photos. Please email them to comms@siop.org or upload them at goo.gl/EbU2JT

Thank you!

Relationship Building: Getting the Word Out About I-O and Amplifying Our Reach

A major emphasis of my presidency will be focused on ways that SIOP is made stronger through world-class science, practice, and science–practice partnerships and collaborations. As I envision it, one of the major obligations and tasks I have in front of me as SIOP President is to get the word out about I-O psychology and SIOP.  In February, I began piloting the I-O Roadshow where I meet with individuals and organizations to do just that. While in Houston, I was able to visit with individuals at Quintela, Waste Management, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. And a highlight was meeting with SIOP members who work at NASA as well as touring behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center.  We visited the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility and the Christopher C. Kraft, Jr. Mission Control Center for the International Space Station in Houston.  My host, Michael Hess, Acting Associate Center Director, NASA/Johnson Space Center, and I first met at a conference on science–practice collaborations and continued to share insights into our mutual interest of onboarding. While at NASA, I was able to chat about SIOP and go inside the International Space Station Simulators, including the Crew Cabin Trainer, the Russian Soyuz Trainer, and the Orion Medium Fidelity Trainer. In addition, I toured the JEM, Service Module, and FGB.

Good Things

I also want to offer appreciation call your attention to several good things that are happening as I write this. If you have something you would like to see highlighted here in future columns, please let me know.

• The Futures Task Force had a productive year. Led by Alexis Fink (Intel), they developed recommendations within five domains (Automation & Artificial Intelligence, Focus on Work, Multidisciplinary World, Big Data and Methods, and Tools and Technology). The task force became the ad hoc SIOP Futures Committee in April under the leadership of new chair Richard Landers (University of Minnesota). Their primary activities are conducting research to understand how work is changing, and developing and aiding the implementation of recommendations for SIOP.
• Speaking of the future, please be sure to check out the Practice Forum of SIOP’s flagship journal Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice. The June issue features a timely article on The Looming Cybersecurity Crisis and What It Means for the Practice of I-O Psychology by Rachel Dreibelbis, Jaclyn Martin, Michael Coovert (University of South Florida), and David Dorsey (HumRRO). I want to extend my sincere thanks to Mark Poteet (Organizational Research & Solutions) for bringing this forum to life with six articles published so far. I would also like to welcome Alexis Fink who has taken over from Mark as editor of the Practice Forum. Please consider submitting at http://0-www-siop-org.library.alliant.edu/journal/PFGuidelines.aspx
• In July, several of us will meet in DC for the annual SIOP–Lewis-Burke retreat. Fred Oswald is continuing to lead the charge on the work done to identify and promote key areas ripe for advocacy given SIOP’s expertise and Alex Alonso (SHRM) is doing a GREAT job on the advocacy front for SIOP.
• Under the leadership of Tracy Vanneman (SIOP Administrative Office), SIOP was awarded the 2018 Gold Circle Award in the category of Sponsorship/Exhibits/Advertising Campaign, which was presented at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Marketing, Membership Communications Conference in Washington, DC. Congratulations!
• SIOP is a registered nongovernmental organization with special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As part of our work, the SIOP UN committee (chaired by Julie Olson-Buchanan) led three Innovation & Learning Brownbag Series topics and speakers. Thanks to our first round of amazing speakers, Christopher Rotolo (PepsiCo), Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (Hogan), and Doug Reynolds (DDI), for representing SIOP so well on the world stage.
• Last year, the Committee for Ethnic and Minority Affairs (CEMA), chaired by Kisha Jones (Penn State University), launched a mentoring program connecting minority graduate students with established I-O mentors. They received an overwhelming response from people willing to serve as mentors with nearly 200 people volunteering. Approximately 85 mentoring pairs were created, and these pairs met (often virtually) once a month to discuss various issues. The mentoring sessions culminated with a successful reception at SIOP 2018 in Chicago. Thank you to all of our mentors and members who volunteered to serve as mentors!
• Although Deirdre Knapp recently moved out of her role of SIOP APA Council Representative, SIOP is fortunate to retain her expertise in agreeing to chair CAPE (Committee for the Advancement of Professional Ethics), a new ad hoc committee tasked with assessing and supporting professional development needs associated with addressing ethical challenges in the practice, research, and educator roles played by I-O psychologists. We look forward to their progress.
• As I submit this article, I am on my way to the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Annual Conference in San Francisco. They are anticipating 4,000 attendees. I am looking forward to it and to reporting back how fantastic it was.
• The Alliance for Organizational Psychology (AOP) brings SIOP, EAWOP, IAAP-Div 1, and CSIOP together, with the goal of promoting the visibility of I-O psychology worldwide. I will be attending the conference and next meeting of AOP at the 29^th International Congress of Applied Psychology June 26-30, 2018 in Montreal.
• It isn’t too soon to begin planning to attend the Leading Edge Consortium (LEC), which will be held October 19-20, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. The topic will be High Potential: Identifying, Developing, & Retaining Future Leaders. I hope to see you there!

Some Ways to Get Involved

• You are the face of SIOP. As noted earlier, we are gathering I am SIOP photos. Please email them to comms@siop.org
• If you know of any racial/ethnic minority graduate students who would be interested in participating in the CEMA mentoring program, please have them reach out to siopcema@gmail.com
• Finally, SIOP has two registries and a locator service. Please sign up if you are interested. It is another way to be involved and find others interested in similar things while making SIOP stronger.
  • CSR and Pro-Social/Humanitarian I-O Registry: http://my.siop.org/Services/CSR-Prosocial-Humanitarian-I-O-Registry
  • Health, Safety, and Well-Being Registry: http://my.siop.org/Registry/HSWB
  • And the Consultant Locator Service: http://my.siop.org/cls
• It is also SIOP Volunteer Sign-up Season. To submit your volunteer preferences, please go here: http://my.siop.org/Membership/Committees/Volunteer-for-Committee (hint: You’ll need to be logged in to view the choices.)

Thank you all!