Article archive / March 1, 2012
Originally published: . Volume 3, No. 7. Source pages: 2.
Congratulations to Dr. Darla Burnett who won the board election fair and square. While I disagree with a majority of medical psychologists on our board, and view that many of our problems could have been diverted if the board and LPA leaders would have done their duty in regarding 251, I am still a believer in democracy. Like Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”
But to function well in a democracy, people have to have certain things. And to get these things leaders have to arrange it so that they do.
It is no small matter for Dr. Burnett, Dr. Jones and Dr. James to hold up their hands and volunteer to be leaders. Thanks go to all three for their offer to serve. As a board member the duty to be a good leader becomes multiplied. Board members have power to
make decisions or not to make them. They shape and mold psychology in the public interest. Their decisions impact on multiple levels both overt and nonconscious.
We seem to be in a crisis of leadership throughout all levels of our society. And leadership is a causal variable, relating to many behaviors, such as participation. The election was close, a ten vote difference between the top two. Only 180 of about 650 psychologists voted. I hope it’s not like the soccer coach who thinks his player has squandered his talent and asked, “Are you ignorant or apathetic?” The player answered, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
In March Dr. Burnett and others in LPA go to APA for the state leadership conference. I wonder what APA means when they say “leadership?”
Here are a few things I’d add: Good leaders share information frankly, openly, and regularly. Effective leaders seek innovative solutions to complex problems. They engage all those who have an interest in the outcome and help everyone to be heard and their ideas recognized. They encourage others to work through disagreements rather than suppress them. They avoid imposing decisions on people especially when those people have not had input. And they do everything they can to avoid win- lose problem solving.
Win-lose problem solving severely damages the quality of decisions, participation, and creativity in a group, but it is the prevailing approach in our society. Win-lose includes methods we often think of as acceptable such as bargaining, compromising, and negotiating. Parliamentary procedure is win- lose. Probably the only thing worse than win-lose is to avoid conflicts altogether.
As a leader in both LPA and LAMP, I hope that Dr. Burnett will be willing to speak out, open up communication, listen to all views, and help bring our community together to create the best, most innovative approaches to our issues, so that we can give our most meaningful contributions as real psychologists.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.