The SIOP Exchange

Do Your Part. Master the Elevator Speech

What is I-O Psychology?

By Carrie Anne Zapka, SIOP Blogger

"‘Industrial-organizational psychologist.’ What the heck is that? Whatever it is, its growth rate beats that of every other occupation”

It is wonderful to get this positive press for I-O, but that is the kind of comment I would expect from an aunt, not from ABC (see the 20 fastest growing jobs). They tried to talk about how much the field of I-O totally rocks, but with a quote like that, we hardly sound like an important field, even if we did win #1 this year.

The misinformation and misconceptions are everywhere. While reading the recent SIOP article, No, I-O Psychologists are Not Therapists, though, is when I realized that I am part of the problem. Chances are that many of you are also part of the problem. Since I first discovered and committed to an education in this “unknown” field (the topic my first blog, How I Stumbled Upon I-O from a Totally Different Career), I have struggled to explain what it is, even to my friends and family. 

The purpose of this post is to inspire those of you who have mastered the art of the impossible I-O elevator speech to share your wisdom and for the rest of us to commit to mastering it ourselves.

Having a mentor… What’s in it for me?

By Ryan Samia, SIOP Blogger

Over the last couple of years, I have had a lot of mentors who have shaped me and continue to contribute to both my professional and personal development. Having a pool of mentors is very beneficial as I get to know the technical aspects of my chosen career, learn relational and social skills needed to succeed in the organization, and develop other expertise outside my work.

Nowadays, mentoring has a more social approach as compared to the traditional one-on-one interaction. Mentoring could now come from a variety of other resources such as LinkedIn, SIOP, webinars, and even group mentoring. Regardless of the mentoring medium, we should always ask ourselves what’s in it for us by having a mentor. Listed below are my four key takeaways:

1. Opens up networking opportunities as they have introducing you to their professional contacts
2. Teaches you the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for optimal performance including tacit knowledge
3. Encourages you to think outside the box and expands your capabilities
4. Enable you to develop my leadership skills as I become a mentor to others

Have you ever had a mentor? Why did you choose to have a mentor? What did you learn during the mentoring relationship? Feel free to share ideas below.

Special Guest Post: Coaching Senior Level Women

Anna Marie Valerio will be presenting at the upcoming SIOP Leading Edge Consortium (LEC), "Building Future Leaders: Innovations and Trends in Talent Management," October 18-19, 2013 at the Omni Richmond in Richmond, VA. For more information, including an agenda and speaker list, visit www.siop.org/lec. 

Coaching Senior Level Women

By Anna Marie Valerio, Ph.D.

Women’s leadership is more important than ever in light of the globalization of the world’s economy and resources.  Developing women leaders has become a priority as organizations understand the tremendous influence and impact of the contributions of women leaders on the success of the organization. 

Recent evidence shows the positive impact of gender diversity of corporate boards, such as :

The Reign of Unreasonable People

By Maria Collar, SIOP Blogger

In a world characterized by fluidic changes and intense transformation, unreasonable innovators are exactly needed to propel the creation of multidimensional value. According to George Bernard Shaw, as quoted in The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World, entrepreneurs are unreasonable innovators in that "the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” (Elkington & Hartigan, 2008).

LEC Early Registration Deadline Approaching!

According to a recent article by Harvard Business Review poor talent management programs is the number one issue corporate boards are concerned with today. That means when it comes to developing the talent that will lead your organization into the future, there is no time to waste. So don’t lose any time gaining the crucial skills and knowledge you need to develop these leaders.