Professional Association Leaders: Meaningful Experiences of Past Presidents of the Society of Psychologists in Leadership

Professional associations provide services to their members including regulating membership, setting standards of accomplishment, and training junior members. Little is known, however, about professional association leaders' motivations, their challenges, and the impact of leadership service on them. This article describes leaders' motivations to serve as professional association presidents, their accomplishments and challenges, what they learned during their presidencies, and their speculations on the future of psychologists in management and leadership. Authors interviewed N = 25 past presidents of the Society of Psychologists in Leadership to learn about their experiences. Results include motivation to serve an organization due to a desire to contribute, significant accomplishments (e.g., creating a journal, leading a conference, developing educational programs for new members), as well as significant challenges (e.g., cohesion in governance structures, financial stewardship, interpersonal conflict), and substantial personal and professional growth. All past presidents advocated for a need for psychologists to serve as leaders in professional associations and a wide variety of other institutions. Implications of this study for all professional associations include: (a) despite their expertise, association presidents face complex challenges they have not necessarily been trained for, need numerous skills that they may not have, and would benefit from consultation and support during their tenure as presidents; (b) leadership activities may change as the needs of the organization change; and (c) current leaders' outreach and invitations to others to participate are essential to recruiting new association leaders and managing succession planning.