First Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Meeting Dedicated to Coaching

I just returned from the SIOP Leading Edge Consortium on Executive Coaching for Effective Performance: Leading Edge Practice and Research, held October 17-18 in Cincinnati OH. It was a great experience and reminded me that there are LOTS of conversations happening about coaching!

The Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is Division 14 of the American Psychological Association. Its roots go back to the founding of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1892. APAs initial objective was the advancement of Psychology as a science (Cattell, 1895, cited in Sokal, 1992, p. 115) and several proponents of industrial psychology were prominent members (e.g., Hugo Munsterberg, James McKeen Cattell, Walter VanDyke Bingham, Walter Dill Scott). It was APAs lack of recognition for applied psychology during those early years that served as the impetus for organizing industrial and organizational psychology.

In 1921, the New York Association of Consulting Psychologists (ACP) was founded. It consisted mostly of clinical and educational psychologists and a small core of industrial psychologists. In 1930, as a result of a growing body of applied psychologists and increased dissatisfaction with APA, the New York ACP expanded and formed the Association of Consulting Psychologists (ACP). Industrial psychologists were involved in the formation of ACP and they participated every year in the ACP meetings. By 1945, Division 14 of APA was created for industrial psychologists.

According to the current bylaws, the purpose of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology is:to promote human welfare through the various applications of psychology to all types of organizations providing goods or services, such as manufacturing concerns, commercial enterprises, labor unions or trade associations, and public agencies.

(Information excerpted from the SIOP website: http://www.siop.org/History/historynew.aspx#narrative)
This was the first SIOP meeting dedicated to coaching, although there have always been coaching presentations in the annual SIOP conferences. SIOP members are very involved – and influential – in organizational and leadership consulting, and many of them are coaches. It was a terrific meeting – the speakers and topics were informational as well as inspirational (see the Agenda and list of presenters at http://www.siop.org/lec/2008/agenda_2008.aspx). And it was great to see how colleagues in this discipline think and talk about executive coaching.

I was struck by the impression that there continue to be many different conversations going on about coaching, all over the world – and I want to see them come together and inform EACH OTHER! I made some wonderful new contacts – and deepened relationships that already existed with The Foundation of Coaching (one of the keynote speakers was Dr. David Peterson, who is on the Research Advisory Board for The Foundation of Coaching). Many of the participants at the Consortium had heard about the recent International Coaching Research Forum and were eager to learn about the outcomes!

So, my take-away from this wonderful event was to realize that the world of coaching is a small world, and getting smaller as time goes on! I look forward to seeing and hearing from our SIOP colleagues and continuing the conversation in a larger arena – perhaps on our own Coaching Commons!

And if you are interested in learning more about the presentations that were given at the Consortium, SIOP offers a Learning Center with presentation PowerPoints, tapes and DVD’s of the sessions!

Log on at http://www.siop.org/learningcenter.aspx

If you were there, let us here from you…..