President-Elect 2023 - Meet the Candidates: Alison Clarke

My career and experience have prepared me for this role in a very different way compared to the distinguished academics and publicly acclaimed psychologists who have previously held it.

Curiously, when the society, in the context of the recent change program, undertook research into the composition and aspirations of our members, present, past and future, it transpired that contrary to expectation, most of our members have not followed a linear pathway from school to professional registration.

On the contrary, the largest single group of our members have zig zagged their way to their present status navigating unsympathetic circumstances and budgets in pursuance of what felt right for them.

I found my emerging psychological values out of step with the received wisdom of the day as I graduated from Queens University Belfast decades ago.

Someone in a holiday job complimented me on my business acumen which tilted me in that direction and I joined a major multinational corporation
at home before moving to Brussels for my most formative years.

In Brussels I began my time in management consultancy, training and development with the great pleasure of rubbing shoulders with some historic names of psychology applied to business.

I was too shy and failed to follow up on Professor Fred Herzberg's offer to use his condo in Colorado when we discovered we had a common alma mater in Queen's Belfast where he finished the second world war as a GI of the US army!

For many years I worked as a trouble shooter in manufacturing and service businesses before specialising in training and development programs building a bridge between Ireland and Europe and education and work.

It was in the latter that I cut my teeth in coaching, using my own psychological learning alongside the input of my colleague, a former academic psychologist in a UK university.

In coaching I found my psychological niche.

As a member of the then Special Group for Coaching Psychology I was a founder member of the 2018 project group who achieved the accreditation standards for universities and individuals, the novel competence based Professional Recognition route to Chartership for established practitioners and finally the redesignation of Coaching as a fully-fledged professional division within the society.

I look forward to completing my own Chartership in this way this year.

I am particularly pleased to note that other divisions are now also developing this competence based route to expand the possibilities for the wider psychological workforce and the populations they serve.

As Chair of the Practice Board for two terms until this year, I have also learned about challenges faced by members of the other divisions and special groups and have contributed to finding solutions.

It would be my privilege to continue to use the knowledge and empathy I have from my distant and recent past to explore and champion opportunities for members to expand themselves and the range of services they have and we can create and to serve the public under our Royal Charter.

I would like to think that the impact of a meaningful commitment to the BPS vision of inclusivity and diversity will avoid the pitfalls of tokenism and instead address embedded structures in attitudes and processes that have both created and sustained the patterns that fellow members of the society have identified as falling short on inclusion and diversity.

As someone who grew up during some of the worst years of the violence that manifested on the back of the experience of political and social exclusion experienced by many in my home city and country, I have witnessed the high cost for all in a community resulting from the exclusion of some.

Addressing this is no small task. Already the first concrete steps taken by the society in the Practice Board as an example is to ensure that the inclusion and diversity status is considered in every piece of work we do.

Further than that, the establishment of the fifth strategy board for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a measure of the commitment of the society to put this agenda front and centre of all our activities.

This board will have the difficult task of creating an agenda and laying out a program that can be acted upon and generate results that show up in real life.

What is our remit? Is it limited to only the work of the society which is already a large project or should it include questioning the history and foundations of the body of knowledge and research and how that is to be applied in our professional lives?

How do we account for societal structural inequalities and institutional biases in cultures of stakeholder organisations? There is a risk that the aspirations we articulate could extend beyond our ability to make a difference.

As an organisation we will have to agree what that agenda includes and what it does not include for reasons of resources and capacity to act to deliver change.

This may require difficult conversations amongst colleagues to agree priorities against a wide landscape of possibilities or conflicting needs or desires.

Individually we will have to be able to engage with other people and ideas being aware of the validity from each individual perspective while fulfilling our governance responsibilities to produce policies and processes that uphold certain standards for community that may disappoint certain other voices or points of view.

Ironically, this will demand of us personally that we develop our own capacities to put ourselves in others' shoes and see decisions to be taken from other perspectives even when that may be unfamiliar, unsettling or challenging for ourselves.

I joined the BPS in 2011 after many years living abroad and working in business, outside as I saw it then, the established communities of psychological practice.

In the intervening years my interest in psychology had only grown, supported by my own reading, self-directed study and coaching practice.

A serendipitous meeting in Belfast with an old friend from my days in Brussels who was a long-time member of the society led to me being encouraged to join, go along to the AGM and volunteer to get involved with my local branch.

In that community of active members of the Northern Ireland branch I found friendship, professional stimulation and the door to the special group for Coaching Psychology.

In volunteering to represent the NI Branch at the 2017 redraft of the Practice Guidelines I discovered that my many years in management consulting, training and development where I had also served my time to coaching, relying on the psychological roots laid down in my undergraduate years, I had something different to offer that had value not only to the society but to the wider community who at distressing times in their lives seek the support of psychological services of one kind or another.

After the completion of that piece of work and with the encouragement of a member on my personal network, I applied for and was appointed to the Chair of the Practice Board.

By the 2023 AGM I will have completed six years of service to our society and to the wider society in this role. Sometimes this kind of service is hard work but overall it has been very rewarding.

I have had the opportunity to better understand and support the professional needs and desires of colleagues practising in all the networks represented at Practice Board.

I have had the opportunity to learn and apply the essential elements of good governance such that I even listen to the national news differently.

Reflecting on my own experience, I have been very fortunate to have been so well integrated into a vibrant member network from day one.

I see the role of President as an ambassador and signpost for members that they can also find their way to such value from their membership of the society no matter how they work or what generates their interest in psychology.

The president's eyes can shine a light on great activities going on within the member networks and give them a platform to encourage and inspire others.

The society has begun to actively engage in working with member networks to maximise opportunity while understanding how to get the best out of the resource available.

It will be the President's job to support this member led initiative and accurately represent the possibilities and the limitations while being an encourager of those membership opportunities that deliver what our members most value and appreciate.

I joined the Board of Trustees in 2017 as Chair of the Practice Board when the society was already committed to a program of governance changes to meet the changing needs of a growing and evolving organisation and the rising standards of the Charity Commission.

Balanced alongside operational imperatives a significant number of changes were formally approved by the Privy Council last year and incorporated into our Charter at our last AGM.

This work was the achievement of the whole board supported by senior staff and I played my full part in understanding needs, seeking evidence and scrutinising proposals for change including taking on the additional responsibility of Chair of the Finance and Investment sub-committee scrutinising the work of the finance function of the society.

I appreciated the training I received that focussed my understanding of the requirements of a trustee.

I learned an important lesson about leadership many years ago. It fell to me to conduct brainstorming days with European and global HR directors to design conferences for senior leaders in their field exploring important topical issues.

I learned that leadership does not depend upon a status competition but privileging the shared objective and encouraging participation from all contributors.

Similarly, I led the co-design and subsequently the delivery of a new GP Out of Hours (OOH) service delivery in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland, where a completely different financial model existed.

I was the only non-medic and was leading a project that would change, potentially improving, the shape of their working lives.

Leadership there was also in presenting valid evidence around which we could agree a consensus about which we could engage with the very interested stakeholders whose experience of service would also change.

Good governance is not only about policing existing policies but also about ensuring that policies and procedures support the objectives of the organisation.

In the Chair, I reconfigured the composition of the Practice Board to reduce its tendency to be a forum for conflicting siloes such that it now, with
the enthusiastic support of its members, undertakes cross divisional work of strategic importance to the society and the profession.

I have learned and can demonstrate that the key to good chairing of a meeting is to be diligent about respectfully giving all members the opportunity to be heard while also keeping the timings on track.

This can often require juggling planned timings on the hoof while also keeping the conversations on track.

I have found that generous application of humour helps well with this and according to the feedback from members of the practice board, this formula works well.

My service in Chairing the Practice Board in this way has enabled me to enjoy the appreciation of my colleagues who express pleasure from volunteering their time to the work of this board.

One colleague recently described their participation as the most rewarding experience of their professional life.

This is the experience I would wish for all our volunteers in all our networks.

How long have you known the candidate?

Four years.

When have you worked with the candidate or come into contact with them?

I met Alison when we were both members of the 2018 Coaching Psychology Project group which collaboratively created the coaching psychology accreditation standards for universities and individuals.

The approval of these standards resulted in the creation of a route for Chartership as a Coaching Psychologist, the creation of the Division of
Coaching Psychology and the launch of a new Professional Recognition Route to Chartership.

I have also worked with Alison in relation to a writing project for a psychology textbook.

Why do you think the candidate would make a great President-Elect and President?

The statements Alison has made in respect of her nomination for the role of president speak for themselves in terms of her tremendous relevant experience and enthusiasm for the role.

As she flags up in her personal statements, her trajectory as a psychologist has been far from linear but in this they reflect the very rich diversity of experience of so many of our members.

I believe strongly that Alison's experience of many years in business and her more recent years in which she has given so much to the BPS, and also learned a huge amount about it, have put Alison in a unique place from which to take on the role of President.

My experience of working closely with Alison over several years have shown me that not only is she hugely insightful in terms of the BPS and the ways in which it might develop further and better support its members and the public, but she also has an understanding of how this might be achieved and has the skills to put this into action.

To further support this I have observed that Alison has an amazing amount of energy and resilience, works well with others and is enormously sensitive to and supportive of the needs of others.

This unique mix enables her to overcome potential resistance and obstacles. I've also observed that she is able to and to revise her thinking and ideas when appropriate.

In summary, I support Alison's nomination 100% and believe she will be an excellent President-Elect and President of our Society.

How long have you known the candidate?

Over 10 years.

When have you worked with the candidate or come into contact with them?

I have known Alison since we met on the committee of the Northern Ireland branch of the BPS over 10 years ago. We have worked together on that committee on a range of projects.

She came back to psychology after years in business and living abroad and had a different set of aspirations for the branch committee to achieve on behalf of its members.

Alison represented the branch on local media, promoting conferences, seminars and important engagement events.

She brought something extra to the creation of ideas and themes for planning our annual conferences and worked with the committee to make them a success for members attending.

While busy with the practice board she has continued to support branch activities where she can.

I am aware of people who have worked with her as a coach and all speak very highly of her and her expertise.

Why do you think the candidate would make a great President-Elect and President?

Having worked with Alison over 10 years as a committee member of the NIBPS, I have seen her bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and energy to driving membership engagement and public collaboration across the sectors in Northern Ireland, including regional government.

Alison's skill sets and ability to network for the good of the local and national BPS has been extraordinary and I believe her breadth of experience and her personal values can be extended beneficially to the role of president.

At branch events, she has always been a trusted pair of hands to host some of our less relaxed VIP guests.

She can be relied upon to be a very trustworthy face of the BPS wherever she would be needed to do this.

I am aware of Alison's tremendous work on the Practice Board and I believe that her ability to strategically position and meet member expectations can contribute significantly to the overarching strategic priorities of the BPS.

Alison's vision for the future of the BPS and her passion/compassion is, I believe, what is necessary to future proof the integrity and authenticity of our member organisation.

Alison's unconventional journey to her engagement and achievements with the BPS is unique and one which I believe displays her determination and resilience to broaden the mindset and diversity of the membership and wider stakeholders.

This journey and its challenges has enabled and empowered Alison to imagine a landscape where others can see themselves enabled to achieve their ambitions.

These strengths have been illustrated through her leadership in the development of new pathways for entry into and progression through the profession.

If Alison is successful in this election, she will be a strong, trustworthy president and I wish her continued success in her service to the society.