Julio Calderon, president of the Affiliate Council, is dedicated to the mission of developing the leadership capabilities of Affiliates through his Leadership Academy. His vision of leadership aims at fostering the creative potential of candidates. Demonstrating one of the leadership characteristics Daniel Goleman describes in his book, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Calderon is interested in inspiring Affiliates to achieve in ways that are meaningful and uniquely personal, as well as inspiring enthusiasm for a shared vision. His purpose is to enable Affiliate members to define and develop their own definition of and potential for leadership as writers, researchers, teachers, clinicians, committee members, outreach activists, or media educators. The Academy offers a different skill-building workshop at each meeting.
I conducted the first academy workshop at the Seattle meetings in June 2005. The working Affiliate Group came to the realization that the prized qualities of an analyst—integrity, insight, persistence, inspiring change, motivating others, listening, communication skills, tolerance of ambiguity, honesty, openness to change—are the same qualities we think of when we think of good leadership. We all have the capabilities to play a leadership role. When the Affiliates were asked, “Is there any reason you wouldn't think of yourself as a leader?” an interesting discussion ensued regarding obstacles to thinking of themselves as leaders. Success neuroses, inhibitions (such as shame over the impulse to exhibit), and fearfulness that power is evil or corrupting, all came up as psychological issues we deal with along the road to thinking of ourselves as leaders.
I then defined “vision,” a necessary component of good leadership, as a powerful and vivid mental picture of what we want for the future. To demonstrate, I asked people to recall a powerful, positive, and vivid dream, experience, or childhood memory and recreate the colors, smells, sounds, and feelings associated with that image. Then, using worksheets, I asked each participant to work individually to create an equally vivid and powerful image for their future.
Calderon is interested in inspiring Affiliates to achieve in ways that are meaningful and uniquely personal, as well as inspiring enthusiasm for a shared vision. His purpose is to enable Affiliate members to define and develop their own definition of and potential for leadership as writers, researchers, teachers, clinicians, committee members, outreach activists, or media educators.
The second workshop of Calderon's academy was presented by Steven Levy, editor of JAPA, in January 2006. (His workshop was reviewed by Carol Levin in The Affiliate Council Newsletter, June 2006.) He, too, spoke of resistance to thinking of oneself as a writer stemming from Oedipal anxieties, idealizing our analytical predecessors, or feeling insecure about our knowledge of the analytic literature. To overcome these obstacles, Levy offered several suggestions. First, as proposed in the first academy workshop, Levy encouraged candidates to discover their own unique methods of thinking about ideas and of writing. Levy reminded the candidates that it is important to avoid becoming overwhelmed and, consequently, paralyzed. He advised people to either revise the first draft oneself, solicit suggestions from colleagues and mentors, and/or hire editorial help before submitting the paper to a journal. Levy concluded his workshop by (also) having the candidates break into small groups to brainstorm a paper on a topic.
Dottie Jeffries, director of public affairs for APsaA, and Patrick Cody, community liaison for the Baltimore Washington Center for Psychoanalysis, offered the third workshop of the Leadership Academy during the June 2006 meetings of the Association. Focusing on educating Affiliates on working with the media, they opened the workshop by establishing what knowledge, experience, and media skills the Affiliates already possessed. The leaders were impressed with the many individuals who had previous media experience: One Affiliate had run a show on public access television, another's family was actively involved in radio, and others had already published op ed articles.
While the group understood our profession's prudent cautiousness about presenting ourselves to the public, the participants also understood that it is important to work with the media to improve the image of psychoanalysis, and they recognized the individual marketing benefits. The leaders pointed out
Georgia Royalty, Ph.D., is a graduate of the Baltimore Washington Institute for Psychoanalysis. She has been an adjunct faculty member of the National Leadership Institute, University of Maryland University College, for the past 23 years.
two sides to the media: controlled media, which is paid advertising, and uncontrolled media, which involves the press. They encouraged us to use both to educate the public about psychoanalysis. For example, one of the most manageable ways for all of us to play a part is to write op-eds or letters to the editor. The workshop leaders demystified and decreased the intimidation factor of working with journalists by explaining that a journalist's job is to cover, in a fair and objective manner, all sides of an issue. They do not know our perspective and they do not know that we are educated sources of information unless we tell them. On the other hand, it is legitimate to acknowledge when we do not know the answer to a journalist's question offhand, and to offer to get back to them or refer them to an expert in the area.
Calderon is making plans to offer a research-focused workshop of his academy for the January 2007 meetings. He hopes the Leadership Academy offers a forward-thinking, positive option for Affiliates to devote their energies to and develop their talents for service in our Association. He is aware of the reality that today's Affiliates are tomorrow's leaders of our Association, and is determined to provide opportunities to develop a vibrant community of leaders.