Something To Trust In- Steve Olweean

AHP PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, August, 2004
Four Pillars for AHP

— Bruce Francis

Your Board of Directors will hold its semiannual meeting/retreat in August. We will get together in Chicago to spend four days thinking about the direction of the Association and considering ways in which we can better serve you, our members. We meet in a time of world turmoil on the eve of a national presidential campaign and so may find it difficult to focus our thoughts inward on the structure and function of AHP. But focus we must, for it is only by paying attention to the inner workings of our association, on the efficiency and effectiveness of our Board and staff, on our patterns and processes for communicating with each other and with you the membership that we can continue to build an AHP for the 21st century—an organization of relevance, respect, and power. Our membership is increasing, especially our professional membership. We must continue to find new ways to develop and secure our funding sources and to husband those resources more effectively. We must continue to expand our reach as an organization through affiliations internationally and through alliances and partnerships here in this country. Our communication tools—ahpweb.org, the Perspective, and the JHP—must continue to explore and share with the world new thinking, new humanistic and holistic approaches, and new cultural richness.

It is your Board’s responsibility to organize and renew itself so as to nurture the vision of AHP, to provide support and guidance for the AHP staff and staff affiliates who provide direct services to our members, and to think boldly and imaginatively about the opportunities and possibilities that await us in the world. In my last message, I enumerated the strengths of AHP that I was delighted to inherit and that I am committed to carry forward. I will continue to share with you organizational priorities that, in my view, the Board needs to address. These are not, of course, simply my ideas; they have been evolving in Board discussions for several years. Now, with our administrative and financial situations more comfortably in order, it is time to bring our organizational vision to fruition and to implement a structure that fits our needs and the century in which we must thrive.

Our organizational vision rests on four pillars, four principles that will guide our Board decisions as we move forward:

Pillar I: The Board of Directors, in consultation with the membership, articulates the vision of AHP, and secures the resources needed to carry it out.

During our 2001 Board meeting, Katy Brant introduced us to a model for Board organization developed by John Carver (Boards That Make A Difference, Jossey-Bass, 2nd ed., 1997). This model views the Board as the voice of the organization’s members. As such, it determines the ends of the organization, sets ethical limits on the means that may be used to pursue those ends, and assesses how well the organization is achieving them. One implication of adopting the Carver model is a reduction of the Board’s direct involvement in managing the day-to-day affairs of AHP. Another implication is an increase in communication between the Board and the membership.

Pillar II: The AHP staff maintains the organization and provides direct services to its members.

This pillar places greater responsibility for operational management of AHP in the hands of its staff, and seeks to empower and support them in carrying out their responsibilities. An excellent cadre of staff, contractors, and volunteers currently serves AHP. Under this pillar, they would be given more autonomy within appropriate guidelines.

Pillar III: The work of AHP in the world is carried out by its members, individually and in groups.

This pillar recognizes and supports individual members as they foster humanistic principles and carry out professional activities that contribute to the AHP vision of enhancing the evolution of human consciousness. Individual professionals may gather in groups (currently called Energy Centers or Projects), may form affiliate organizations, or may act by themselves to serve humanistic values. Under Pillar III, AHP will commit itself to sponsor or affiliate with an increasingly diverse set of organizations and individuals to broaden AHP’s reach around the globe.

Pillar IV: AHP communication vehicles will make use of appropriate technologies and build upon their potential.

This pillar commits AHP to the continuing development of its Web site, www.ahpweb.org, the Perspective, and the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Under it, we will continue to explore how new technology can enhance our membership communications, and our sharing of AHP values and vision with the world. Chief among new projects to explore in the coming year is an AHP Press, a vehicle to extend publication opportunities to our members.

Each of these organizational pillars will be fully discussed in Board meetings and communications. Our membership will have full opportunity to participate in the exploration and development of these directions through communication vehicles designed for their feasibility and convenience. We are all part of a powerful vehicle for spreading humanistic principles to the world. Our tradition as a haven for new kinds of thinking, for speaking to the world from radically human perspectives, and for creating communities in which humanistic professionals can share their skills and values must continue to evolve to meet the needs of our new century. My stewardship as your Board’s President will be devoted to continual renewal and reinvention. Your thoughts and suggestions are always welcome. Write me at bruce.francis@capella.edu.

Bruce Francis has been a member of AHP since 1992. He has served on the AHP Board of Directors since 1993 and as its President in 1995. An educator for more than 30 years, Bruce served on the faculties of the University of Maryland, Mercy College of Detroit, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. His administrative posts include Academic Vice President of Walden University, President of Saybrook Institute, President of The Graduate School of America, and Chancellor of Capella University. He is currently Distinguished Senior Faculty at Capella University.