Meet SIOP Member Mark Poteet
Name
Mark Poteet
Position/Employer
Owner, Organizational Research & Solutions
How long have you been a SIOP member?
29 years
What roles have you had within SIOP?
Chair & Member, John C. Flanagan Award for the Best Student Presentation at the SIOP Conference
Chair & Member, Professional Practice Committee
Member & Chair-in-Training, United Nations Committee
Editor & Associate Editor, IOP Journal
Member, Publications Board
Member, Institutional Research Committee
Liaison, Alliance for Organizational Psychology
Interest area(s)
Training & Development, Executive Coaching/Leadership Development, Employee Engagement & Well-Being, Careers, Prosocial/Humanitarian Psychology
What sparked your interest in I-O psychology?
Through a range of diverse high school and college part-time jobs, I found I was naturally interested in workplace dynamics (e.g., leader-employee communications; collaboration between team members; leader influence) as well as questions around “why do some people work hard and others not so much?” and “what influences someone to be more satisfied or happy at work?” Having had the opportunity to work with great and not-so-great leaders, I became interested in what defines and produces great leadership. Then, while an undergrad, I learned there was a field of study that attempted to answer and address these questions. That was it!
What role do you see I-O psychology playing in the future of work?
What makes our field unique is its strong focus on using scientific, research-based processes and methods to investigate and understand a variety of workplace-related trends and issues. By better understanding the what, how, when, and why of these trends, I-O psychology is in a prime position to develop sound insights, tools, processes, and policies that can help organizations solve problems and shape the way that work is done in order to provide a positive work experience while enabling employees and organizations to achieve their goals.
What work trends are you seeing and hearing about and how can I-O psychology practitioners, educators, and students impact these trends?
Building on the previous question, a few trends have become apparent in recent years within the work that I do. The use of different types of work arrangements (e.g., remote; hybrid; telecommute) has increased, which can impact how leaders lead and employees work. Among the leaders I work with there seems to be greater attention on employee engagement and well-being issues, including topics such as creating safe and inclusive environments for employees to contribute. The pace of workplace change is requiring leaders and employees to adapt, learn, and remain resilient…within my work topics such as work-life balance, time and priority management, leading change, and collaboration seem to be forefront in leaders’ minds. As part of this, the continued integration of AI will have the potential to reshape the workplace, and how I-O psychologists do their work, including the work I do in helping leaders and employees grow and develop.
The great news is that I-O psychology has a strong role in addressing these trends. For example, the significant number of sessions at the 2025 SIOP Annual Conference on AI and diversity and inclusion, the research being done to understand hybrid and remote work arrangements, the use of advanced data analytic techniques in people/talent management, and the work being done on employee learning and leadership development all speak to ways in which I-O psychology is working to provide sound insights to help policy makers, organizations, leaders, and employees understand the impacts of these trends and how they might best respond to ensure positive outcomes.
Also, the continued extension of I-O psychology to address humanitarian and prosocial issues is a trend worth highlighting. From individual SIOP members’ work in not-for-profit organizations, researchers and practitioners addressing issues such as poverty reduction, sustainability, and reduced inequalities, to SIOP’s participation as an NGO with consultative status to the United Nations, we have a tremendous opportunity to impact the world in substantial ways.
What advice would you give to students or those early in their career?
- Get involved. Attending conferences, participating on committees, and volunteering can lead to increased learning, professional opportunities, and a chance to impact the future of our field.
- Be intentional about meeting and building relationships. The I-O psychology community is full of helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly people, and based on my experience this can result in wonderful life-long friendships as well as collaborative work opportunities.
- Cast a wide net. The field of I-O psychology continues to grow in the range of topics and issues it studies and addresses, in the types of organizations, settings, and stakeholders with whom it works, and in its global reach. Take time to learn about all of these areas and opportunities so one can make the most informed career and professional development choices. Personally, working with SIOP’s United Nations Committee over the past few years has been an incredibly rewarding experience and broadened my perspective of how I-O psychology can impact work and society.
What is one of your favorite SIOP Annual Conference memories/highlights?
Although there have been many great conference memories and highlights over the years, my favorite memory is watching my partner, Tammy D. Allen, give her SIOP Presidential Address at the 2014 SIOP Annual Conference in Hawaii. I could not have been prouder.
Please share one non-I-O-related bit of information about yourself.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my wonderful son Ethan who is a licensed architect and keeps us up to date on all the newest trends in design and music. I also enjoy traveling the world, participating in triathlons, cycling, and playing music.
Is there anything you would like to add?
To expand on an earlier point, I am excited about the growing global community and focus within the I-O psychology field. As treasurer for the Alliance for Organizational Psychology (https://alliancefororganizationalpsychology.com), I get to work with colleagues from other professional societies such as EAWOP, IAAP Division 1, C-SIOP, APS COP, and SBPOT to help enhance communication and collaboration between societies and their members, and to expand the application of I-O psychology across the globe. Most recently, the upcoming inaugural Global Work and Organizational Psychology (G-WOP) Conference (https://www.siop.org/event/global-work-and-organizational-psychology-g-wop-conference/), spearheaded by Nikita Mikhailov and Simon Toms with help from several I-O psychologists and associations, provides members from I-O professional societies across the globe the opportunity to learn and network within a virtual environment.
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