Leadership

One of the the primary reasons I chose school counseling as my future profession is because I wanted to serve in a leadership position in a school while also having the ability to have direct connections with students. As a result, I was really excited to read more about Dollarhide and Saginak's views of the specific leadership roles and responsibilities of school counselors in Chapter 11. I liked the analogy the authors began the chapter with, of the counselor serving as the "co-pilot of the school, responsible for the comprehensive school counseling program, the developmental curriculum, and the academic, career, and personal/social development of students" (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 186). The authors elaborate on four leadership responsibilities, which include structural leadership, human resource leadership, political leadership, and symbolic leadership. Out of these four, the authors remark that political leadership tends to be most difficult for school counselors, and I also foresee this being difficult for me as well, as there are so many stakeholders involved in the system that it is difficult to make decisions that address all needs and concerns. In difficult situations, I think it is important for counselors to remember that they must serve as advocates, for "those who are marginalized or excluded from decision making" (p.193). Although this often includes students, this can also involve parents, colleagues, and other members of the community. Just as important as the roles counselors are responsible for are the roles that they should NOT be responsible for, and the authors' description of these tasks are reminiscent of the class discussion we had a few weeks ago. As a general rule, I tend to approach most jobs from the perspective of "doing whatever is asked and needed of me," but I now better understand the value and importance of becoming my own advocate for identifying tasks that are most applicable to my counseling role. I think keeping a perspective and maintaining a balance are also important, and I appreciated the authors reminder that administrative tasks, such as lunchroom duty or hallroom monitor, will result in increased contact with students, perhaps allowing for the development of trust and greater awareness of the issues students are facing on a daily basis. Dollarhide, C., and Saginak, K. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery systems in action, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.