Post 9

As I was coming up through high school and college, I took on leadership roles in cross country and track. In high school I was asked by my coaches to be the captain. This assignment was based off of being the number 1 runner on the team. I wouldn’t say that my leadership ability was great (especially as a sophomore), but as long as I was winning, I kept the title. By the time I reached my senior year, I truly felt like a captain. I had the experience, talent, and success under my belt. In college we never had an assigned captain. During my freshman and sophomore years, the older guys on the team were leaders for me. It was weird because I was so used to being the “captain”. I felt that I had to start over and earn the respect that was simply given to me before. I wasn’t the number 1 runner until my junior year. At this time, I felt that I earned the respect of my teammates and coaches. My teammates would come to me for advice, and my coaches would include me in their meetings. The reason I share this background is because I feel that leadership skills are not simply handed to an individual. An individual may have the title of captain or leader, but that doesn’t mean that they are an effective leader. Leadership skills are earned over time and experience. In the leadership article, Mason and McMahon (2009) note that school counseling leadership is correlated to age and experience of the school counselor. Reading over the long list of personal qualities of effective leaders that Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) provide made me reflect upon which skills I have and which skills I don’t have. I do not feel that an effective leader has to have every one of these qualities to be successful. I believe that a strong leader has the qualities needed to succeed in their specific environment. For example, a great army general would have different qualities than a great school counselor. It is similar to the survey that we completed in class. There are different components to leadership which correlate to ones specific setting. Relating this to my current position in life, I play more of a symbolic role to my students. I give them inspiration, believe, and love in hopes that they will succeed. However, I play more of a structural role to my colleagues and peers in graduate school. I am organized, regiment, and goal oriented. A school counselor must be the same way. They need to be skilled in all four areas that we discussed on Tuesday because of the different settings and people they come across. Leadership qualities are something developed over time. When we first enter a school setting as a school counselor, it may be difficult to establish ourselves as a leader of the school. I may call myself a strong leader, but my colleagues, students, and parents may look at me as an inexperienced counselor. I have to be a leader through my actions and build the rapport with my colleagues, students, and parents over time to gain leadership status. Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd Ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc. Mason, E. C., & McMahon, G. (2009). Leadership practices of school counselors. Professional school counseling, 13(2), 107-115.