Leadership
is such an important aspect of being a school counselor. As the text points out, good intentions will
not be enough to accomplish the establishment, maintenance, and continued
development of a CSCP. Although I would
agree with the text in saying that leadership can be learned and developed, I
also have found that some people have a more natural affinity for leadership as
compared with others. As counselors who
will need to be leaders in an environment which will likely not always be
supportive of the goals of our CSCP, we will need to honestly evaluate our
leadership styles and our level of comfort with leadership so that we can
intentionally develop the areas that may need some work.
As the text
says, leadership does have to do with power.
And whether people are politicians, school personnel, employees in a
company, or members of a family system, people need to begin by assessing the
current power structures. This
assessment and understanding will help the individual learn how to be a
strategic leader. Who makes the
decisions? Who has the influence to
offer support that will get results? Who
is likely and capable of creating roadblocks to implementation of ideas? All these things are vital for anyone seeking
to be a leader in any system. In the
case of school counselors, we may not have formal authority in many areas in
the school and will need to rely on our relationships and referent power to
accomplish our goals.
One other thing
that piqued my interest in the chapter is the notion of the school counselor as
role model for leadership and advocacy for the students. As counselors we will have the opportunity
and the obligation to model effective leadership for students so that they can
also learn how to accomplish their own goals.
Learning how to exercise leadership is an important developmental goal
for students and the counselor can set a great example. Advocacy is also a role that needs to be
developed in students, but one that they will need role models and direction in
order to accomplish. As counselors
advocate and lead in healthy, proactive ways, they can model this for students.
I have
always agreed with the notion of leadership mentioned in the book, which describes
leadership as “the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared
aspirations” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 188). As counselors we have a position that invites
us to see leadership in this way. We
have the opportunity to inspire and call students to a larger vision of
themselves, and to do the same for parents and the entire school
community. What an awesome opportunity
this can be. Of course, we must start
with a vision, and then add the passion, leadership and patience necessary to
bring that vision to fruition.
Dollarhide, C.T.,
& Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd Ed.).
New York: Pearson, Inc.
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