Leadership

I found it interesting that Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) compared a school to a plane stating that principals are the pilots and school counselor’s copilot.  This supported how important the role of school counselors is in terms of leadership.  In school we are taught the necessary techniques in order to foster communication between groups and advocate for students, parents, and teachers.  Yet, in the real world some counselors do not believe that they are considered a leader within their school.  This brings me back to my interview where a school counselor I interviewed simply stated that he did not feel as though he had a leadership role.  He felt that he just did as administration requested.  On the other hand, there are some counselors that believe that they are an intricate part of the school system whether it is through administration support or conversations with the superintendent.  Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) state that, “it takes courage, energy, and determination to be a leader and advocate” (pg. 187).  The fact was also brought up that you will find people that chose to stand up and then others that go with the flow.  I am not one for confrontation and this is something that I will have to work on.  I will come across some difficult situations and I need to keep in mind that I am here for the students and it is our job to help the advocate for them. 

Another area on the chapter of leadership was when Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) defined leadership and looped it in with power.  Leadership was defined as, “the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group in efforts toward goal achievement in a given situation” (pg 188).  With this there were four frames of leadership.  The first two, structural and human resource leadership stood out to me.  I feel that with structural it is vital for school counselors to be up to date in their education.  I had a conversation with my school counselor and I was discussing about something that I had learned in class and she stated that she was excited to hear about the new things because it has been awhile since she has been in school.  Next, with human resource, counselors need to visible and out and about within the school.  Unfortunately, some school counselors do not take their job seriously and will just hide in their office.  This does an injustice not only to the students but the teachers and community.  We need to be passionate in what we do and support the students.  It is important for them to know who you are because if they help than they will more likely come knocking on your door.  In conclusion, we cannot forget that school counselors do play a major role in the academic, career, and personal/social development of students and it is our job to work with the teachers, administration, and community to ensure student success and positive overall climate.      

Dollarhide, C. & Saginak, K. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery systems in action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.