ECD 533

School Counselors as Leaders

10/13/15

Opportunities for Leadership

Advancing academic achievement
Reducing barriers to learning
Creating equitable learning environments

Leadership
One of the 4 themes of the ASCA National Model
Once thought to be the job of the school
administrator only
Not a traditional function for school counselors
Many school counselors may not want to take on
leadership roles

Bolman and Deals Four

Contexts
Structural Leadership Context Activities involving building a

comprehensive school counseling program; implementation and

maintenance strategies;
Counseling, consulting, teaching, advocacy, and evaluation/accountability
Human Resource Leadership Context Believing in people and
communicating that belief; being visible and assessable; empowering
others
Communicating, empowering, trust building, and listening

Bolman and Deals Four Contexts

Political Leadership a more non-traditional role for counselors; assessing
power distribution in the school and district; linking stakeholders,
persuading, and negotiating
Negotiation, persuasion, collaboration, advocacy, and motivating

Symbolic Leadership Focuses on importance of relationships with

students, families, and communities; articulating faith in visions, inspiring
others through modeling
Designing symbols, expressing meaning, inspiring others, and modeling for others

The Leader Within

Do you think leaders are born?
How can leaders be developed?
Which of the four frameworks (Structural, Political, Human
Resource, and Symbolic) presented in this article would be the
easiest for you to demonstrate? Which would be the most
difficult for you?

ASCA Suggestions
Visionary thinking
Challenging inequities
Shared decision making
Collaborative processing
Modeling excellence
A courageous stance

The Messy Process of School

Counselor Leadership

1. Why does Dollarhide describe leadership as a messy

process?

2. The author stated successful leadership depends on four

things: (1) Assessment of your own strengths, (2)

Assessment of your experience, (3) Knowledge about
followers, and (4) Knowledge about leadership. In your
opinion, are all 4 factors necessary to be a good leader?
What factors are more important that others for you?

Mason & McMahon, 2009

In general, school counselors with more
experience, and longer terms in their schools,
self-report higher on leadership practices than
do their younger, less experienced peers.

What is your leadership style?

Complete the Leadership Practices Inventory

(LSI)
Compute your total score for each of the five
styles
For which leadership style was your score the
highest? The lowest?

So many styles
How do the leadership styles of the LPI relate to the leadership suggestions
and contexts by Bolman and Deal and ASCA?
ASCA Suggestions
Bolman and Deals Contexts
Visionary thinking
Structural Leadership
Challenging inequities
Human Resource Leadership
Shared decision making
Political Leadership
Collaborative processing
Symbolic Leadership
Modeling excellence
A courageous stance

LPI Leadership Styles

Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart

Where do all of these fit in school counseling?