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American School Counselor Association Standards & Competencies 

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American School Counselor Association Standards & Competencies 

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ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies 

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Book Review - Quiet Leadership by David Rock 

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Book Review - Quiet Leadership by David Rock 

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I love reading insightful books about leadership and culture in organizations. I tend to find books with a balance of theory and practice the most useful professionally and personally. My latest read is David Rock's, Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work, which I learned about in preparation for an upcoming workshop for a local non-profit client. Link to David Rock's blog and website for more information.

Since so many leadership books highlight similar themes, I like to highlight areas of differentiation. Here are 4 examples of ideas that stood out to me while reading this book:

1. Brain-based research approach. David Rock does a great job of linking the latest neuroscience research to his extensive coaching expertise. Thanks to neuroplasticity, our brain's ability to create new connections, it turns out that it's much easier to create new patterns in the brain rather than to "undo" old patterns. Rock says,

"Changing a habit, now that's hard, but leaving it where it is and creating a whole new habit-that turns out to be far more achievable." (p. 21)

And thankfully, much of the book goes to to supply a wealth of information on exactly how to create these new habits. Somehow just being reminded that we can create new patterns with time and practice goes a long way in motivating us to try new ways of being and interacting with others.

2. Our job as leaders is not to give advice, but to help others have insights for themselves. This takes some self-control on the leader's part, but in a knowledge-based economy, what better service could leaders provide than to help their teams think and act on their own? Rock calls this self-directed learning.

"There are five big reasons why a self-directed approach is so useful when we are trying to improve performance: People still need to make their own connections about anything you tell them; you'll never guess the right answer anyway; it allows people to be energized by the new connections; it's less effort; and it's faster." (p. 38-39)

For some managers, these are revolutionary concepts. "You mean I can sit back and help people think for themselves? I don't have to figure it out for them?" Yes, you can, and you will have far better results Rock argues.

3. Managing processes and people requires different approaches. While many of us are skilled with analytics, managing people using analytics is a road to frustration. Instead there are other tools (some of them detailed in #4 below) that just work better with people.

"When analyzing and trying to change process, an analytical and problem-focused approach is very useful. But when trying to change people, something else is needed. . . Quiet Leaders know that problems are interesting to discuss, but that focusing on solutions is more useful." (p. 48 & 49)

We've all been in way too many meetings that stay grounded in the problem and not the solution. Rock's model says that's a waste of time and gives concrete suggestions for how to solve the problem rather than bathe in it.

4. Ask "thinking" questions to encourage the brain to make new connections. Rock provides a list of questions that are different from what we usually expect. To help define the current reality, and to get the other person doing the thinking, here are a few questions Rock recommends that a leader asks after someone has raised a dilemma and once the leader has the person's permission to proceed into a solutions-oriented discussion.

"How long have you been thinking about this, in days, weeks, months or years?"

"Is this is in your top three, five, or ten priorities right now?"

"What are your main insights about this issue up to now?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how confident are you that you have all the information you need to act?" (p. 156)

While I like to ask a lot of questions of peers, colleagues and clients to get at the heart of an issue, I must say that these have not been the types of questions I tend to ask. What Rock is doing here is to get leaders to help their own team members think about their own thinking-to get the team member's own brain to form connections that may not have been otherwise linked in order to clarify what actions can solve the dilemma.

A few closing thoughts. This book is actually very heavy on the model of how Rock's recommended approach works. In fact I found myself struggling to get through the middle section of the book because there seemed to be so many theories packed in. But, I'm glad that I kept going with it, and now I'm excited to put the theories into practice. If you want to learn more, I would recommend picking up a copy of this book. You can find it on Amazon through this link. Just take your time with it. I did not go into much of the actual model here because it's all interlinked and David Rock has already done a masterful job in the book of tying it all together. If you read the book and want to discuss it more, let me know! Every use of this kind of content just helps makes those neural pathways even stronger.

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I love reading insightful books about leadership and culture in organizations. I tend to find books with a balance of theory and practice the most useful professionally and personally. My latest read is David Rock's, Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work, which I learned about in preparation for an upcoming workshop for a local non-profit client.

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Keys to being a transformational leader

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Interview with MS/HS Counselor - Discuss leadership theories, counseling duties, and more

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Leadership Practices of School Counselors

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Leadership Practices of School Counselors

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make a difference!

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Counselors lead students to college and career readiness.

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College * October 22, 2018 * Carmen Hughes

What you'll learn

How you can help students file the FAFSA

Effective ways to reach out to parents and students

In my eight years as a school counselor, I've found that the word "FAFSA" is about as scary to parents as the words "head lice" and "exam week." Fortunately, it has gotten much more user-friendly since the days of mailing it to the government in an envelope and waiting six weeks to see if you qualify for anything. Today, the FAFSA is almost instant and much less painful.

6 tips to help students complete the FAFSA

1. Get competitive
Every fall, I'm asked by my administrator to come up with attainable and measurable goals that align with the needs of my student body. Each year, I make it a point to shoot for 90 percent FAFSA completion among my seniors.

As a very data-driven person (and a very competitive one), I like to run a weekly report in my state's data storage system that tells me who exactly has or hasn't filed the FAFSA. I reach out to the students who have not, and see how I can help.

2. Provide food

Every spring, I hold a parent and student FAFSA Night for juniors with the help of my local community college advisor, Amanda. She has a PowerPoint presentation that explains the financial aid process and we usually have about 50 percent of the class in attendance.

We provide pizza and college scholarship info in an informal setting and parents leave knowing everything they could possibly want to know about the FAFSA. Honestly, I think half of them are there for the pizza, but whatever it takes to get them in the door!

3. Use visuals and prizes

I started using a FAFSA thermometer poster to measure how many students have filed the FAFSA. I placed it strategically in the hallway to the lunchroom so that every student in 7th-12th grade walks by the thermometer every single day. The kids are constantly reminded that they need to file if they haven't already, and parents see the thermometer at sporting events.

When a student files the FAFSA and shows up on my state report, I write his or her name on a strip of paper and tape it on the thermometer. It's a simple and fun way to show progress.

Some schools also put students' names into a drawing once they file the FAFSA. A friend of mine gave away an iPad to the lucky winner drawn from the FAFSA completion drawing.

4. FSA ID + College Application Month = FAFSA completion

During the state of Michigan's College Application Month, we encourage our seniors to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID and to help their parents create one, too.

Remembering their username and password when they actually file the FAFSA is a whole separate struggle, but if they type the info in their phones or laptops, it is easy to retrieve when they actually sit down with me or their parents to file.

5. Identify your homeless or unaccompanied youth students

One of the biggest barriers for first generation college students or unaccompanied/homeless youth is little or no access to post-secondary planning. Being available to this population of students is so important. This is where school counselors can work their magic.

If a student is considered unaccompanied, he/she doesn't have to use any parental income or information on the FAFSA. This makes filing very simple and easy. Oftentimes, the college or university will require a verification form be filled out by the liaison, but this is a simple form to complete.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is seeing an unaccompanied youth graduate from college. I have a few success stories, many of whom would call every year and set up a time to come in so I could help them file their FAFSA.

6. Don't be afraid to multitask

This last year during parent/teacher conferences, I scheduled parents to come in and we filed their FAFSA right there during conferences. It jumpstarted my completion numbers right off the bat in early October.

Parents were relieved to have it filed, and I had the fastest parent/teacher conferences ever! Helping parents and students with this small, but necessary piece of the college-going culture is very rewarding. You can see it in their faces when you hit submit and see the Pell Grant and Expected Family Contribution (EFC) amount instantly. They are so thankful and relieved that it's done.

Now they're college-ready

Over the past five years, we have averaged over 80 percent FAFSA completion rate for our seniors. These tips have helped me ease the minds of my students and their parents when it comes to all aspects of the college planning process, but especially completing the FAFSA.

Carmen Hughes is a counselor at the Camden-Frontier school district.

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Counselors-here are 6 tips to help your students file the FAFSA

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College * October 22, 2018 * Carmen Hughes What you'll learn How you can help students file the FAFSA Effective ways to reach out to parents and students In my eight years as a school counselor, I've found that the word "FAFSA" is about as scary to parents as the words "head lice" and "exam week."

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Charismatic & Relational Leadership Theories

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5 Aspects of Emotional Intelligence

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Creating you own leadership philosophy

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11 Ways School Counselors are Serve as Leaders

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11 Ways School Counselors are Serve as Leaders

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Leadership in school counseling.

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School counselors are uniquely equipped to bridge the gaps between administration, teachers, parents, and students. As the demands placed on everyone in a school community increase, it's vital that we view and include school counselors as part of our leadership teams. Let's make sure we recognize all they do and put their strengths to work for our students! Here are 11 ways school counselors serve as leaders in your building.

1. School counselors recognize and showcase diversity.

In many buildings, school counselors are considered the "heart" of the school. They help create an inclusive environment that is respectful, welcoming, kind, and open to all.

2. School counselors develop community partnerships.

Counseling staff work collaboratively with universities, community colleges, technical schools, local unions, military reps, and apprentice programs to provide a variety of opportunities for students. They are especially vital in ensuring underserved and first-generation students have access to and the tools to reach all possible post-high school options.

3. School counselors help during difficult situations.

Strengths such as listening, reflecting, and high emotional intelligence make school counselors valuable allies when trying to get buy-in from staff or the greater community on difficult issues. Counselors foster a culture of change via strong lines of communication and valuing input from all parties involved.

4. School counselors maintain strong home-school connections.

Counselors tend to be the liaison for parents when it comes to communicating with the school. This leadership role is especially important when assisting families who are not familiar with the school setting or have issues trusting staff.

5. School counselors maximize educational success.

School counselors can help to maximize the educational attainment of all students by providing students with mental health services (school or community-based) and developmental guidance that takes a proactive approach in helping students set and reach academic goals.

6. School counselors lead staff trainings.

Administrators who use their counseling staff (rather than outside contractors) to lead building-wide trainings can save a lot of money and gain quicker buy-in from staff. School counselors are experts on topics such as student engagement, positive discipline, suicide/self-harm, students-as-leaders, peer mentoring programs, and academic/social interventions for low-performing students.

7. School counselors protect and advocate for disadvantaged students.

Counselors identify and amend policies and practices that negatively impact disadvantaged students and advocate for equitable services for all students.

8. School counselors use expertise to bring data to life.

Like administrators, counselors are trained in data collection and analysis. They are skilled at using this information to drive decisions about placement, intervention, and overall student health and wellbeing.

9. School counselors mediate difficult situations between parents/students and staff.

Counselors are consistently looking for ways to support the relationship between school staff and parents. Acting as a mediator when one or both parties are upset about a situation is a critical way in which school counselors serve as leaders.

10. School counselors organize and lead crisis response.

Counselors are on the front lines after a tragedy has happened in a school or community. Staff, students, parents, and community members look to the counselors for guidance and support immediately following an event. Because of their training in emotional/mental, the counseling staff is critical in advocating for and teaching self-care to staff, parents, and students during a crisis.

11. School counselors empower and inspire.

School counselors inherently believe in people and work tirelessly to communicate that. By being visible and accessible at all times, their calming, caring, and encouraging presence helps support and empower staff in the building.

School counselors serve as leaders in many ways and we need to value their perspectives and strengths. They are vital to building positive learning environments in which students thrive.
Join our Facebook group Principal Life for more conversation about and insights into the challenges of school leadership.

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11 Ways Your School Counselors Serve as Leaders - WeAreTeachers

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School counselors are uniquely equipped to bridge the gaps between administration, teachers, parents, and students. As the demands placed on everyone in a school community increase, it's vital that we view and include school counselors as part of our leadership teams. Let's make sure we recognize all they do and put their strengths to work for our students!

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Actions speak louder than words.