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This group will focus on major life changes, including but not limited to divorce, separation, blending families, death, loss, moving, injury, incarceration, or military deployment. This group will be for 3rd-4th graders as a school counseling small, closed group with limited sessions.

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Students in this group will learn:

*B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills

*B-SMS 10. Ability to manage transitions and adapt to change

*B-SS 3. Positive relationships with adults to support success

(ASCA, 2021).

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Third and Fourth graders will complete a Google Survey during weekly guidance class.

There will be posters in the 3rd and 4th grade hallways with tear-away referral sheets to the counselor

A student can request verbally or in writing, be referred by a teacher, or be chosen by the counselor based on the survey responses.

A "Remind" text will be sent out to parents letting them know of this group's availability and the group's objectives.

It will be on the Morning Announcements slideshow.

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I will do the pre-group interviewing and screening with a small group of possible participants in the guidance classroom. I will review the group's description and the purpose/objectives. I will make sure the participants know that they will need to agree to some ground rules. Finally, we would review confidentiality and how it creates trust. Afterward, I would follow up and privately interview each student. I will ask them to rate their interest in the group between a 1 and 5 and sign a contract stating they understand confidentiality (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

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If the student agrees to the confidentiality and signs a group assent form, then I will follow up with a parent/guardian consent form (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

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What rules do you think are important? Let's see if we can agree on specific requirements we would all like to see. In addition, here are some other ground rules:

1. We will practice confidentiality because trust is essential. Confidentiality is expected but not guaranteed.

2. All members require mutual respect. We listen and empathize without judgment.

3. We will pass around the Hedwig stuffed animal to take turns speaking. Only the person with the Hedwig can talk. This ensures that no one interrupts.

4. Participation is highly encouraged but not required on every topic. The more you put in the group, the more you will get out of it.

We would utilize this resource to make an anchor chart about what each rule looks like and sounds like. It would hang on the wall and they would all sign it afterward (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

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Stage 1:

One way I would build relationships and trust is by my hallway greetings. I have a Bitmoji greeting visual outside of my door. In addition, I will ask the group members if they would like anything added to the board. For example, maybe they would prefer foot bumps to high fives. In addition, I could also have jobs for the students during the meeting. One student may focus on complimenting the other students. Another may be in charge of resources/materials, etc. In our beginning sessions, we will discuss confidentiality and explain that it is expected, but not guaranteed (Responsivecounselor, 2023).

Stage 2:

To keep members working cohesively together, we will have warm-ups that are sometimes ice breakers to continue relationship building, not only with me but with each other. In addition, I will share coaching and reinforcing strategies with their teachers to help them generalize the objectives we are practicing in small groups. Exit tickets can gauge how it is going through scenarios and emotional check-ins (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

Stage 3:

In the final meetings, I will review confidentiality and let them know that I will schedule a review check-in with them in about a month. I will schedule time during the last session to formally say goodbye to each other as groupmates and reflect on how they will go forward with their new knowledge. They will take a post-assessment (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

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This group would benefit from transformational leadership. According to Cherry (2023a), it "is often identified as the single most effective style." In addition to being the most effective leadership style, it would also suit this group because it relies on a solid foundation of support and trust ( Cherry, 2023b). Finally, this type of leadership would be great because I value genuine interactions and passion for the big picture.

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Of Yalom's therapeutic factors, I think this group would experience the instillation of hope because they could have "faith that the treatment mode can and will be effective" (Yalom, 1995). They will believe that they will feel confident and have the tools they need to cope with their family situation by the end of our sessions. In addition, they may experience universality. Although their family changes may not be identical, they may feel camaraderie with their groupmates with similar problems or effects of the family changes (Yalom, 1995). Finally, they will receive direct advice in the form of strategies for communicating with their family members what they are feeling.

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The Texas Education Code "requires a school counselor to spend at least 80 percent of the school counselor's total work time on duties that are components of a counseling program" and that "time spent in administering assessment instruments or providing other assistance in connection with assessment instruments, except time spent in interpreting data from assessment instruments, is not considered time spent on counseling" (2 TEC § 33.006). This means that a counselor should spend 80% of their time on counseling-specific duties and not other duties as assigned by the administration of the school. This protects counselors from getting assigned many jobs that detract from their direct counseling time and preparation of small groups and guidance lessons.

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The limitations of confidentiality need to be addressed as well. According to ACA Code of Ethics (2014), "The general requirement that counselors keep information confidential does not apply when disclosure is required to protect clients or identified others from serious and foreseeable harm." Students need to know this for their group sessions. If they become comfortable with one another and share with a fellow group member that they intend to harm themselves or others, groupmates should feel comfortable to report that without guilt of violating confidentiality. In the same way, if the group members share that with me at any time, I will need to break confidentiality as well.

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American Counseling Association (2014). ACA code of ethics. Counseling.org https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2021). ASCA student standards: Mindsets & behaviors for student success. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/7428a787-a452-4abb-afec-d78ec77870cd/Mindsets-Behaviors.pdf

Cherry, K. (2023a). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312#toc-transformational-leadership

Cherry, K. (2023b). How transformational leadership can inspire others. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-transformational-leadership-2795313

Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators. (2015). Professional school counselor small group counseling guide: A Professional School Counselor’s Guide to Planning, Implementing & Evaluating School-Based Counseling Groups. https://missouricareereducation.org/doc/smallgroup/SmallGroupCounseling.pdf

Responsivecounselor. (2023, January 23). Group counseling: Relationships, routines, and reinforcement. The Responsive Counselor. https://theresponsivecounselor.com/2019/11/group-counseling-relationships-routines-and-reinforcement.html#:~:text=Check%2Dins%20are%20also%20a,feeling%20when%20they%20walk%20in.

Yalom (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed). Basic Books.

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Leadership styles are classifications of how a person behaves while directing, motivating, guiding, and managing groups of people. There are many leadership styles. Some of the most widely discussed include: authoritarian (autocratic), participative (democratic), delegative (laissez-faire), transformational, transactional, and situational.

Great leaders can inspire political movements and social change. They can also motivate others to perform, create, and innovate. As you start to consider some of the people who you think of as great leaders, you can immediately see that there are often vast differences in how each person leads.

Fortunately, researchers have developed different theories and frameworks that allow us to better identify and understand these different leadership styles.

Lewin's Leadership Styles

In 1939, a group of researchers led by psychologist Kurt Lewin set out to identify different styles of leadership.﻿﻿ While further research has identified more distinct types of leadership, this early study was very influential and established three major leadership styles that have provided a springboard for more defined leadership theories.

In Lewin's study, schoolchildren were assigned to one of three groups with an authoritarian, democratic, or laissez-faire leader. The children were then led in an arts and crafts project while researchers observed the behavior of children in response to the different styles of leadership. The researchers found that democratic leadership tended to be the most effective at inspiring followers to perform well.

Authoritarian Leadership (Autocratic)

Authoritarian leaders, also known as autocratic leaders, provide clear expectations for what needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done. This style of leadership is strongly focused on both command by the leader and control of the followers. There is also a clear division between the leader and the members. Authoritarian leaders make decisions independently, with little or no input from the rest of the group.

Researchers found that decision-making was less creative under authoritarian leadership.﻿﻿ Lewin also concluded that it is harder to move from an authoritarian style to a democratic style than vice versa. Abuse of this method is usually viewed as controlling, bossy, and dictatorial.

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Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group. The autocratic approach can be a good one when the situation calls for rapid decisions and decisive actions. However, it tends to create dysfunctional and even hostile environments, often pitting followers against the domineering leader.

Participative Leadership (Democratic)

Lewin's study found that participative leadership, also known as democratic leadership, is typically the most effective leadership style. Democratic leaders offer guidance to group members, but they also participate in the group and allow input from other group members. In Lewin's study, children in this group were less productive than the members of the authoritarian group, but their contributions were of a higher quality.

Participative leaders encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say in the decision-making process. Group members feel engaged in the process and are more motivated and creative. Democratic leaders tend to make followers feel like they are an important part of the team, which helps foster commitment to the goals of the group.

Delegative Leadership (Laissez-Faire)

Lewin found that children under delegative leadership, also known as laissez-faire leadership, were the least productive of all three groups. The children in this group also made more demands on the leader, showed little cooperation, and were unable to work independently.

Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave the decision-making up to group members. While this style can be useful in situations involving highly qualified experts, it often leads to poorly defined roles and a lack of motivation.

Lewin noted that laissez-faire leadership tended to result in groups that lacked direction and members who blamed each other for mistakes, refused to accept personal responsibility, made less progress, and produced less work.

Observations About Lewin's Leadership Styles

In their book, The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications, Bass and Bass note that authoritarian leadership is often presented solely in negative, often disapproving, terms. Authoritarian leaders are often described as controlling and close-minded, yet this overlooks the potential positives of stressing rules, expecting obedience, and taking responsibility.

While authoritarian leadership certainly is not the best choice for every situation, it can be effective and beneficial in cases where followers need a great deal of direction and where rules and standards must be followed to the letter. Another often overlooked benefit of the authoritarian style is the ability to maintain a sense of order.

Bass and Bass note that democratic leadership tends to be centered on the followers and is an effective approach when trying to maintain relationships with others. People who work under such leaders tend to get along well, support one another, and consult other members of the group when making decisions.

Additional Leadership Styles and Models

In addition to the three styles identified by Lewin and his colleagues, researchers have described numerous other characteristic patterns of leadership. A few of the best-known include:

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is often identified as the single most effective style. This style was first described during the late 1970s and later expanded upon by researcher Bernard M. Bass. Transformational leaders are able to motivate and inspire followers and to direct positive changes in groups.

These leaders tend to be emotionally intelligent, energetic, and passionate. They are not only committed to helping the organization achieve its goals, but also to helping group members fulfill their potential.

Research shows that this style of leadership results in higher performance and more improved group satisfaction than other leadership styles. One study also found that transformational leadership led to improved well-being among group members.

Transactional Leadership

The transactional leadership style views the leader-follower relationship as a transaction. By accepting a position as a member of the group, the individual has agreed to obey the leader. In most situations, this involves the employer-employee relationship, and the transaction focuses on the follower completing required tasks in exchange for monetary compensation.

One of the main advantages of this leadership style is that it creates clearly defined roles. People know what they are required to do and what they will be receiving in exchange. This style allows leaders to offer a great deal of supervision and direction, if needed.

Group members may also be motivated to perform well to receive rewards. One of the biggest downsides is that the transactional style tends to stifle creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

Situational Leadership

Situational theories of leadership stress the significant influence of the environment and the situation on leadership. Hersey and Blanchard's leadership stylesis one of the best-known situational theories. First published in 1969, this model describes four primary styles of leadership, including:

1. Telling: Telling people what to do

2. Selling: Convincing followers to buy into their ideas and messages

3. Participating: Allowing group members to take a more active role in the decision-making process

4. Delegating: Taking a hands-off approach to leadership and allowing group members to make the majority of decisions

Later, Blanchard expanded upon the original Hersey and Blanchard model to emphasize how the developmental and skill level of learners influences the style that should be used by leaders. Blanchard's SLII leadership styles model also described four different leading styles:

1. Directing: Giving orders and expecting obedience, but offering little guidance and assistance

2. Coaching: Giving lots of orders, but also lots of support

3. Supporting: Offering plenty of help, but very little direction

4. Delegating: Offering little direction or support

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It seems like there are as many different styles of leadership as there are leaders. Discover some of the most common leadership style frameworks.