Path-Goal Theory Paper

I am at Lafayette High School for my field placement with one social worker for the entire school body of about 3,000 students. She does a lot of independent work that doesn’t involve any group work with any other faculty. Since she is the only social worker for the entire school she can become overwhelmed with trying to meet with all the students that may need support. She does her best to reach every student sent to her office but it is impossible for one person to give the proper care necessary for students to be successful at school so she has to reach out to outside community agencies. Once a student decides they want to get counseling sessions more often my supervisor can refer them to an outside counseling agency to come to the school weekly so students can get a more intense and in-depth therapy session. Weekly she facilitates a trauma group with four students who has tested high on a trauma scale …show more content…
I really like this theory because it focuses on the goals that need to be accomplished while having a leader be the motivator behind completing goals. It helps the leader when the client sees the payoffs of the goals that were set, which gives more motivation. Helping individuals identify and achieve goals, clearing away obstacles, offering appropriate rewards along the way, are all responsibilities of leadership in path-goal theory (Tools, 2015). Understanding the characteristics and the task characteristics of the theory helps me match my supervisors leadership style so I know her approach to the group. She has a directive leadership approach which she explained to them at the beginning of therapy what she hopes they will get out of it and what they will be doing. She is also very supportive to the students and their feelings by offering alternatives to solutions and different approaches students can take when talking about an