Many time tested methods have been used to improve the performance of people, out of which counseling is one of the major ones. Effective persuading to do what is good for the employees and the organization forms a part of such counseling. Every managerial leader is expected to possess such talent. For this, what is required is the right attitude and a strong will to help people.
Problems as a part of human life, and counseling as an art, are as ancient as humanity itself. Lord Krishna counseled Arjuna when faced with a dilemma in Mahabharata, and as a result, we have the great Bhagawad Gita with us today. Parents counsel their children, teachers advise their students, managers counsel their subordinates, youngsters turn to the elders for counseling in relation to all kinds of problems, and in fact, counseling is all pervasive. There is no facet of life where either one or another form of counseling is in play all the time. It is something which has always been a part of an individual's private as well as working life. Everybody in his life would have counseled and been counseled. Only the process has undergone a major change with the changing times. The so-called cures for problems (or evil spirits in the days of religious fanaticism) ranged from exorcism to execution, all in the name of freeing the soul from evil. However, mercifully, we have come a long way and moved to a skill-based model of solving human problems now. Present managerial issues call for suitable and refined counseling methods. In these days of heavy managerial stress, counseling provides the much needed relief, and it is worth examining the what, why and how of this great art.
Like any other concept, counseling has been defined by a number of experts and thinkers in more ways than one, but they generally say the same thing in different words.
Nigel MacLennan says, "Counseling is the creation and maintenance of an environment in which persons can be helped to help themselves to overcome the difficulty that led them to seek assistance, for as long as the person seeking help requires that environment. In practical terms, counseling is the manifestation of knowledge, attitudes, skills and behavior, which are aimed at helping people to manage or solve their own problems, ideally by encouraging them to harness their own means." |
