Leadership Practice in Addiction Counselling: Involving Family Members in the Change Process

Running head: REPORT
Leadership Practice
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REPORT
Executive summary
My role as a professional addiction counsellor requires me to interact with several people
who are addicted to alcohol or drugs, and are in need of assistance for reducing the severity
of their problems. The report summarized the different leadership theories and illustrated the
double-loop learning theory of leadership, in relation to my job role. This was followed by
discussing the change process that focused on involvement of the family in the counselling
services, its potential benefits and challenges. The report concluded by elaborating on my
leadership goals and the way by which family involvement could enhance effective delivery
of addiction counselling services.

2REPORT
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................3
2. Theories of leadership.........................................................................................................3
3. Double-loop learning theory of leadership.........................................................................4
4. Professional practice...........................................................................................................4
5. Change process...................................................................................................................5
6. Justification for change process..........................................................................................6
7. Critical reflection................................................................................................................7
8. Challenges for the process..................................................................................................8
9. Applying change process to professional practice..............................................................9
10. Resistance to change.......................................................................................................9
11. Goals.............................................................................................................................10
12. Role of change process..................................................................................................11
13. Conclusion.....................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................13

3REPORT
1. Introduction
The term leadership refers to the capabilit6y of a person to set and accomplish certain
challenging goals and objectives, by taking swift decisions, and inspiring other team
members to perform well in their work. A good leader is expected to demonstrate certain
traits of integrity, honesty, passion and commitment towards work, accountability,
innovation, and creativity (Alvesson & Spicer, 2012).
The primary aim of this report is to elaborate on the area of change, in relation to the
work as a counsellor of drug and alcohol service. My role as a counsellor requires me to
directly interact with several people who are subjected to substance abuse and seek
professional help. I provide them assistance to understand the ill effects of drug dependency
and alcoholism, followed by implementation and evaluation of treatment plans. The report
will further illustrate the benefits of different tools that can help in implementing change in
the area of practice.
2. Theories of leadership
The four most relevant theories of leadership are namely, (1) Trait Theory of
Leadership, (2) Contingency Theories, (3) Transformational Leadership Theory, and (4)
Behavioural Theory (Carroll, Ford & Taylor, 2015). According to the Trait theory, five
physical traits or attributes such as, energy, height, appearance; 16 personality traits such as,
aggressiveness, enthusiasm, and self-confidence; four ability and intelligent traits; nine social
traits such as, cooperativeness, interpersonal skills and administrative ability; and six task
related traits namely, drive, persistence and initiative, are expected from a leader (Chemers,
2014). Behavioural theory focuses on the study of precise conducts of a leader that
determines the success (Kempster, Jackson & Conroy, 2011).