School counselors themselves must define their part in educational reform. Trust, respect, openness, active listening, clear communication, and risk taking are fundamental requirements for collaborative efforts. In order for collaboration to happen participants must share a common vision and agree on a common mission. The motivation for a common mission may be the need to identify or solve a problem, to focus on the issues, or to achieve consensus. Initiating and maintaining collaborative efforts is an appropriate role of the school counselor in educational reform.
Many barriers prevent educators from establishing and maintaining collaborative efforts.
Effective collaboration is built on the strong personal characteristics of the collaborator, a clearly defined system, and administrative support for a change within the organization. Personal requirements needed to foster collaborative relationships include risk-taking, an ability to work well in a group process interaction, a cooperative leadership style, conflict resolution skills, knowledge of agency structure and terminology, an ability to develop rapport with collaborators, and flexibility in adjusting to change. An unencumbered system has clear lines of authority, flexibility in the allocation of funds, clear mandates, and distinct policies and procedures which will facilitate collaborative efforts. There are numerous benefits to be gained by collaboration. School counselors will gain increased visibility and viability by involvement in collaborative programs.