Marcus Buckingham is the author of several best-selling books on management and leadership (two of the best are here and here). One of his insights is that management and leadership are not the same thing. Great managers turn each employee’s particular talent into performance, and they recognize that what works for one person may not for another. Leaders, on the other hand, rally people towards a better future. To do that, they need to cut through the differences and tap into the few needs that everyone in an organization has in common.
That’s why the best private counselors are both managers and leaders.
A private counselor must help each individual family achieve their goals. Students have different college dreams, different qualifications, different strengths and weaknesses. Parents hire counselors for different reasons, from advising students how to improve their chances, to acting as a project manager for the application process, to navigating sometimes complex discussions between students and parents. A successful outcome means recognizing that what will make one client successful—from their college list, to their essay topic, to interactions you have between the student and parent—will not necessarily work for every family.
But the best private counselors are also leaders. They rally their collective caseload to a better future by speaking vividly about it. They tell stories to help their potential followers clearly see the path they are being invited to walk down.
At Collegewise, we tell potential families that they can enjoy their college admissions process together. We tell them that there are plenty of wonderful colleges out there for A students, C students, and everyone in between—and we promise to help them find them. We tell students that we can help them take charge of their college future and offer their parents the opportunity to step back. And we illustrate that future with real examples. For example, we tell families that they will have the opportunity to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner together knowing that all of their student’s college applications have been submitted.
Not every family necessarily wants to realize our particular vision for a better college future. But those who join Collegewise know exactly where we’re promising to take them. And that future resonates with them.
What do all of your clients want out of their college admissions process?
Most parents want to see their children happy and fulfilled. Most kids want to attend colleges that excite them. And most families will appreciate the opportunity to lessen their anxiety, to avoid mistakes, and to enjoy the comfort of knowing that they’re making well-informed, smart decisions.
But the better future for your particular client base might well be different depending on what you offer them (and why they chose you), your customer’s demographics, or other factors that they and you best understand.
If you can recognize what unites your families, if you can clearly articulate the better future that you’re promising and then offer to lead them there, you can then focus on managing each particular client in the way that will best help them get to the better future you’ve described.