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Applicants learn many skills from observing Leaders in their Groups. They attend Series Meetings and learn skills in leading discussions and offering information. They meet with Leaders at Evaluation/Enrichment Meetings, where they can ask questions and explore topics in greater depth. What Applicants do not “learn by observing” is how a Leader helps a mother over the telephone; yet that is a large part of what the future Leader will do, once she is accredited.  To help the future Leader gain experience and confidence in helping mothers by phone, the Applicant and Group Leader(s) may choose to do an exercise like the following:

To prepare, everyone can read Chapter One of LEADER’S HANDBOOK.  Preferably two Leaders and the Applicant can get together in person.  The Leaders can use a real situation in an anonymous context to demonstrate how Leaders help by phone. With the Applicant watching, one Leader pretends to be the mother seeking help, and the other takes the role of the Leader.  She uses a phone log to guide her, so the Applicant can see first hand how that form helps the Leader get the information she needs.  After the “phone call,” the Leaders and Applicant can discuss aspects of what went on. The Applicant herself might want to pretend to be a Leader with a different helping situation.  This exercise gives Leaders an opportunity to demonstrate active listening skills and how we use basic Leader references.  The discussion might move into the support systems Leaders utilize, such as the Professional Liaison Dept.

When an Applicant has participated in a phone call exercise, she can approach her first helping call thinking more about the mother’s situation and questions, and less about the mechanics of helping a mother by phone.

 

[Editor's note: This exercise would work in an Applicant or Leader Workshop, too.]

Mary Margaret Coffield, RALA
LAD Lifeline 1993 # 4