Article 19

Counseling Managements Ethical Imperative:

Responsible Quality Service
Paper based on a program presented at the 2009 American Counseling Association Conference
and Exposition, March 19-23, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Richard F. Ponton
In the first decade of the millennium the cost to
organizations and individuals of ethical violations has been
measured in the loss of reputation and confidence, the loss of
human life and health, the loss of environmental safety and
ecology, and the loss of billions of dollars. The modern discourse
on ethics seems to focus more on risk management and compliance
than values and virtues. However, at its best, ethical discourse
brings ones mind to the responsibilities of quality service,
summarized by Bennis and Nanus (1985) as doing the right thing
(p. 21). The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of
counselor managers in the promotion of an ethic of responsible
quality service and to provide practical strategies from management
literature toward the fulfillment of that role.
Professional Identity and Ethics of Counselor Managers
Counseling as a profession, barely a century old, joins the
ranks of the classical professions--medicine, law, and theology--

211
2112

211
2112

and the myriad of modern professions that have emerged to address

the needs of society. Welie (2004) defined a profession as:

212
2122

212
2122

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

. . . a collective of expert service providers who have

jointly and publicly committed to always give
priority to the existential needs and interests of the
public they serve above their own and who in turn
are trusted by the public to do so. (p. 531)
Professional ethics can be seen as the implicit and explicit
understanding of the relationship between the profession and
society. Miller (1990) suggested that a model of understanding the
relationship of a profession to society is the covenant. She
suggested that a covenant model of the professional relationship
with society and consequent obligations to society was useful in
broadening the narrow quid pro quo agreement that is inherent in a
contract model of professional responsibility. Miller (1990) pointed
out that in the covenant model, each individual counselor in
assuming professional identity . . . promises to return the gift he or
she has received in being trained for and granted professional
status (p. 121). It has been argued that the ethics of counseling are
inextricably connected to the professional identity of counselors
(Ponton & Duba, 2009). What counselors promise to do and the
way they promise to do it emanates from who they are called by
society to be. Counselors who are called to serve in the capacity of
manager, at whatever level in an organization, continue their
covenantal relationship with society as a counselor. They also enter
into an additional covenantal relationship with society, the
organization, and the people who comprise it. The successful
transition from counselor to counselor-manager is measured by the
degree to which the counseling habits of mind and covenants are
merged with the habits of mind and covenants of management
(Ponton & Cavaiola, 2008).
As counselors move to positions of leadership, their
responsibility expands to include the provision of quality and
ethical service not only by themselves but by the organization as a
whole. While it is true that each counselor working in an
213
2132

213
2132

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

organization is responsible for his or her own behavior, the

manager is principally responsible for promoting the ethical
behavior of the organization as

214
2142

214
2142

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

a whole. The ACA code of ethics (ACA, 2005) clarifies the

responsibility of counselor-managers in regard to the hiring
competent counselors (C.2.c) and insuring their subordinates
maintenance of client privacy (B.3.a) and employee relations
(Section D). However, by and large, the Code of Ethics is moot on
the responsibilities of the counselor-manager to insure
organizationally the same standards to which they are called
personally.
Research suggests that managers play a significant role in
the development of an organizations ethical culture and positive
environment (Logsdon & Young, 2005). Whetstone (2005)
pointed out that leaders control the most powerful means for
embedding and reinforcing the culture of organizations by means
of several mechanisms including reactions to critical incidents,
allocation of resources, allocation of rewards and status, and the
choice of issues to which they attend. It is in their day to day
decision making, as well as the formal statements of mission, that
managers announce, shape and reinforce the organizational goals
and strategies, values, and behaviors that form the culture.
Likewise, it is the culture of the organization, as it is formulated
both formally and informally throughout its history, that calls
forth the leader, determines the leaders fit to the organization, and
thus the leaders effectiveness. It is the ability to shape the culture
of an organization that calls counselor-managers to promote an
ethic of responsible quality service. Such an ethic extends beyond
the legalistic and minimalist view of compliance with the law and
the standards of practice. Such compliance presents (to use a
familiar phrase) the necessary but insufficient conditions of
responsible quality service. Henderson (2009) suggested that
managers promote the mission of their organization by
establishing work environments that provide excellent, culturally
responsive services to clients and she calls on counselor-managers
to continuously update their management skills. As leaders of
professional endeavors in the classroom or clinic, counselormanagers have much to learn from their counterparts in other
215
2152

215
2152

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

industries in regard to quality assurance and organizational

development.

216
2162

216
2162

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

Responsible Quality Service

Quality assurance and customer engagement have
significant implications for counselor-managers and their
organizations. Perhaps the most basic lesson counselormanagers learn from managers in other industries is the impact
of quality on the bottom line. Counselors in private practice
recognize how important it is to have people walk through the
front door and how important it is to have them choose to return.
Whether the enterprise is a small practice or a large multi-service
agency, whether the counselor manager is an academic department
chair or counseling center director, focus must be placed on the
bottom line. Clients and students, directly or indirectly, support
the organization. It is the responsibility of the manager to
promote those practices and services that keep clients and
students coming through the door.
Secondly, quality assurance assists counselor-managers in
program improvement. As professionals, the covenant with society
directs counselors toward excellence; therefore, managers of both
treatment programs and educational programs have an implicit
agreement with their constituencies to strive toward program
improvement. Society expects better than good enough surgery,
more than itll get us by dentistry, and attorneys whose ads read
well do in a pinch would soon go out of business. The
commitment to excellence stems in professions not from a
competitive market but rather from the public trust. Consumers of
professional counseling services, be they students or clients, in
ways that are subtle and sometimes not so subtle, sacrifice their
autonomy to be in a relationship in which there is a power
differential. The truth is, counselors customers are less likely and
often less free to take their business elsewhere. This relationship
suggests that our obligation for quality management exceeds that
of other industries.

217
2172

217
2172

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

Perhaps the most compelling reason for counselor-managers

to be concerned with quality management is its relation to the
power of engagement. Customer and employee engagement
research (Wagner & Harter, 2006; Fleming & Asplund,
2007) has

218
2182

218
2182

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

demonstrated the relationship of a constellation of variables

identifying customers who are emotionally satisfied and employees
as committed to the organization. They have found that enterprises
that have employees who are engaged and passionate about their
work are more likely to have customers who are passionate and
committed to the enterprise. It is reasonable to suggest that
engagement at the organization level mimics the power of
therapeutic alliance at the counselor level. Promoting both
employee and customer engagement through a systematic quality
management program is a strategy for improving client outcomes
and enhancing organizational function.
The ethics of responsible quality service is shaped by the
professional identity of the counselor. The effective counselormanger can communicate this rich and complex understanding of
the need to do the right thing that goes far beyond the riskmanagement mentality. From intake to discharge and from
application to graduation the organization and all those working in
it have a responsibility to the client and student to provide quality
service. The receptionist and the C.E.O. and all the other
employees have a commitment to serve in their unique roles
toward the accomplishment of that mission. It is the role of the
counselor- manager to maintain the focus of the work group on that
mission and commitment. A simple five-step approach can assist
the counseling- manager in maintaining the focus of responsible
quality service.
A-Assess: The counselor manager can assess the
organizations quality of service utilizing several formal or
informal assessment tools. Gallup Institute provides tools that
assess both customer engagement (Fleming & Asplund, 2007)
and employee engagement (Wagner & Harter, 2006). Other formal
instruments exist to provide similar information. However, such
assessment may also be done on a less formal basis. Mayor Ed
Koch of New York City, during his tenure would assess his
administration by asking citizens on the street, Howm I doin?
A great way to find out how the organization is doing is to ask the
219
2192

219
2192

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

stakeholders and the employees. Another informal method was

introduced by Peters and Waterman

220
2202

220
2202

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

(1982) in their seminal work In Search of Excellence. They referred

to it as Management by wandering around. Essentially, they
suggested that executives and managers get out of their office and
talk to those who are doing the work, see the work being done, and
learn. Counselor-managers wandering about their clinics may find
that clients are put at ease by their receptionists, appointments are
scheduled in a timely fashion, there are adequate parking places for
staff and clients, and the temperature in the offices is comfortable
or maybe they will find room to go from good to great.
Counselor- managers wandering about their counselor education
programs may find support staff who are helpful to students,
treating them as customers rather than interruptions. They may find
faculty who are models of professional counseling, involved with
their students and their professional colleagues in the academy and
beyond. They may find phones that get answered, messages that
get returned, and resources that are available. On the other hand,
they may find room to go from good to great.
B-Build positive relationships. Positive relationships in the
workplace have been seen as unique in their contribution to
personal wellness and organizational success (Dutton & Raggins,
2007). Research in the area of organizational development has
demonstrated the impact of positive relationships on collaboration
(Powell, Kaput,
& Smith-Doerr, 1996), organizational flexibility (Weick, Sutcliffe,
& Obstfeld, 1999), safety and well-being (Wagner & Harter, 2006),
and organizational success (Fleming & Asplund, 2007). If the
counseling office or classroom becomes a silo of solitary endeavor,
relationships beyond those walls are seen as non-essential
interruptions to the work of dedicated, albeit disengaged,
counselors or counselor-educators. It is the role of the counselor
manager to shape the culture of the organization toward one that
promotes positive relationships both within the organization and
beyond it. The internal relationship building processes are shaped
by the counselor- manager through attention to positive
221
2212

221
2212

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

communication with and among staff and stakeholders. The

counselor-manager provides the opportunity for relationships to
develop through the allocation of

222
2222

222
2222

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

space, time, and attention. It is the role of the counselor manager to

insure that the organization develops positive relationships beyond
its own walls. A successful organization is holistically integrated in
the wider world of the community, the profession, and global
concerns (Waddock, 2005). Longsdon and Young (2005)
suggested that managers influence the organizations ability to
interact positively with the world around it. The counselormanager who attends to building such relationships actively
promotes community awareness and connections in the work place,
seeks out opportunities to involve the organization in community
and professional activities, and promotes global social justice.
C-Clarify the mission. Counselor managers who are
effective in promoting the ethics of responsible quality service
recognize their role in formulating and announcing the mission of
the organization. Champy (1995) suggested that managers have a
primary role in articulating the mission of the organization as the
motivating explanations--why this business and its people must do
what theyre being called on to do (p. 40). He refers to the
managers statement of the organizations mission as a master
scriptin which we all play out our different parts. Its the
corporate meaning in which we find our personal meaning (p. 58).
The philosophical principle that once the logos is established, the
ethos follows, applies to counseling work groups. Once the
organization knows its meaning and organizing principles, the
behaviors and customs follow. The counselor-managers
articulation and clarification of the organizations commitment to
the ethic of responsible quality service provides meaning and
direction to all levels of the organization. When clients are treated
with respect and kindness by the reception staff, the manager
articulates that to be in concert with the mission of quality service.
When consideration is given to operating hours that meet the needs
of clients, service delivery in languages spoken by the clients, and
fee schedules that allow access to those who need service, the
counselor-manager acknowledges the organizations fidelity to its
mission.
223
2232

223
2232

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

D- Develop authentic leadership. Luthans and Avolio (2003)

224
2242

224
2242

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

defined authentic leadership as a process that draws on the positive

qualities of both leaders and the organization, and also yields
leaders in the organization who are self-aware, confident, hopeful,
transparent, ethical, and future-oriented. The counselor-manager
who is committed to quality recognizes that leadership does not
reside in titles but rather in persons. Finding and promoting
strengths in individuals within the organization expands the
leadership network and promotes engagement. The counselormanager committed to responsible quality management will
implement a systemic approach to leadership development that is
woven into staff assignments, performance evaluations, and
succession planning.
E- Explore new horizons. Cooperrider and Sekerka (2003)
summarized the need for positive exploration as foundational to
organizational change, Human systems grow in the direction of
what they persistently ask questions about (p. 234). Lewins
theory (1951) recognized the inevitability of change in the
environment and the consequential need for organizations to
change. The effective counselor-manager is aware of the impact of
conditions on the organization and its need to adapt to those
changes. Additionally counselor-managers are aware of the need to
manage change in the organization in an effective manner that
considers both the impact of the proposed change on the employee
and the impact of the employee on the proposed change. The
counselor-manager who scans the horizon for change may find
that the primary language of the organizations constituency has
changed, there is a need to provide childcare to keep talented
workers, or there is no longer a need for a particular program that
has always been provided by the agency. Awareness of such
environmental change introduces the challenges of change and the
opportunity for growth for both the organization and its employees.

225
2252

225
2252

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

Conclusion
The management of responsible quality service builds on
the foundation of the Code of Ethics (ACA, 2005), and goes
beyond those standards to recognize that counselors who manage
counseling work groups in the community or the academy are
responsible for the competence, effectiveness, viability, and wellbeing of the organization they serve. Browning (2007) pointed out
that the skills of the counselor, while valuable in management,
may not be sufficient to insure success. The covenantal promise of
competence impels counselor-mangers to equip themselves with
knowledge and skills of management and organizational
development to insure that clients and students are well served by
the work groups they manage.
References
American Counseling Association. (2005). ACA Code of ethics.
Alexandria,
VA:
Author.
Bennis, W., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The strategies for
taking charge. New York: Harper & Row.
Browing, F. (2007). From counselor to CEO: Opportunities,
challenges, and rewards. Retrieved August 15, 2008, from
http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas07/Browning.htm
Champy, J. (1995). Reengineering management. New York: Harper
Collins.
Cooperrider, D. L., & Sekerka, L. E. (2003). Toward a theory of
positive organizational change. In K. S. Cameron, J. E.
Dutton,
& R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship:
Foundations of a new discipline (pp. 225-240). San Francisco:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

226
2262

226
2262

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

Dutton, J. E., & Raggins, B. R. (2007). Exploring positive

relationships at work: Building a theoretical and research
foundation. New York: Erlbaum.
Fleming, J. H., & Asplund, J. (2007). Human sigma: Managing the
employee-customer encounter. New York: Gallup Press.

227
2272

227
2272

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

Henderson, P. (2009). The new handbook of administrative

supervision in counseling. New York: Routledge.
Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York: Harper
& Row.
Longsdon, J. M., & Young, J. E. (2005). Executive influence on
ethical culture: Self-transcendence, differentiation, and
integration. In R. A. Giacalone, C. Jurkiewicz, C. Dunn
(Eds.), Positive psychology in business ethics and corporate
responsibility (pp. 103-122). Greenwich, CT: Information
Age Publishing.
Luthans, F., & Avolio, B. (2003). Authentic leadership
development.
In K. S. Cameron, J E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive
organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline
(pp. 241-258). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Miller, P. (1990). Covenant model for professional relationships:
An alternative to the contract model. Social Work, 35, 121125.
Peters, T. J. & Waterman, R. H. (1982). In search of excellence:
Lessons from Americas best run companies. New York:
Warner Books.
Ponton, R. F., & Cavaiola, A. A. (2008). Positive leadership in
counseling workgroups. In G. R. Walz, J. C. Bleuer, & R. K.
Yep (Eds.), Compelling counseling interventions. Celebrating
VISTAS fifth anniversary (pp. 283-292). Ann Arbor, MI:
Counseling Outfitters.
Ponton, R. F., & Duba, J. D. (2009). The code of ethics:
Articulating counselings professional covenant. Journal of
Counseling & Development, 87, 117-121.
Powell, W. W., Kaput, K. R., & Smith-Doerr, L. (1996).
Interactional collaboration and the locus of innovation:
Networks of learning in biotechnology. Administrative
Science Quarterly, 41, 116145.
220
2202

220
2202

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

Waddock, S. (2005). Positive psychology of leading corporate

citizenship. In R. A. Giacalone, C. Jurkiewicz, & C. Dunn
(Eds.), Positive psychology in business ethics and corporate
responsibility (pp. 23-45). Greenwich, CT: Information Age
Publishing.

221
2212

221
2212

Compelling Counseling Interventions

Counseling Managements Ethical
Imperative:
Responsible Quality Service

Wagner, R., & Harter, J. K. (2006). 12: The elements of great

managing. New York: Gallup Press.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (1999). Organizing
for high reliability: Processes of collective mindfulness.
Research in organizational behavior; 21 (81-123). Stamford,
CT: JAI Press.
Welie, J. V. (2004). Is dentistry a profession? Part 1.
Professionalism defined. Journal of the Canadian Dental
Association, 70, 529532.
Whetstone, J. T. (2005). A framework for organizational virtue:
the interrelationship of mission, culture, and leadership.
Business Ethics: A European Review, 14, 367-378.

222
2222

222
2222