How I Can Be a Better Outdoor Leader Using Carl Rogers’ Three Core Conditions

Dave O’Brien

Carl Rogers is famous for noting three core conditions that are essential for counseling people. These are defined as empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. Utilizing, practicing and being mindful of these skills when talking to individuals can be very important in helping people fight through tough times. As an outdoor leader, one of my big goals is to be able to help people work through and end up on the good side of something that might seem bad. Because of that, honing in on these three attributes is going to be essential for me to be an effective leader.

                                                                  

In a lecture in 1974, Rogers states that people generally undermine the importance of empathy. He says It is one of the “most delicate and potent tools we have” (American Personnel and Guidance Association, 1974). Just listening can be a very helpful tool in counseling people. Listening to feelings and not just words can help us understand where someone is coming from.

Congruence is defined as when “a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very similar” (Mcleod, 2014). Trying to live each day being aware of who’d I’d like to be and who I actually am will help me become the best version of myself. This concept can also be contrasted with the concept of genuinity. Being aware of my congruence and incongruence as well as my genuinity can allow me be the best version of myself. Simply put, I have the potential to be my happiest self when I am the most genuine version of myself.

This idea carries forward into Rogers’ concept of  unconditional positive regard, which is often mistaken for acts such as being nice to someone just to make them feel better. That’s not what this is. Unconditional positive involves accepting people for who they are, regardless of what they say or do. This doesn’t mean that I always need to agree with everything something someone says or does, however it does mean I should work to understand before judging or offering opinions on how I think people should be.

Overall, proactively focusing on empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard will help me be a more effective outdoor leader. Understanding people isn’t easy, but focusing on these skills will help me work towards a greater knowledge of the human condition. Finally, I should note how important just taking time for people and listening can be a great start to achieve these core conditions.

References

American Personnel and Guidance Association (Ed.). (1974). 01-Carl Rogers on Empathy. Retrieved February 06, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMi7uY83z-U

This video depicts Carl Rogers in a lecture. As this post is about his work, I am able to use quotes and take information directly from him using this video.

McLeod, S. (2014, January 01). Carl Roger. Retrieved February 06, 2018, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-rogers.html

Simplypsychology.org has a vast array of psychology information for teachers, students and people alike. They have hundreds of articles about many different types of psychology topics and have many different authors from different backgrounds write for them. The author, Saul McLeod is currently undertaking a PhD in at the University of Manchester and has a degree in Psychology.