what are the necesssary characteristics and skills needed for an effective group leader?

Question

by group leader I mean the field of psychology and counseling. What skills would be beneficial for me to effectively lead a group counseling session ?

Answer 1

I'll answer this according to the personality characteristics:
1. According to the big-5, the best leaders have the following traits:
a. High Openness-must be open to different suggestions/ideas
b. High Conscientiousness-This is pretty obvious
c. High Extrovesion-Another obvious one
d. Med. Agreeablenss-Not too agreeable because agree with everything. Not too disagreeable, won't listen to anything.
e. Low Neuroticism-Don't want to freak out under pressure.
2. It also depends on the workplace situation. If there is a low amount of people and a high need for collaboration, or if there is a large amount of people and a high need for making quick, sure decisions the above may not be applicableif

Answer 2

You need an unbiased, comforting demeanor.

You need to be able to listen and make sure nobody else interrupts or makes fun of the person speaking.

You need to be able to coax people in the group to talk about their issue(s).

You need to really care about the group.