Effective group leaders possess specialized counseling skills and abilities; however, attention to group leadership training appears to be lagging behind that of individual counseling. In this phenomenological study we explored group leaders' perceptions of their training and experience. Twenty-two professional counselors participated in semi-structured interviews in which 7 primary themes within 2 categories were identified: (a) group counseling practice, (b) observation of group leadership, (c) supervision of group leadership, (d) experiential group participation, (e) academic/instruction, (f) group leader role, and (g) group process and dynamics. We discuss implications for counselor educators and supervisors and future research.