Posted on Jun 3, 2021
What should I consider and plan for as a Team Leader?
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I have received my promotion to Specialist (E4) and it has been hinted at that I may receive some Soldiers of my own.
I know every troop is different and I will have to consider different ways of tackling different issues. What have you found that helps you guide them?
I know I will have to give counselings, but I've never been big on peppering someone's career with paperwork when they screw up. I want to help them push past their mistakes and get to where I am or beyond.
What do I need to prepare for with working with my Squad Leader and Platoon Sergeant if I am placed in this role?
I know every troop is different and I will have to consider different ways of tackling different issues. What have you found that helps you guide them?
I know I will have to give counselings, but I've never been big on peppering someone's career with paperwork when they screw up. I want to help them push past their mistakes and get to where I am or beyond.
What do I need to prepare for with working with my Squad Leader and Platoon Sergeant if I am placed in this role?
Posted in these groups: 
Leadership
Development
Leadership Development
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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Counseling isn't a negative thing. When they say you have to give counselings it means that part of your duty is to provide regular feedback to your Soldiers on their performance, as well as mentor them in areas of promotion, technical (MOS) expertise, Soldier skills and other Army-isms.
Building Soldiers and teams is kind of like building a sculpture from clay. You have to add to more than you take away, so spend most of your time mentoring than you do correcting
Building Soldiers and teams is kind of like building a sculpture from clay. You have to add to more than you take away, so spend most of your time mentoring than you do correcting
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SPC (Join to see)
That's a good analogy for it I think SFC (Join to see) .
The only issue I feel I may find off the bat is MOS training. When I'm conducting my MOS (JAG) in the office no problem, I can teach that easily enough. When I'm attached to another unit like I am now and my primary job is outside of my MOS and the Soldiers around me all have different MOS', that's going to present a challenge for sure.
I guess my issue with counseling is I think I've seen it abused or done incorrectly very often which makes me want to err on the side of caution. I have confidence in my ability to write negative counselings as I've seen a lot of poorly written ones and know what the powers that be are looking for. Positive ones is something I'm going to need to work on.
The only issue I feel I may find off the bat is MOS training. When I'm conducting my MOS (JAG) in the office no problem, I can teach that easily enough. When I'm attached to another unit like I am now and my primary job is outside of my MOS and the Soldiers around me all have different MOS', that's going to present a challenge for sure.
I guess my issue with counseling is I think I've seen it abused or done incorrectly very often which makes me want to err on the side of caution. I have confidence in my ability to write negative counselings as I've seen a lot of poorly written ones and know what the powers that be are looking for. Positive ones is something I'm going to need to work on.
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SFC (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) there's nothing to it. A counseling is just a written version of a discussion you have. Once a month you'll want to give your Soldiers feedback on how well they've performed, where they excelled and where they need help.
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The best advice I can give you is to look for leaders you appreciate and try to take qualities from them. For instance, if your PSG is the best E6/E7 you've seen in your short career, try to emulate the little things they did that made you say "wow, he's good at his job." If you don't understand the things they did, ask them to be a mentor. I'd be willing to bet that any decent NCO would sit down and talk with you if you requested their mentorship.
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SPC (Join to see) Congratulations on the promotion. "I know I will have to give counselings, but I've never been big on peppering someone's career with paperwork when they screw up.". I thought the same when I was a young TL. The Soldier deserved UCMJ but I didn't have a paper trail to go forward. Doing councelings, BOTH negative and positive, are needed to be done. Doing negative councelings can turn a Soldier around really quickly when they figure out that what they did can really screw them. When I started doing positive counselings, it really showed my Soldiers that I appreciated/recognized their duty performance and they don't just get 4856s for doing bad. They can also help getting Soldiers school slots or promotions when you bring paper that shows your Soldier deserves the school or promotion more than someone else's.
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SPC (Join to see)
SGM Steve Wettstein Roger that.
I guess my issue with counseling is I think I've seen it abused or done incorrectly very often which makes me want to err on the side of caution. While I don't think I'll have this issue, I would hope, I've also seen some very petty and vindictive counselings.
I have confidence in my ability to write negative counselings as I've seen a lot of poorly written ones and know what the powers that be are looking for. Positive ones is something I'm going to need to work on. Whether they admit it or not, I know a lot of Soldiers like to know that their hard work is being noticed. So a positive counseling would certainly let them know.
I guess my issue with counseling is I think I've seen it abused or done incorrectly very often which makes me want to err on the side of caution. While I don't think I'll have this issue, I would hope, I've also seen some very petty and vindictive counselings.
I have confidence in my ability to write negative counselings as I've seen a lot of poorly written ones and know what the powers that be are looking for. Positive ones is something I'm going to need to work on. Whether they admit it or not, I know a lot of Soldiers like to know that their hard work is being noticed. So a positive counseling would certainly let them know.
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