What is going to set me up to be a great Sergeant?

2022-10-07T00:57:47-04:00

I just got promoted to E5. My question is what are the things i need to prioritize to make myself a solid NCO? I want to do whatever i can to be an effective leader for my soldiers.

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Oct 7 at 2022 1:01 AM

2022-10-07T01:01:12-04:00

I would suggest that you get the NCO Guide, which you can get on Amazon. The this give you a framework to work from!

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Oct 7 at 2022 6:26 AM

2022-10-07T06:26:19-04:00

There are many things that can be done to enhance your leadership skills.

Know the NCO Creed, seek regulations and policies that support the tenants of the creed. Seek a mentor, an NCO who is the epitome of what you want to be, at least one grade up, an SFC would even be better if available. Ensure that you know command policy through and through. Take courses on coaching and counseling. Know what resources are available that can assist your Soldiers and their Families. Whether they be MWR, Medical, Marital counseling, child care, etc. Be physically fit, seek to take train the trainer programs end hanging your delivery skills. Work on writing skills so that what you provide to your Soldiers makes sense.

Ensure you are not just sending your Soldiers off to a task, leed from the front, partake by the Be, know and do concept. It is important that Soldiers know you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty, but remeber to pull back enough so that you can see the progress of the task at hand while continuing to guide the Soldiers to a successful end stay.

Be that NCO that you wish you had. When you hit a wall ask that mentor how to get over, under, around or through.

You already have the desire, that is more than half the battle.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 7 at 2022 8:26 AM

2022-10-07T08:26:20-04:00

On the regulations and publications side, the Army Publishing Directorate is a free resource that people tend to overlook. I recommend TC 7-22.7 (The Noncommissioned Officer Guide) as a starting point, and of course, every AR, TC, ADP, FM, and DA Form that has been and ever will be is on there. Edit: added the link to Army pubs. https://armypubs.army.mil/

Army Publishing Directorate

Army DA administrative publications and forms by the Army Publishing Directorate APD. The latest technologies high quality electronic pubs and forms view U.S. Army Regulations and DA Forms.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Oct 7 at 2022 11:19 AM

2022-10-07T11:19:37-04:00

There is a lot of good advice other SNCOs who have been "there" have given here and I will not repeat it.
Never ask your soldiers to something you will not do yourself, cannot do yourself. There is nothing wrong about not knowing the answers when ask, but always get back to your soldiers with the answers. Help train your soldiers to their level and yours, don't try to be something you're not. Train your soldiers to find the answers. Don't always give them the answers, but guide them in their problem solving to find the answers. Counseling is an important part of leadership. Never be afraid to ask another NCO for help, we all have been there. You are not perfect and will make mistakes, we all understand this, what we don't understand is those who try to cover up those mistakes. Remember where you came from, you were once an enlisted soldier, now you are an NCO. The list goes on and on. NCO creed will guide you in the right direction.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 7 at 2022 12:42 PM

2022-10-07T12:42:03-04:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member You will make mistakes as an NCO and in life. Learn from your mistakes and do not make the same mistake twice. Good luck Sergeant.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 7 at 2022 3:15 PM

2022-10-07T15:15:38-04:00

Give as much respect to your most junior personnel as you would to the personnel most senior to you. Listen to your people. They may have an idea for a safer or more efficient way to do something. They are seeing things from a different vantage point than you. It takes away nothing from your leadership position to consider what they have to say... You are still in charge.

Response by SFC Marc W. made Oct 7 at 2022 7:00 PM

2022-10-07T19:00:03-04:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member Simply asking this question indicates the advice I'm about to give is already present, and it also indicates you care about your job.

One of the biggest things you can do to be a great NCO is to care about your soldiers. Too many people see it as the stepping stone to something else they're working after and not as the responsibility that it is for soldiers.

CSM Darieus ZaGara Gave a good long list of things to study and references to be aware of, you don't need to memorize everything, just know how to get the answer.

Soldiers will know if you care about them or not.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Oct 7 at 2022 7:15 PM

2022-10-07T19:15:24-04:00

Follow the NCO Creed, put your people and mission before your self, take every correspondence course you can on your MOS, find a good mentor

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 8 at 2022 3:47 PM

2022-10-08T15:47:01-04:00

A lot of good advice here from SNCO’s. My two cents would be take care of your troops and remember how important they are to the job or mission. Make sure you keep your ears open and listen. No problem in their lives is trivial to them. You can’t take care of everything but they will know you are in their corner when needed. But reprimand when they are in the wrong and explain the corrective actions needed. They will grow to respect and follow you. My old Gunny use to say ‘People First, Mission Always’. Good luck!

Response by Cpl Vic Burk made Oct 8 at 2022 6:01 PM

2022-10-08T18:01:24-04:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member Don't let the rank go to your head (I seen that too many times). Remember where you came from, what you hated about those who were over you and don't repeat their mistakes, and, what you liked and respected about your NCO's when they were your leader. Be mindful that you cannot please everyone. For those who are jackasses, kill them with kindness! That works most of the time with my high school students, remember I said "most" not all. Don't let those few get you down. Chances are they don't get along with many of their superiors, it won't be just you. Best of luck to you!

Response by CSM William Everroad made Oct 10 at 2022 9:49 AM

2022-10-10T09:49:43-04:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, lots of great advice here. To add:

Know your job. Know your Soldiers, even the ones who don't work for you (68W don't tend to get assigned leadership positions until SSG).

Know your job means a couple things:
As a medic: understand your MOS, grab the Skill level books and know the material, find a way to get evaluated from a senior medic.
As an instructor: Sergeants, serving as FLL, are the primary instructor for Soldier and MOS tasks. Not only do you need to be a subject matter expert, but you need to be able to teach others to become an SME. Strive to make medics better than you are.
As an NCO: Study and start to understand the Leaderhisp Competency Model and how you can gain experience and/or trianing to improve in all areas.
As a Soldier: at this point you ahould be able to outperform the average enlisted SOldier in Skill Level 1 Soldier tasks. If you fall short, study and practice until you are. It helps to also instruct them. One day you should be able to do it without the book with no errors.
As a member of your unit: It looks like you are in a CAV unit, understand their job. Can you operate their equipment? Do you understand how it works? Can you operate/install communications equipment? Assist with PMCS? You are a member of a team.

Know your Soldiers means a couple things as well:
Soldiers directly assigned to you are looking to you for mentorship and leadership. Never leave them in the dark and unequipped for the mission (knowledge, motivation, and actual equipment).
Soldiers not directly assigned to you count on you for the same things, just in a different way. You are a standard bearer. If you do something they will always see it and assume it is the correct way. Even the small things like hands in pockets, cuffing sleeves, buying special gear from MCS, your motivation and effort level. They will emulate you.
As a medic, people will treat you like a counselor, a doctor, or an advocate. Understand your limits and what you do not know. You can still aid Soldiers, but do it the right way. They have their own FLLs, make sure you have good working relationships with all the Team Leaders and Squad Leaders.

Never stop trying to develop yourself and others.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 10 at 2022 11:17 AM

2022-10-10T11:17:39-04:00

Lead by action, not just rank. Look outside the Army for leadership development (Dale Carnegie, John Maxwell, many others) and read as much of their material as possible. Remember that you can learn from anyone, make it a point to learn even from subordinates and implement things you’ve learned. Find NCOs and officers you respected and ask them to mentor you.

Lots of good advice on here, best of luck SGT!

Response by GySgt Kenneth Pepper made Oct 10 at 2022 3:17 PM

2022-10-10T15:17:56-04:00

So much good advice here, so all I can tell you is to be true to yourself. If asked a question you can't answer, admit it and go find out. Don't be afraid to ask for input from your team, but know the buck stops with you.
Even if the assignment you are about to hand out completely sucks, never start with "the PSG said we have to...". Own every assignment handed to you, delegate accordingly, and get it done. Set clear expectations and hold people accountable.
Never walk away wondering if they understood you. Clear, concise orders with established expectations.

Response by CWO3 Robert Fong made Oct 20 at 2022 8:36 AM

2022-10-20T08:36:14-04:00

SGT, in the3 sea service and I'm not so sure its all that different in the Army there are these fundamentals that are required of a candidate. 1. Keen knowledge of your rate (MOS) requirements; 2. Ability to teach and demonstrate; 3. Fearless and not careless; 4, Diplomacy; 6. Learn the requirements of the next rate (grade); 7. PEOPLE. For us people make the crew and without the crew the Cutter goes nowhere and consequently is a mission failure that adversely affects other people who depend on your organization to get the job done.

Response by SPC S G made Oct 20 at 2022 10:33 AM

2022-10-20T10:33:39-04:00

Forget the army values and take up standing by your team even when they are morally wrong. The get out and watch as the VA shreds your life with Pills.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 20 at 2022 11:19 PM

2022-10-20T23:19:45-04:00

Congratulations! Keep up the good work. From the officer side of the house, be good at your job but don't try and do everything. I don't need a jack of all trades. I need a SGT who knows their MOS and cares for their squad.

Also, maintain your gratitude. When you commit to sustaining a fresh sense of gratitude as a leader, you will create an infectious sense of resiliency.

"In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Response by SFC Billy Huether made Nov 30 at 2022 4:53 AM

2022-11-30T04:53:35-05:00

Well, first issue is; did you get promoted to "E-5" or did you get promoted to SERGEANT? Any piece of meat with two eyes can be promoted to E-5 (which is your pay grade).
My two cents for being a fine NCO is know your authority, where it comes from and how to wield that authority. It's not about the "Do you know who I am?" bullshit. It's all about your Soldiers! You cannot accomplish anything without them. You must get to know your Soldiers, their families, birthdays, anniversaries, kids names and ages. Why?
Because it's important to them! Therefore, it should be important to you.
It is/was my leadership philosophy that every single Soldier has a switch which will motivate them. For some, it's awards. For others, it maybe time off or something as simple as an "Atta-Boy". Some might need a good old fashioned (loud) ass chewing. Some you can look them in the eye and tell them they really disappointed you and/or let you down.
It's all about finding the switch!
Read! Read! Read!
Be humble, yet, be arrogant at the same time! Oh, what a tangled paradox Leadership is! ie: You are never wrong! Slightly mistakes at times, however, Never Wrong!
You must be able to convey yours Standards! Never, under any circumstances, allow your Standards to slip or backslide.
You must be willing to take a heat round to the chest for your Troops or fall on your sword for them. When this happens, it's inevitable, they will do anything for you!
You must Lead from the front. Never doubt yourself! Make informed decisions.
By action, show your Soldiers that you have no fear of asking questions of your peers and superior. This tells them you may not have all the answers, however, you know where to get the answers. Confidence!
Be approachable at all times 24/7-365!
NEVER sell out Soldiers to make yourself look good. If you do, you should have your lips permanently attached to your supervisor and then you should be castrated. This way you won't contaminate the gene pool with suck ass prone douche nozzles!
Taking care of your Troops is inspecting equipment such as TA-50, In Ranks(daily, weekly?), Dress Uniforms, etc.
My opinion is "leaders"(notice lower case L) are quick to admonish and point out deficiencies, but, hardly ever give compliments. What do you think the morale, motivation and dedication of that unit is? It will SUCK!
Everything is good! When you screw up? Good, you're learning what not to do.
Ensure you teach your Troops ALL your mistakes so they're not repeated.
Digest the aforementioned and hit me up if you have any questions!
"If you aren't the Lead Dog,
The view is always the same!"
God Bless!
SFC HEAT