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Counseling Guide

COUNSELING GUIDE FOR LEADERS

March 2005

This guide was reformatted and re-edited from the 10th MTN Division Guide dated October 2001. Any omissions or errors are strictly those of the new editor (myself). I tried to remove as much mention of particular units or unit procedures as I could to create a guide that would be useful to leaders Army wide.

MARSHALL TWAY
CPT, AV

Counseling is a basic responsibility of every leader and an important part of taking care of soldiers. Counseling responsibilities range from holding scheduled, structured counseling sessions to reacting to problem situations as they occur by giving on-the-spot guidance.

When you as the rater don't counsel, you are derelict in your duties as first line supervisor, trainer, and mentor. The leader has the responsibility to assess subordinates' leadership performance, provide feedback, and help them overcome weaknesses and achieve maximum growth. When there is no counseling, subordinates are forced to second-guess raters' expectations. Two-way communication becomes hindered. Standards are not met.

This guide is intended to assist you in conducting timely and thorough counselings on your soldiers. The references indicated on page 3, "Minimum Counseling", are your principle references for developing counseling programs and conducting counseling sessions within your unit. The examples listed in this manual are not all inclusive. Leaders should use the examples only as guides when developing their own counseling programs.

Once you've established your counseling program, develop creative ways to verify that counseling is being conducted in your unit. Some examples include:

a. Ensure time blocks for counseling are scheduled on unit training calendars and take advantage of established blocks of time (e.g., payday activities) to schedule counseling.

b. Conducting periodic inspections of unit counseling folders.

c. Conducting "counseling...