Counseling Commandants Department Summer Training 14 July 2015

Counseling Commandant’s Department Summer Training 14 July 2015

Counseling • Counseling is the process used by leaders to review with a subordinate the subordinate’s demonstrated performance and potential • Three major categories: – Event – Performance – Professional growth

Event Counseling • Involves a specific event or situation – Can precede an event such as a promotion board – Can follow events such as noteworthy duty performance, a problem with performance or mission accomplishment, or a personal issue

Event Counseling • Citadel examples – A counseling generated by a SPOT report – Mandatory counseling after an alcohol incident – CPFT failure counselings before Ring Weekend and graduation

Performance Counseling • Used to conduct a review of a subordinate’s duty performance over a certain period • Communicates standards and is an opportunity for leaders to establish and clarify the expected values, attributes, and competencies

Performance Counseling • Citadel examples – When a cadet has accumulated 75% or 100% of his semester or annual demerit allowance (CC Form 98)

Professional Growth Counseling • Includes planning for the accomplishment of individual and professional goals • Leader and subordinate conduct a review to identify and discuss the subordinate’s strengths and weaknesses and to create an individual development plan that builds upon those strengths and compensates for (or eliminates) weaknesses • May include developing a “pathway to success” with short- and long-term goals and objectives

Professional Growth Counseling • Citadel examples – Annual counseling using CC Form 112

“TAC” • Teach • Advise • Coach

Teach • Teaching is “giving the desired information in an understandable manner” • Training is “perfecting performance through repetition” – CTM Chapter 4

Advise • “To offer suggestions about the best course of action to someone” – OED • “Coaching” also involves discussing courses of action and developing an action plan – ADRP 6 -22 • “Mentoring” also involves providing advice and counsel – ADRP 6 -22

Coaching • Refers to the function of helping someone through a set of tasks or with general qualities • Relies primarily on teaching and guiding to bring out and enhance the capabilities already present – Those being coached may or may not have appreciated their potential – The coach helps them understand their current level of performance and guides them how to reach the next level of knowledge and skill

Coaching • An important aspect of coaching is identifying and planning for short- and long-term goals • The coach and the person being coached discuss strengths, weaknesses, and courses of action to sustain or improve

Guidelines for Coaches • Focus goals – Identify the purpose of each coaching session – Articulate mutual expectations – Communicate the individual and developmental tasks for the session

Guidelines for Coaches • Clarify the leader’s self-awareness – Define strengths and developmental needs – Agree on focus areas to improve

Guidelines for Coaches • Uncover potential – The coach facilitates self-awareness of the individual’s potential and developmental needs by guiding the discussion with questions – The coach actively listens to how the individual perceives potential and encourages a free flow of ideas – The coach assesses the individual’s readiness to change and incorporates this into the session

Guidelines for Coaches • Eliminate developmental barriers Identify developmental needs Identify those areas that may hinder self-development Determine how to overcome barriers to development Determine how to implement an effective plan to improve overall performance – Help the individual identify potential sources of support for implementing an action plan – –

Guidelines for Coaches • Follow-up – Provide feedback concerning the effectiveness of the assessment, the usefulness of the information they received, and progress – Provide frequent informal feedback as well as formal counseling to regularly inspire and improve subordinates

Mentorship • The voluntary developmental relationship that exists between a person of greater experience and a person of lesser experience that is characterized by mutual trust and respect • Mentoring focuses primarily on developing a more experienced leader for the future

Characteristics of Mentorship • Takes place when the mentor provides a less experienced leader with advice and counsel over time • Affects personal development (maturity and interpersonal and communication skills) as well as professional development (technical, tactical, and career path knowledge) • The strength of the relationship relies on mutual trust and respect

“The Complete TAC” • So in the final analysis, it appears a TAC must learn to “become all things to all people so that by all possible means he might save some. ” – In some circumstances a TAC will teach. At other times she will train. – Sometimes advise. Sometimes counsel. – Sometimes coach. Sometimes mentor. • The thing to remember is that all those verbs represent the “task. ” The task is important only as it relates to the “purpose, ” and the purpose of every missionessential task a TAC does should somehow relate to the development of principled leaders.