As a fairly new NCO, am I supposed to give my soldiers initial and monthly counsellings (PSG is asking for monthly)?

I made my stripes in 1990 and didn't have troops until a couple years later when I PCSd back to the states at that time we were only required to do monthly counseling I always verbally told my guys how I thought they were doing what their strengths and weaknesses were and what they needed to improve on unfortunately we had an NCO rich environment so most of us were just worker bees like the E4s and below but eventually were given like MOS folks to supervise and be responsible for untill I made shop foreman then I had lots of different mechanics to counsel and keep track of.

Yes it is your responsibility as an NCO to do monthly counseling on your soldiers to let them know what is expected of them . How they are doing in areas such as P.T. Uniform, etc.

I say yes, your soldiers will never understand what they are doing right or wrong if you do not tell them. Also, it can help establish goals for themselves to achieve. Lastly, when you get out and decide to pick a company to work for, they might ask you to do performance reviews(basically counselings) for your subordinates and doing this in the Army will help that transition.

Give an initial l all subordinate Soldiers so that they know the standards you expect. Give monthlies so they know where they stand. Give them actual feedback, what they’re doing well and what they can do better. Another important aspect of monthly counseling is that in the unfortunate event that UCMJ has to be pursued or a soldier needs to be separated, it won’t go through because you can’t prove that the Soldier knew the standards.

I would also stress positive and negative event oriented counseling statements. Negative counseling statements establish a pattern of behavior that can be helpful when going after UCMJ. Positive counselings will help you document events when making considerations for awards.

It’s a lot of work but that’s the cross that leaders bear.

One of the things the civilian world needs to learn from the Army is that people want and need frequent feedback. Spent 21 years in, retired FA 1SG, now 20 years in civilian IT, people don't have a clue how to lead, train, motivate a team.

I discussed it sometimes on a daily basis, as required.

Without doubt, you should be looking in on, watching over, working with and supervising each of your Soldiers in rotation so that a monthly counseling is readily available in your mind for each. An initial counseling is simple, it lays out expectations, rewards, disciplinary actions and goals in a comprehensive format that each of you have a record of. A monthly is essential to track compliance with and excellence in (or deficiency in) that initial, and can be your greatest guiding and motivational tools. Additionally, even if they grumble, Soldiers will appreciate the repetitive and consistent attention. They will feel it is more likely you will reward them for good behavior and also keep an eye out for duties and schools which will help them. You might also take your Team Leaders in hand, and begin educating them in the process also.

So the long and short of it is this, make sure you are mentoring and counseling as often as you EFFECTIVELY can. I tried to ensure that everyone who worked for me had a monthly counseling session just to make sure that I had the chance to take a half hour and sit and actually speak to my Soldiers and not at them (there is a huge difference) by doing this monthly it allows you as a leader the opportunity to not only accentuate the positive but to also spotlight the negative in an individual's performance. This gave me ample documentation when I wanted to promote, give recognition, or awards to my Soldiers. On the flip side it also allowed me to mentor the Soldiers who were failing to meet expectations and track their improvements or have concise and clear documentation for recommendations of reduction in rank or separation. In my early career I was often failed by my leadership by not being properly counseled UNTIL I screwed up and needed a negative counseling. This made me want to be better and do better for the people under my supervision, and I can honestly say that by keeping the lines of communication open my Soldiers were far more amenable to coming forward and airing their grievances or admitting their mistakes so we could develop a plan for success for them. One of the best pieces of advice I ever recieved on counseling was this. No matter how much the person screws up be there to help them come up with their plan of action and when they succeed with it recognize this, young Soldiers are like kids sometimes and may just need to have some positive reinforcement to succeed and be an asset to you.

I would also ask your PSG for an example of what he/she would use for a monthly counseling and then take their input and make the necessary modifications for your specific leadership style. This is your chance as a young NCO to develop those skills as a leader and create the good habits now that will follow your entire career! Good luck!

Why is this even a question? You get extensive training on this at wlc, and its a board question. Like were u born under a rock?

As an NCO, it is your duty and responsibility to counsel your soldiers on a regular basis. I can't believe you're asking this question. I'm so glad I retired from the military when I did. You don't just counsel your soldiers monthly, you counsel them positively, as well as, negative counseling. You also devise a plan of action for all counseling.