Do you think a good leadership is very important?

PFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 04:50:59 -0400

I think a good (NCO and chain of command) leadership is a motivation for soldiers come to work everyday. Bad leadership could be a nightmare and depressing for soldiers to come to work or anything.

Response by CSM Chuck Stafford made Apr 8 at 2021 6:30 AM

CSM Chuck Stafford — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 06:30:11 -0400

I think you are on to something -- May you find good leadership where you are and if not, take the lessons learned from bad leadership with you so that you don't make the same mistakes. Good Luck

Response by LtCol Robert Quinter made Apr 8 at 2021 10:19 AM

LtCol Robert Quinter — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 10:19:33 -0400

Absolutely. One thing people tend to forget is every member can exert leadership down to the newest private.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2021 11:19 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 11:19:01 -0400

PFC Private RallyPoint Member In the military and civilian world, you will have good leaders and bad leaders. Emulate the behaviors of the better leaders so that you are a good leader. Be a leader at all ranks and always put forth your best effort. Be the kind of Squared Away Soldier that others look up to. In your lifetime, you will work for a number of what you consider bad leaders. Maintain a good attitude and continue to do the best job that you can.

Response by SFC Melvin Brandenburg made Apr 8 at 2021 12:11 PM

SFC Melvin Brandenburg — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 12:11:55 -0400

I'm looking at this issue in my doctoral dissertation. I think for retention, so far all signs point to yes.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2021 12:46 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 12:46:35 -0400

If you don't have a good leader you need to do your best to become the leader that your team needs. Rank will limit you, but what won't limit you is your knowledge. If your leadership isn't good at something or is lacking knowledge in an area that you see needs improvement, start studying. No Soldier can know everything, but you can continue to improve your knowledge or at the very least know where to begin looking.

Just make sure you can do PT and study hard, you'll do leaps and bounds above others who were advanced because confident durrr run fast. I've met more than a few incompetent NCO's who the only thing they were good at was PT, ask them for information on anything else Army related and they get mad at you because they honestly don't know.

It will take time but you can pin point the good NCO's and Officers if you sit back and observe. Try to adopt some of their actions into your own. You'll also want to check with the SME's (subject matter experts), by which I mean people who actually perform the MOS. Now you'll find worthless layabouts in every MOS, but if it doesn't sound right just take the time to verify it. Remember that phrase, trust but verify.

This is important to remember because there is a thing called NCO chatter (similar to PNN), where NCO's got bad information from one of their senior NCO's and then they continue to regurgitate it to everyone they know without verifying the information. Where this usually causes problems is when something is said or done versus what's actually in the regulation. You will also want to be cautious when you find this happening because correcting an NCO is something you should do, but the manner in which you do it is important.

A good NCO will accept that they were wrong and will intake the information you're giving them, usually with thanks and whether you consider it a good thing or not a class you may have to teach to your peers and your seniors about the correct information you've discovered. So if you're going to start correcting things, be prepared to do additional work.

A bad NCO might chew you out for attempting to correct something, it's happened to me. Don't take that personally, it's just something you have to deal with. Maintain respect and keep trying to improve.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Apr 8 at 2021 4:13 PM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 16:13:45 -0400

Of course. You are preaching to the choir a little. I think everyone here would agree that good leadership is good, bad leadership is bad and good is definitely preferred over bad. Some people are born leaders, others thrust into it and unfortunately some people fail to meet the expectations we set for them as leaders.

Response by SMSgt Bob Wilson made Apr 8 at 2021 6:58 PM

SMSgt Bob Wilson — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 18:58:05 -0400

What is a leader? What are the traits of a good leader? In the military, it is simple--get promoted to E4 and go to PME classes. With that answer, I would FAIL you because that type of leader will fail you. MOTIVATION is one of many factors. TRUST, I believe, is the most important. If the Leader "walks the walk", they inspire the people below them to become Motivated.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 8 at 2021 7:01 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 19:01:25 -0400

You are asking a rhetorical question. Perhaps there would be more value to your post by talking about the traits of good and bad leaders.

Response by SSG Bill McCoy made Apr 9 at 2021 1:56 AM

SSG Bill McCoy — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 01:56:44 -0400

Without leadership, you'd be in a circus ... or more likely, a zoo!

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Apr 12 at 2021 10:52 AM

SSG Edward Tilton — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 10:52:29 -0400

Train your troops to do the job even when you are not there. Then go have a coffee and donut

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 12 at 2021 3:10 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 15:10:55 -0400

Be the type of leader that you want leading you. You can start that right now. Take care of your folks and the mission will do near write itself. Be humble. Never forget your PVT roots. But always be ready to put boot to ass if all else fails and the boot needs using.