How big of a role did, "Developmental Counseling" play in how you were mentored? Did you receive any real mentorship at all?

Many troops tend to just "figure it out" without any true developmental counseling (except for the missing formation or negative counseling) and unfortunately if you (the leader) are not checking then the counseling typically will not happen as it should.....as a senior leader, I really recommend ensuring we teach/coach and mentor time management so that our Junior Leaders make better use of their time and their troops time by conducting true participative counseling where the counselor and counselee are both involved to truly map out the goals as well as how to overcome roadblocks. My first mentor was my first squad leader, he led by sharing hardships and by us doing, not formal counseling as we have really seen the turn to (almost a cover your 6 type situation).

This played a big role in not only mentoring, but to let us know when we walked in the door, what was expected of us, and how far did we want to go in our career(s) in the military. When the next quarter came for the next counseling, you can actually gauge as to how proficient you had become in your job, were you showing leadership, are you a quick study and all of that. I did receive mentoring, not from all leaders, but the ones that count; I will never forget them

I can tell you that I have had probably two supervisors who counseled me on paper at the times my NCOER says happened. Overall, I would say that my counseling was lacking from what was supposed to happen. But, not as much as you'd think from what I have said. I would caveat with two factors...

1- I was verbally counseled many times that never made it to paper. In my opinion those count. My supervisor telling me something about my performance, or how he/she sees me fitting into the overarching Army structure, while not "provable" later if not written down, is still me being counseled.

2- I joined the Army late. I was 28 years old in basic training, so, maybe wrongly, I don't feel like I need as much hand holding as my rank peers.

I have received some mentorship, but it wasn't long term as you might prefer, and it was generally sought out by me as opposed to the mentor "taking me under their wing".