Posted on Dec 29, 2016
How do you show leadership ability and potential if you have no one to lead?
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BLUF: I want to go to the Board, but I am being told that I must show NCO leadership ability before I'll be recommended.
Here's the big question (not whining, I am genuinely seeking advice here); how do you show leadership ability and potential if you have no one to lead -- and you get road-blocked when you try and cover down to display any of the ability to lead?
Here's the big question (not whining, I am genuinely seeking advice here); how do you show leadership ability and potential if you have no one to lead -- and you get road-blocked when you try and cover down to display any of the ability to lead?
Leadership
Training NCO
Soldiers
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 34
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I will give you the same advice I gave all my soldiers before I sent them to a promotion board. If you want to be an NCO then you need to act like an NCO on and off duty.
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LTC (Join to see)
SFC Domingo M. - Thanks for the nice comment. Just one question, why would you not want a promotion; Some people are concerned it wouild assign you to where you don't want to go or move up into doing more paperwork and less direct troop contact. However not only is it better for your career in the long-run to accept promotions, but purposefully messing up could result in other unintended consequences. Obviously, if you made E7 it would out well in the end, but I just wanted to share my insights.
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SFC Domingo M.
Sir, with all due respect, I was having much too much fun as a Sp4 and I didn't have the responsibility. However, both my PSG and my 1SG must've seen some potential in me. I was gung-ho, never complained, used to volunteer to go on patrols in the DMZ plus I scored high enough on my MOS test to collect MOS proficiency pay. I basically did all the things you outlined in your response. When finally outsmarted, I went before the board answered all their questions satisfactorily and finished out my tour as aa SGT E-5. I put just as much effort into being a good NCO as I did at being a good enlisted man. At that point, I stopped referring to myself as a draftee and decided to become a career soldier. Let's just say I did it on my schedule and not theirs. There were several high points in my 20+ year career. Being trained as an Infantryman, attending Jump School, being selected to attend Drill Sargeant School, getting a hearing profile and reclassifying into the Club Management field but the very best was my time in the Infantry. I hope I was coherent and logical enough in my response Sir.
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SGT(P) (Join to see)
Yes Sir good advice ! I took on the jobs no one noticed and it definitely showed initiative and got me noticed as a productive leader and go to NCO... also the volunteer work was a good suggestion bc that also shows that you are well rounded ... LTC (Join to see) -
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SSgt Boyd Herrst
Early in my years in the AF, i caught some of the bad jobs with the good but miore bad. I did what I was told and some more(125%). a few fellow Airmen didn't appreciate my extra effort ( I did get some good details(one of them was not only getting to go over to the NCO open mess and working on hors d'ouerves, an' the dinner but being out front with the Chiefs, Seniors, Masters and Master Selectees.. I did back-up on food and cutting on the steamship round.. (the regular NSF employees had had enough OT work they were not getting paid extra for and said they wouldn't do it). I got to meet a lot of top 3s and got to work some private parties at their homes($$).. back to work: the grungy clean-ups went away and I got the good ones. When there were rainy nasty days I went to the D.H. And helped. I got it made up to me later. If I heard that a shift would be short, I went in and helped, my shift or not ! I was learning to be a better person, though I didn't realize it then. I read there were Honor guard slots opening up. I wanted in on that.. getting out of work was not in my mind.. Our chief put me in for it... Cmdr. approved it. I still made myself available if Honor Guard didn't need me..
a few Airmen said I was a glutton for punishment.. I paid them no mind.. I wanted to step up.. one of the Amn said thanks to me had to go out and do Base litter detail, H.G. Didn't get it.. nor
Barrracks clean-up.. (I know dorms is that p.c. word). It was weekend and the weekend guy took off, dayroom looked like a pigsty on Sunday morn. When I stopped in before work(my shift started
1000 hrs that day. So I got a bag and got all the stuff and cleaned up d.r. best I could before work. It looked presentable... I had 15 minutes to get to d.h. A few days later 1st came to see me at work, he told me thanks for covering for ____, he hadn't been by yet
And the Cmdr. wanted to do a walk through of public areas.. at least sinks and showers was acceptable, I'd seen them first... he asked me if I seen _____,
The wknd barracks guy, no 1st, I hadn't.
"S'one told me you straighten up the dayroom Sunday morn'g, thanks for that
Amn Herrst.. Yes 1st Sgt, happy to be of service!" and went back to work. Later I caught it again.. "you're a suck-up Herrst, stay away from me!" He walked off and left his tray, so I grabbed it along with mine and took it to the clipper.. and put the cups, dishes and silver where it belonged. One day A1C
D___ had to get a clean-up detail together for after shift to go out and pick up stuff around the D.H. I got picked for it.. I did have a Honor Guard meeting later but that was at 1600. I'm going around with the rake and bag and getting the leaves an' papers, branches..
and I see the detail ldr. Sitting on the dock dragging on a cigarette... I pointed to the sign .."No Smoking!" The grease trap was right by where they sat.. right then the D.H. Super comes out and sees
Them with cigs in their hands.... it was hard trying not to laugh.. "I pointed to the sign!" .. our so-called ldr. said I had not, the others crossed him and said I had.. I dumped my bag in the dumpster and put the rake away. TSGT. ___ motioned for A1C _____ to go with him and the rest of us could go back to bks.
It seems he'd had issues with A1C ____
at other times... next time I seen him, the Lt. Donated some of his pay for him to the old soldiers an' Airmen's home and he'd gotten a suspended bust.. also they took his 2d Cook position from him(I got it)... so he had to really be on
"Straight and narrow". For 6 months. If he volunteered before being volun-told, it might be shortened. He tried but Lt. Only knocked of 2 months... I asked him why is it so hard to just do a job right the 1sr time, hmm? I, we want to help you do right... get your mental note pad out and take notes by observing..
"Oh you mean by sucking-up?" No, doing stuff right.. not half-baked Amn!
Give a "125 "! "We, your fellow Airmen
1st Classes are going to turn you into a top notch A1C, _____! Just follow our lead!" We took him e'where showing him how to be a more professional Airman, you got to be that before becoming a Sgt. I got selected to take the pro pay test a few times and got it both times. I got sent to Alert kitchen and Inflight to fill in and then got reassigned to inflight as a leader
Cook there. McGuire was a busy base...
the leadership took some of our NCOs and sent them O'seas.. we had a Staff running inflight, another Sgt. and me a leader Cook Airman running another crew.. busy-busy ! Then I got orders and shipped o'seas... i'd took that test one more time and was half through when time for that was runnng out..
I got orders for that, a month beforeThailand I put on Sergeant.. I extended 6 months, I'd already tested for Staff Sgt. and got it 1st time and -1st cut-off.. so went home from Thailand as a Staff Sgt. I got assigned to. Medical Center at Travis... and moved on from there after 2 years....
SGT Stephen Lewis -
a few Airmen said I was a glutton for punishment.. I paid them no mind.. I wanted to step up.. one of the Amn said thanks to me had to go out and do Base litter detail, H.G. Didn't get it.. nor
Barrracks clean-up.. (I know dorms is that p.c. word). It was weekend and the weekend guy took off, dayroom looked like a pigsty on Sunday morn. When I stopped in before work(my shift started
1000 hrs that day. So I got a bag and got all the stuff and cleaned up d.r. best I could before work. It looked presentable... I had 15 minutes to get to d.h. A few days later 1st came to see me at work, he told me thanks for covering for ____, he hadn't been by yet
And the Cmdr. wanted to do a walk through of public areas.. at least sinks and showers was acceptable, I'd seen them first... he asked me if I seen _____,
The wknd barracks guy, no 1st, I hadn't.
"S'one told me you straighten up the dayroom Sunday morn'g, thanks for that
Amn Herrst.. Yes 1st Sgt, happy to be of service!" and went back to work. Later I caught it again.. "you're a suck-up Herrst, stay away from me!" He walked off and left his tray, so I grabbed it along with mine and took it to the clipper.. and put the cups, dishes and silver where it belonged. One day A1C
D___ had to get a clean-up detail together for after shift to go out and pick up stuff around the D.H. I got picked for it.. I did have a Honor Guard meeting later but that was at 1600. I'm going around with the rake and bag and getting the leaves an' papers, branches..
and I see the detail ldr. Sitting on the dock dragging on a cigarette... I pointed to the sign .."No Smoking!" The grease trap was right by where they sat.. right then the D.H. Super comes out and sees
Them with cigs in their hands.... it was hard trying not to laugh.. "I pointed to the sign!" .. our so-called ldr. said I had not, the others crossed him and said I had.. I dumped my bag in the dumpster and put the rake away. TSGT. ___ motioned for A1C _____ to go with him and the rest of us could go back to bks.
It seems he'd had issues with A1C ____
at other times... next time I seen him, the Lt. Donated some of his pay for him to the old soldiers an' Airmen's home and he'd gotten a suspended bust.. also they took his 2d Cook position from him(I got it)... so he had to really be on
"Straight and narrow". For 6 months. If he volunteered before being volun-told, it might be shortened. He tried but Lt. Only knocked of 2 months... I asked him why is it so hard to just do a job right the 1sr time, hmm? I, we want to help you do right... get your mental note pad out and take notes by observing..
"Oh you mean by sucking-up?" No, doing stuff right.. not half-baked Amn!
Give a "125 "! "We, your fellow Airmen
1st Classes are going to turn you into a top notch A1C, _____! Just follow our lead!" We took him e'where showing him how to be a more professional Airman, you got to be that before becoming a Sgt. I got selected to take the pro pay test a few times and got it both times. I got sent to Alert kitchen and Inflight to fill in and then got reassigned to inflight as a leader
Cook there. McGuire was a busy base...
the leadership took some of our NCOs and sent them O'seas.. we had a Staff running inflight, another Sgt. and me a leader Cook Airman running another crew.. busy-busy ! Then I got orders and shipped o'seas... i'd took that test one more time and was half through when time for that was runnng out..
I got orders for that, a month beforeThailand I put on Sergeant.. I extended 6 months, I'd already tested for Staff Sgt. and got it 1st time and -1st cut-off.. so went home from Thailand as a Staff Sgt. I got assigned to. Medical Center at Travis... and moved on from there after 2 years....
SGT Stephen Lewis -
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Have you ever been on a latrine cleaning detail?
If so, you had the potential to show leadership capability, even if not in charge.
Consider the task....then
Observe if you have the requisite tools and materials, if not, be a "leader and seek them out" Not just whine you need toilet bowl cleaner... Go find it.
Did the SM assigned to clean the showers miss one or do a half ass job?.... Don't just whine they did not pull their weight. Take charge, ask a peer to help you go finish the job.
When the job is done, don't just go back to your room and play COD... go find the leader that assigned the task, ask them to accompany you to the latrine and inspect.. you want to know your finished or get feedback in what was not to standard so you can fix it.
Your leadership KNOWS who is a slacker, and who is doing it right... and most times you will know if they know... Its called performance punishment.... When the leadership NEEDS a job done, they don't give it to a slacker who will follow the order but half ass it..they task the SM who gets it done, does not let a broken broom handle keep them from getting the MP swept before last formation ...they know that SM will go back to the barracks and grab another broom, or go to the MP next door and borrow one or find a piece of angle iron in the scrap pile, and duct tape it to the broken broom handle and FINISH the job.
If so, you had the potential to show leadership capability, even if not in charge.
Consider the task....then
Observe if you have the requisite tools and materials, if not, be a "leader and seek them out" Not just whine you need toilet bowl cleaner... Go find it.
Did the SM assigned to clean the showers miss one or do a half ass job?.... Don't just whine they did not pull their weight. Take charge, ask a peer to help you go finish the job.
When the job is done, don't just go back to your room and play COD... go find the leader that assigned the task, ask them to accompany you to the latrine and inspect.. you want to know your finished or get feedback in what was not to standard so you can fix it.
Your leadership KNOWS who is a slacker, and who is doing it right... and most times you will know if they know... Its called performance punishment.... When the leadership NEEDS a job done, they don't give it to a slacker who will follow the order but half ass it..they task the SM who gets it done, does not let a broken broom handle keep them from getting the MP swept before last formation ...they know that SM will go back to the barracks and grab another broom, or go to the MP next door and borrow one or find a piece of angle iron in the scrap pile, and duct tape it to the broken broom handle and FINISH the job.
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1SG (Join to see)
Well said SGM! Great advice from a proven Leader! "Their I CAN and their I WILL is more important than their IQ!" Great leaders know if you can't follow, you can't lead! Outstanding soldiers get recognized sooner or later and recommended for promotion! Drive on SPC, you'll get there! - Top
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Take the initiative, be the first to volunteer, do things without being told to do them. It isn't about leading troops, it is about showing that you are capable of leading - you do that by setting the example.
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