Is there such thing as "NCO Business?"

Despite how many times West Point told me that there was no such thing as NCO business and I shouldn't accept that as an answer, I know better.  But before you should go and always accept that as an answer you have to make sure that your unit (you're a 2LT so I'm assuming you have a platoon) has the right climate.  Respect and privacy is earned.  As long as you know 100% without a doubt that "NCO business" doesn't mean "wall-to-wall counseling" then I think you're ok and you should be.  I've always been lucky enough to have outstanding NCOs who took care of the day-to-day, were proactive and I never had to tell anyone to do something more than once.  However, as a Tank PL, I had them try telling me that when we were doing maintenance.  "Sir, you do what you've got to do, we'll take care of the vics" kind of thing.  I could have accepted that but it's just not in me.  A)  I don't shy away from manual labor - comes from being raised on a farm.  B)  It provided me an opportunity to learn more of the technical aspects of the vehicle I was in command of.  C)  Getting down and turning wrenches with the guys is where/when I learned more about their personal lives than anywhere else.  So basically, you need to find your own balance based on your personality, strengths, and weaknesses.  Other than that, trust your NCOs to do the right thing and to inform you when something escalates to a level that needs your attention or at the very least that you need to know about.

Im an NCO and I own 2 businesses.

Of course there is. Just like there is Officer Business. There are things that should be kept "in-house" and handled at the lowest level possible. 

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</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">I ran into this as a new PL. What I told my PSG was that
there is no such thing as NCO Business. I told him that there is Leader's
Business and that it had different levels. There was his/her level and my
level. The issue I take with this is that sometimes it is an excuse to not tell
an officer what it is that the NCO is doing. I preferred that my NCOs stated
"Sir, I am handling this issue and we will have a resolution for this by tomorrow."
As the PL you need to know everything that happens in your platoon and its
Soldiers. I say again, YOUR Platoon. Whenever I was blindsided by an overeager
NCO taking "imitative" I went straight into counseling mode. I
reminded my NCO that while I trusted them, I needed to know any issues or
training that was being planned. I reminded them that I was on the blame line
for everything and that I needed to have a basic understanding of their thought
process and what they were hoping to get out of the training or how they were
going to resolve the Soldier issue.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman">

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Yes there is.  But I also think that "This is NCO business." is used too often to get rid of an officer.  The last paragraph of the NCO creed states "Officers at my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties.  They will not have to accomplish mine."  As an officer, it's my obligation to ensure the mission is accomplished.  I do so by empowering my NCOs to be able to carry out the orders given. I don't micro manage because that's not my job.  That is NCO business. If an NCO cannot, or fails to do what is needed to accomplish the mission, that is when NCO business becomes Leader business.  I'm all about keeping things at the lowest level when at all possible.

I agree with the responses posted prior to mine.&nbsp; That being said, the only times I have heard the phrase used was when NCOs wanted to prevent an officer from "meddling" with some facet of their responsibility that they were not performing in a satisfactory manner.&nbsp; For example, when I took over my platoon's PT program, my Platoon Sergeant and Section Sergeants informed me that it was "NCO business".&nbsp; I informed them that I was ultimately answerable to the Commander for the performance of my platoon and that the program was not being executed to standard.&nbsp; <br><br>Bottom line:&nbsp; yes, there are separate responsibilities for NCOs and officers.&nbsp; However, the officer is ultimately responsible for the performance of the unit and should absolutely take action if his NCOs are not performing to the standard he requires.<br>

Maybe I've said this before...maybe I haven't...but here's my $.02...

If you, as an officer, have so much time on your hands to delve into the minutae of a lowly E-1's life then you're probably doing something wrong. Either that, or you're the best dang officer on the planet and we should elect you as one step above O-10 +. If the NCO's below you are not doing their jobs, it's not YOUR job to do THEIR job. An officer doing senior enlisted functions because the senior enlisted is falling down on the job is an example of poor leadership. If your senior enlisted personnel are not doing their jobs, then the officer's job is to bring the senior enlisted up to par - not do the senior enlisted's jobs!

An old, old salty dog told me this once - and it still works today: "Always be ready to step into any higher position above you." I don't recall him ever menitioning that it worked in reverse......and the Chief is always right!

Officers are repsonsible for seeing that the job gets done properly and on time - not doing the job itself. Over my career there were multiple junior officers that didn't want to adhere to that principle and found the error in their ways. Trust me, if the junior enlisted see that you're willing to do your job AND their jobs - they are more that willing to let you do it.

Too many officers get caught up in the mind trap of: "I'm held responsible for this job - if it doesn't get done then I have to do it!" Hotel Sierra. I learned that lesson as a lowly E-2 when assigned my first leadership role. When individuals assigned specific jobs failed to do what they were assigned at the end of the day - rather than hold them accountable I chose to finish their tasks. Of course, that ended up with me finishing multiple tasks at the end of the day because everyone knew: "George will do it". The Chief saw this and let it go for about two weeks before he sat me down and explained to me that I was getting paid precisely the same as the other individuals on a monthly basis, but on an hourly basis (number of hours worked daily) I was woefully in arears, to say nothing of the missing daily, weekly, bi-weekly and upcoming monthly reports I was responsible for but had yet to commence writing.

Back in those days, "wall to wall counseling" was a fact. Plus the Navy had what was called "smokers"....explanation available upon request. In the end I got the job done properly using discussion, holding others accountable and one stubborn a$$hole just insisted on the "wall to wall....". It happens. More often in the time of individuals who were drafted as opposed to today's volunteers and more professional military. Believe me, should this nation ever need to return to the draft, you will see the return of a great many necessary evils such as "wall to wall"..... Those that reject that thought out-of-hand may find themselves rethinking things should we ever be forced to go back to the draft. But that is another topic for another thread.

In summation, there are absolutely things such as "NCO business". A good officer knows and accepts this - no matter what the various Academies preach. NCO's who do not 'take care of business" should be dealt with - but the officer should not do the NCO's job.

Absolutely ... Just like there is "Officers' Business".

Each (NCO and Officer) has specific responsibilities specific to their rank that the other should not interfere with. That is not to say that there is no overlapping.

Officers should stay out of "NCO business" unless there is a clear problem stemming from it. Even then, it is better to let the 1SG or CSM deal with it.

I am a big believer in allowing NCOs the freedom and support to perform their very important missions. One of the biggest reasons our Army is as good as it is is due to the strong NCO Corps we have. They are, without a doubt, the backbone of our Army. My advice to all my officers has always been to get out of the way and let the NCOs do their jobs and concentrate on their own.

A funny story -- Shortly after retiring from the Army, my company was having a company picnic. I volunteered to help the set-up and a group of us were standing around a huge tent that had to be erected, trying to determine how to start putting it up. My boss at the time walked up to the group and stated to me "You were Colonel in the Army. Don't you know how to put up a tent?" I replied, "Sure I do" and turned to our Logistics Manager (a retired Army CSM) and said, "Sergeant Major, get the tent up" and walked away. And it was done... :-) Sergeant's Business 101...