Posted on Nov 23, 2015
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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(Check the Checker)-Army Slang-
I am in agreement with Sergeant Major Of The Army Daily's advice to the Sergeants Majors within the Army. This is my favorite bullet,"No. 10. Never forget that you're just a Soldier. That’s all you are. No better than any other, but just one of them. You may get paid a little more, but when the time comes, your job is to treat them all fair, take care of them as if they were your own children, and expect no more from them of that of which you expect from yourself."

In a recent Armytimes article:
Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel A. Dailey doesn’t pull any punches when he’s talking to his fellow senior noncommissioned officers.
Dailey, who has been the Army’s top enlisted soldier since Jan. 30, has 10 leadership tips he often shares with them, particularly those preparing to become sergeants major.
“Despite what you’ve experienced in the past, a sergeant major’s job isn’t just to find uniform deficiencies," Dailey said earlier this year to the newest graduates of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. "It’s not just to ensure everyone has matching PT belts and make sure everybody stays off the grass.Your job is to lead soldiers, to ensure they’re trained and ready to fight our nation’s wars, and bring them home again, and get them ready for the next adventure. Everything you do … should be focused on that, and we’ll be OK.”
Dailey's top 10, in his own words:
No. 1. Yelling doesn’t make you skinny. PT does.
If you’re not out there saluting the flag every morning at 6:30, you can automatically assume your soldiers are not. Soldiers don’t care if you’re in first place. They just want to see you out there. This is a team sport.
PT might not be the most important thing you do that day, but it is the most important thing you do every day in the United States Army. The bottom line is, wars are won between 6:30 and 9.

No. 2. Think about what you’re going to say before you say it.
I’ve never regretted taking the distinct opportunity to keep my mouth shut.
You’re the sergeant major. People are going to listen to you.
By all means, if you have something important or something informative to add to the discussion, then say it. But don’t just talk so people can hear you. For goodness sake, you’re embarrassing the rest of us. Sit down and listen. Sometimes you might just learn something.
No. 3. If you find yourself having to remind everyone all of the time that you’re the sergeant major and you’re in charge, you’re probably not.
That one’s pretty self-explanatory.
No. 4.You have to work very hard at being more informed and less emotional.
Sergeants major, I’ll put it in simple terms: Nobody likes a dumb loudmouth. They don’t.
Take the time to do the research. Learn how to be brief. Listen to people, and give everyone the time of day. Everyone makes mistakes, even sergeants major, and you will make less of them if you have time to be more informed.

No. 5.If you can’t have fun every day, then you need to go home.
You are the morale officer. You don’t have to be everyone’s friend, but you do have to be positive all the time. The sergeant major is the one everyone looks to when it’s cold, when it’s hot, when it’s raining, or things are just going south. Your job is to keep the unit together. That’s why you’re there. The first place they will look when things go bad is you, and they will watch your reaction.
No. 6. Don’t be the feared leader. It doesn’t work.
If soldiers run the other way when you show up, that’s absolutely not cool.
Most leaders who yell all the time, they’re in fact hiding behind their inability to effectively lead. Soldiers and leaders should be seeking you, looking for your guidance, asking you to be their mentors on their Army career track, not posting jokes about you on the 'Dufflebag blog'. That’s not cool. Funny, but it’s not cool.
No. 7. Don’t do anything — and I mean anything — negative over email.
You have to call them. Go see them in person. Email’s just a tool. It’s not a substitute for leadership. It’s also permanent.
You’ve all heard it. Once you hit ‘send,’ it’s official, and you can never bring it back. Automatically assume that whatever you write on email will be on the cover of the Army Times and all over Facebook by the end of the week. Trust me, I know this personally.
No. 8. It’s OK to be nervous. All of us are.
This happens to be my favorite. It came from my mother. My mom always used to tell me that if you’re not nervous on the first day of school, then you’re either not telling the truth, you either don’t care, or you’re just plain stupid. [Being nervous] makes you try harder. That’s what makes you care more. Once that feeling is gone, once you feel like you have everything figured out, it’s time to go home, because the care stops. Don’t do this alone. You need a battle buddy. You need someone you can call, a mentor you can confide in. Don’t make the same mistakes someone else has made. Those are the dumb mistakes. Don’t do this alone.
No. 9. If your own justification for being an expert in everything you do is your 28 years of military experience, then it’s time to fill out your 4187 [form requesting personnel action] and end your military experience.
Not everything gets better with age, sergeants major. You have to work at it every day. Remember, you are the walking textbook. You are the information portal. Take the time to keep yourself relevant.
No. 10. Never forget that you're just a soldier. That’s all you are. No better than any other, but just one of them. You may get paid a little more, but when the time comes, your job is to treat them all fair, take care of them as if they were your own children, and expect no more from them of that of which you expect from yourself.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/enlisted/2015/11/23/sma-daileys-top-10-leadership-tips-sergeants-major/76268752/
Posted in these groups: Leadership abstract 007 LeadershipSgm SGM
Edited 10 y ago
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CPT Military Police
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL These are OUTSTANDING! Great advice.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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SGM Willard Burfict
SGM Willard Burfict
7 y
The touch concept alway's matter's...
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SFC Management
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Edited 10 y ago
Outstanding article. Has anyone else noticed that when a article has been done with him and pics attached he is:
1. Not on a stage or behind a podium
2. He's out in the "crowd" mixing and mingling. That in itself says a lot about the man.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
10 y
SFC (Join to see) well noted, I think he is exceptional! Great words of advice for our SERGEANT MAJOR community.
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MAJ David Wallace
MAJ David Wallace
10 y
Agreed! Very personable leader; we need more like him!
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CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025
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Please note how personal contact is referred to several times!
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SMA Dailey's Top 10 Leadership Tips For Sergeants Major. Is it Great Advice Or Not?
MSgt Curtis Ellis
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"No. 2. Think about what you’re going to say before you say it." & "No. 7. Don’t do anything — and I mean anything — negative over email."
SMA Dailey is dishing out some great leadership tips. I agree with all of it, and these two above for sure!!!
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
10 y
MSgt Curtis Ellis well said and articulately conveyed!
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Capt Brandon Charters
Capt Brandon Charters
10 y
No 7, that's one to live by!
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CSM Michael J. Uhlig
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Great words and best of all is that our SMA is actually genuine, and he does care about our Soldiers!
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SSG Audwin Scott
SSG Audwin Scott
10 y
I definitely felt the passion in this, makes me want to come back and join the Army all over again! Hooah!
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SrA David Steyer
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Edited 10 y ago
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL this is some GREAT advice! Most of it can be applied to ALL ranks.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
10 y
SrA David Steyer you can say that again!
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SSG Warren Swan
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No. 1. Yelling doesn’t make you skinny. PT does - I get it, but I've also heard the arguments for the way we do PT and the way it's used in "making a better Soldier". While I agree it needs to be done, having a 400 APFT will NOT make you a more effective leader. Having a 400 APFT score will not guarantee you're going to come home from deployment alive. We need a APFT that has everyone doing PT, yet is indicative of what the Army's actually doing.
No. 3. If you find yourself having to remind everyone all of the time that you’re the sergeant major and you’re in charge, you’re probably not...this is effective when you have 2LT's who think they're the XO of something and have more knowledge than you. You might have to remind that young Officer time and time again about the pecking order, and even with that, who's really in charge and makes things happen.
No. 10. Never forget that you're just a soldier. That’s all you are. No better than any other, but just one of them. You may get paid a little more, but when the time comes, your job is to treat them all fair, take care of them as if they were your own children, and expect no more from them of that of which you expect from yourself....THIS ONE SAYS IT ALL.
No. 11. Don't be caught at PT without your PT belt and black socks. SMA Daily IS watching!!!
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SSG Warren Swan
SSG Warren Swan
10 y
SSG(P) Zachary Vrba - I've seen the same in my travels. But in regard to the Brits, they laughed at our "PT". Never saw them doing PT while stationed in the UK. But if the APFT reflected more of what the Army's doing, the three event test would be canned tomorrow. I've NEVER seen anyone do 80push ups, 90 sit ups or run two miles in ten minutes while forward deployed with rounds coming in. Now Bergdhal is the exception being he wanted to expected to make it Sharrona on foot with no gear, so maybe he was in training for the future APFT or the MCM. The current APFT is kept to me as a matter of convenience. It's easy to implement, can be done with little preparation, little to no gear, and just carry the TC and you're good. Imagine an APFT where we actually focused on movements that mimicked what's actually done, and it'd be a multiple event test done (five or more events with a road march) in gear, and would be logistically harder to do, and would take much more of the workday or days.
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SFC Bde Mobility Nco
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Awesome advice, I can take some of this and apply it towards myself lol. Well
Besides PT I love PT
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SP5 Michael Rathbun
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I hope we can keep this guy around for a while.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
10 y
SP5 Michael Rathbun SMA is unique and one of a kind! He's leading from the front!
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SP5 Michael Rathbun
SP5 Michael Rathbun
10 y
So indeed, SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL.

"One of the only times you should lead from behind is in the chow line in the rain after an operation."
-- One of my SDB Leadership instructors, Ft Gordon, 1969
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
10 y
SP5 Michael Rathbun that's a roger there, that's the way it is. The purest and simplest form of leadership. Thanks for stating this......Sweet!
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Sgt Kelli Mays
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Edited 10 y ago
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Sounds like top notch....grade A...super awesome advice! I have to agree with his top 10 list....It's too bad there are a lot who don't understand this concept and do exactly the opposite.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
10 y
Sgt Kelli Mays I must agree with you, awesome words of encouragement and advise. He has commanded my RESPECT as a Retiree.
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