What do you look for in a Command Sergeant Major?

The two absolute biggest things I wanted from a CSM were consistency and follow thru. If you say maintenance is a priority, then I expect motor monday to be sacrosanct and you to be out there personally PMCSing (or supervisong the PMCS) of you vehicle. Every week. If you say that we are going to enforce tobacco rules, that means you don't dip, and you don't let your 1SGs dip, either - and you corrwct the BDE CSM when he brings his spit bottle to your BN. Every day.
If you say families are a priority, then you hold Commanders and 1SGs to their training schedules (to include your staff!) and get Soldiers home to their family. Every day.
Etc.

My biggest fristrations with CSMs always came, in one way or another, from a violation of one of those two basic tenets. Hypocrisy is a morale killer, and inconsistency is a major stressor for ALL subordinates.

I loved seeing my senior leadership around my AO. It showed me that they cared about my companies training and the Soldiers with in the company. Both as an Officer and an Enlisted I valued my CSM opinion. I however got lucky that as a PL my 1SG was my CSM as a Company Commander so we already had a great working relationship. I have also had senior leadership that I hardly saw and I didn’t care for that. Made me wonder if they never checked on training how they could verify personally that the BC training objectives were being met.

CSM Carl Cunningham Thank you for posting this and asking the hard questions. When I was an NCO, I valued input from my CSM. He would often come around pulling the NCO's aside to see what they were working on and then he would dive in and assist us with what we were doing. He would often hold impromptu NCOPD sessions while we were working. He expressed the importance of leadership and gave us history lessons of great leaders before our time. From a Warrant's perspective, don't discount what we have to offer and what we bring to the table. Remember, we came from the NCO ranks and we see both sides of the playing field. Keep the Warrants close to you because the troops come to us for council and advice on many different topics. It also helps to see that everyone, including senior leadership, is held to the same standards. Far to many times have I seen SGM's and CSM's disappearing for long periods of time only to show up at the last second. Show your troops that you're willing to work just as hard as they do to get the job done. Be that approachable leader and that father figure some of these young troops need. Lastly, be that sounding voice for your troops. If something seems crazy, bring it up to the boss especially if it affects the soldiers at the lowest levels. I hope that helps you out.