Developing Leaders and Building Trust Through Counseling

By Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew S. Richter

1st Armored Division Artillery

July 13, 2026

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NCO duties and responsibilities are clearly outlined in Army doctrine and regulation. They provide Soldiers with purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission through coaching and mentoring.

It's imperative that NCOs leverage counseling to accomplish the 11 specified NCO support channel duties and responsibilities outlined in Army Command Policy (Department of the Army [DA], 2025).

Improving individual and unit counseling programs builds trust, confidence, and Soldier resiliency which results in better preparation and mission execution. Counseling also creates adaptable leaders and Soldiers who successfully navigate challenges and achieve goals.

Experience & Observations

I served the Army as a command sergeant major on three different installations. I hate to admit it, but I've seen "check the box" and "cookie cutter" style counseling across the three major categories of counseling: performance, professional growth, and event-oriented counseling.

As NCOs we must ask ourselves: What is our individual counseling proficiency? How effective are our counseling programs? Are they achieving the desired effects? If not, what are we doing about it?

I found that, at the tactical level, we often undervalue organizational counseling programs which offer deliberate training and certification NCOs need to be effective counselors and leaders in the operational domain. And we often over-rely on professional military education (PME) to train them as counselors.

Expecting junior NCOs to be counseling "experts" is unrealistic. It takes practice, time, training, success, and failure to develop the counseling proficiency company commanders expect and Soldiers deserve.

The following failure points are the most common deficiency areas I've observed.

Poor Planning and Execution

Units that integrate individual counseling into their training calendars achieve increased leader trust and Soldier resiliency, as evidenced by increased on- and off-duty performance.

The 8-step training model is the Army's main model (DA, 2021). Failure to incorporate it into deliberate leader training and counseling certification is a missed opportunity for Soldier growth and leader development.

For example, during a 10-day after-operations maintenance program, conducting performance counseling is a key step in growth and development, providing both leaders and Soldiers feedback they can use to improve future performance.

Planning, preparing, and executing performance counseling after an individual or collective training event helps subordinates overcome challenges, sustain strengths, improve weaknesses, build confidence, and be more lethal in large-scale combat operations (LSCO).

Operational Domain's Responsibility to Close the Knowledge Gap

PME teaches the fundamentals of counseling, coaching, and team building (DA, 2017). Leaders who don't expand upon these basics by leveraging expertise and experience in their own formations miss the opportunity to develop themselves and others.

The most experienced counselors in our formations are chaplains, command sergeants major (CSM), sergeants major (SGM), first sergeants (1SG), and master sergeants (MSG).

Unit development programs such as the NCO Development Program (NCODP) and events such as NCO Professional Development (NCOPD) are excellent methods to teach the Army profession, unit tactical operations, and technical skills (DA, 2017).

However, these unit-led programs and events often focus on other mission areas, once again missing opportunities to leverage a lifetime of expertise and experience by teaching effective counseling skills: coaching, mentoring, and feedback.

Too Much Installation Resourcing First and Not Enough First-Line Engagement

Too often, instead of leaders using counseling as a proactive tool to identify and address basic issues before they become overwhelming, counseling is either not conducted or not conducted to standard, potentially leading to larger problems.

Issues such as pay, entitlements, or relationships should be respectfully captured in routine counseling along with a plan of action and follow-up assessment. But too often, counseling becomes an after-incident requirement instead of a proactive measure.

This often results in creating a counseling stigma, or a negative association with counseling. Though family advocacy, behavioral health, Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F), and other programs are great Soldier resources, their purpose is not to solve problems on a first-line leaders' behalf. But leaders can use these services to help NCOs master the art of counseling when used in the 8-step training model approach to training and certifying leaders.

The Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 6-22.1 (2024), Providing Feedback: Counseling-Coaching-Mentoring, basics, such as active listening and clear communication, are not necessarily skills NCOs naturally possesses (DA, 2024).

Therefore, between leveraging operational domain experience and incorporating installation program expertise into unit training programs, NCOs can better learn and practice the counseling fundamentals.

Improving Individual and Unit Counseling Programs

According to the ATP 6-22.1 (2024), the four stages of the counseling process are to identify the need for counseling, prepare for counseling, conduct the counseling, and follow up (DA, 2024). Although these counseling fundamentals are easy to find in doctrine, they're often hastily or inadequately planned and executed, and are unaccounted for on unit training calendars.

We can identify a unit's baseline knowledge of the counseling process and regulatory requirements through routine counseling inspections and unit training events. For example, as a battalion CSM during an LPD, I gave a classroom full of 35 specialists through captains an ATP 6-22.1 pre-test to determine their baseline knowledge.

No one scored at least 50% on a 10-question pre-test that included the question "What are the four stages of the counseling process?" This was humbling and shows the need for training and certification in the operational domain.

Closing counseling gaps starts with understanding leader development fundamentals such as counseling, coaching, mentoring, and assessing through formal leader development activities, specifically NCO training and certification (DA, 2022).

NCO Training and Certification

At the 1st Armored Division Artillery (1AD DIVARTY) we identified NCO education gaps and implemented a counseling training and certification program.

We created a three-day counseling course that begins with a counselor self-assessment tied to Project Athena, a self-development tool that allows NCOs to see their deficiencies and correct them over time, and a counseling doctrine pre-test that culminates in a certification event graded by senior NCOs, chaplains, and Ready & Resilient (R2) program experts.

Day one consists of a leader assessment, pre-test, a senior leader concrete experience, ATP 6-22.1 counseling process review, and a chaplain-led focus on purpose and meaning.

Day two consists of R2 instruction and team-building events covering active listening, effective communication, an overview of installation services and resources, and concludes with group vignettes and scenario role play.

Day three concludes with a counseling certification that includes graded individual counseling sessions through multiple assessed vignettes covering common Soldier and unit readiness and resilience trends.

The results were impactful. We trained and certified about 135 leaders throughout the year, increasing historical semi-centralized promotion board appearances, separations and transitioning Soldier success, and reduced serious incident reporting. The key to success was leveraging senior NCO experience and subject matter expertise.

Leveraging Expertise and Experience

According to TC 7-22.7 (DA, 2020a), NCO Guide, 1SGs are responsible for developing the units' Soldiers, administrative functions, and ensuring unit and family health, welfare, and morale.

First sergeants implement the 8-step training model, train and educate subordinates on Army and organizational programs, and foster servant leadership through effective counseling and development.

Platoon sergeants' key duties are to proactively address Soldier issues affecting unit readiness, engage with Army agencies to resolve individual Soldier readiness issues, coach and counsel platoon NCOs, and provide clear written and verbal public praise or privately reprimand substandard performance.

Additional roles for staff sergeants, sergeants, and corporals directly supervising Soldiers in the NCO core competencies directly tie to effective individual counseling (DA, 2020a).

Senior NCOs' education and experience are critical to junior NCO continued development to educate them on the power and effectiveness of individual counseling.

Throughout the multiple 1AD DIVARTY counseling courses attended by specialists through captains, the primary student feedback from after-action reviews was that the best insight and lessons learned came from the senior NCO course facilitators.

It's imperative that senior NCOs leverage their education and experience to train and certify junior NCOs on counseling. This way both the chain of command and individual Soldiers can rely on squad leaders to solve basic Soldier issues instead of relying on company commanders, first sergeants, platoon leaders, and platoon sergeants as the first layer of contact.

The course's second most impactful asset was leveraging expertise from chaplains, military family life counselors, R2, behavioral health, substance abuse, and holistic health and fitness experts. Their education and experience offered great insight into their roles and responsibilities, highlighting the need for junior NCOs to learn skills associated with positive counseling, coaching, feedback, and mentorship.

For example, while TC 7-22.7 asks NCOs to provide effective public praise and private reprimand, many NCOs did not know how to do it. The unit's R2 team helped teach them how to give effective praise and offer constructive criticism to get better results during formal and informal counseling.

Incorporating subject matter experts such as chaplains and R2 into unit counseling program training and certification greatly enhances inexperienced counselor skills.

Unit Programs

There are many ways to establish strong unit counseling programs. They include:

For example, using an event-oriented transition counseling in conjunction with the Transition Assistance Program timelines mandated by law helps leaders and Soldiers properly plan for transition and mitigate risks. In other words, accomplishing these efforts and developing and implementing unit programs require deliberate planning, consistent prioritization of counseling program efforts, and routine inspections.

Conversely, failing to incorporate effective unit programs may be perceived as ignoring the human dimension and can incur risk.

To counter this risk and take unit programs a step further, 1AD DIVARTY developed a "Yellow Book" which captures the leader education material gleaned in the counseling course as a leader pocket guide for follow on counseling activity.

This arms junior leaders with a quick reference guide for counseling and Soldier resiliency. Units should strongly consider implementing solid unit programs to ensure a full return on investment into the Army's current and future junior enlisted leaders.

Finally, from a CSM perspective, sharing concrete experiences, continually reinforcing counseling benefits, and consistently demanding quality investment in those we lead through counseling helps to solidify and improve unit counseling programs.

Continuous Development and the Benefits of Counseling

According to ATP 6-22.1 (2024), regular counseling provides leaders with opportunities to:

Unit and organizational leaders can encourage individual readiness by discussing the pillars of fitness goals in developmental counseling, individual development plans, or their leadership philosophies (DA, 2020b).

Consistent, quality counseling demonstrates genuine care and concern. When Soldiers feel as though leaders are investing in them it inspires service and builds trust.

Soldiers who trust their leaders and are inspired to serve increase unit readiness and individual resiliency. In a nutshell, counseling is never a check the box event, it's a deliberate, purposeful, and powerful act of engaged leadership.

Conclusion

Counseling is the connective tissue between the mission, leaders, and those they lead. It is an effective method of leader development, grooming future stewards of the Army profession.

Effective counseling helps provide clear purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish goals and objectives. Increasing counseling effectiveness through leader training and certification, leveraging experts and experience, and improving overall unit programs in the operational domain develops leaders and strengthens the profession.

Strong unit counseling programs enable unit leaders to build trust, confidence, and resiliency so Soldiers can fight, win, and survive in LSCO and in life.

References

Department of the Army. (2017). Army Training and Leader Development (AR 350-1). https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN44161-AR_350-1-001-WEB-2.pdf

Department of the Army. (2020a). The noncommissioned officer guide (TC 7-22.7). https://armypubs.army.mil/ProductMaps/PubForm/TC.aspx

Department of the Army. (2020b). Holistic health and fitness. (FM 7-22 w/CHG 1 Incl.) https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN30964-FM_7-22-001-WEB-4.pdf

Department of the Army. (2021). Training (FM 7-0). https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN35076-FM_7-0-000-WEB-1.pdf

Department of the Army. (2022). Developing leaders (FM 6-22). https://armypubs.army.mil/ProductMaps/PubForm/Details.aspx?PUB_ID=1025933

Department of the Army. (2024). Providing feedback: counseling-coaching-mentoring (ATP 6-22.1). https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN40232-ATP_6-22.1-000-WEB-1.pdf

Department of the Army. (2025). Army command policy (AR 600-20). https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN46266-AR_600-20-000-WEB-1.pdf

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the NCO Journal, the U.S. Army, or the U.S. Department of War.

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