COUNSELING: Week 2 Wrap-up & Quiz

We covered a lot of ground on counseling this week. We looked at two categories of counseling, and a lot of the skills and qualities counselors need. Let’s do a quick review, then dive into this week’s quiz! (Link here if you can’t wait)

Next week we cover the last of our unit on counseling – The Four Stages of Counseling!

Here’s a quick review of this week’s major takeaways:

The major takeaways:

Performance counseling is the review of a subordinate’s duty performance during a specified period.

• Establish performance objectives and clear standards for the next counseling period.

• Focuses on the subordinate’s strengths, weaknesses, and potential.

• Provides specific examples.

• Providing guidance on how to improve.

• Performance counseling is required under the officer, noncommissioned officer, and Army Civilian evaluation reporting systems.

• Ensure that performance objectives and standards focus on the organization’s objectives and the individual’s professional development.

• They should also echo the objectives on their leader’s support form.

Professional growth counseling includes:

• Planning for individual and professional goals.

• Leader and subordinate and discuss the subordinate’s strengths and weaknesses and to create an individual development plan.

• That plan builds upon those strengths and compensates for (or eliminates) shortcomings.

• May include short- and long-term goals and objectives.

• Includes opportunities for:

• Civilian or military schooling

• Future duty assignments

• Special programs

• Training support resources

• Reenlistment options

• Promotion opportunities and considerations.

• Documentation of this discussion results in an individual development plan.

• Each individual development plan will vary as every person’s needs and interests are different.

THE LEADER AS COUNSELOR

• Leaders assist their subordinates in identifying strengths and weaknesses and creating plans of action.

• support their Soldiers and Army Civilians throughout implementation and continued assessment.

• Conduct counseling to help subordinates become better team members, maintain or improve performance, and prepare for the future.

key characteristics include:

• Purpose

• Flexibility

• Respect

• Communication

• Support

Effective counselors listen more than they speak.

THE QUALITIES OF THE COUNSELOR

• Respect for subordinates

• Self-awareness

• Cultural awareness

• Empathy

• Credibility.

The technique used must fit the situation, leader capabilities, and subordinate expectations.

COUNSELING SKILLS

• Analyze missions, identify required tasks, and take appropriate actions. These are military skills that can be applied to problem-solving counseling.

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• Active listening

• Responding.

• Appropriate questioning.

COUNSELING PRACTICES

• Competent leaders avoid:

• Rash judgments

• Stereotyping

• Losing emotional control

• Inflexible counseling methods, or improper follow-up.

Leaders should be open to new ideas and thoughts.

Effective counseling sessions follow these general guidelines:

• Determine the subordinate’s role in the situation and what has been done to resolve the issue.

• Focus attention on the subordinate […] Understand what the subordinate says and feels.

• Encourage the subordinate to take the initiative and speak aloud.

• Remain objective

• Display empathy when discussing the issue. Be receptive to the subordinate’s emotions without feeling responsible.

• Ask open-ended questions for relevant information; avoid interrogating the subordinate.

• Listen more and talk less; avoid interrupting.

• Keep personal experiences out of the counseling session.

• Draw conclusions based on all available information, not just the subordinate’s statement.

• Enable the subordinate to help himself or herself.

• Know what information to keep confidential and what to present to the chain of command, if necessary.

ACCEPTING LIMITATIONS

• Army leaders cannot help everyone in every situation.

• Recognize their personal limitations and seek outside assistance when required.

ADDRESSING RESISTANCE

Leader resistance comes from:

• Lack of good examples (wasn’t properly counseled before)

• No role model

• Does not understand counseling (have we got a web site for them!)

• Lack of time

• Resigned to failure

• Concern about violating reg/policy

• May see counseling as only corrective/punitive.

• Confrontation averse

• Lack of respect for/belief in subordinate

Subordinate resistance:

• Is often a reaction to the purpose or message of the counseling session.

• They may be embarrassed, misunderstand the intention of the counseling session

• May disagree with the leader’s assessment of the situation.

• May not want to change

• May blame the leader for the issue

• May dislike being held accountable

• May defy being disciplined.

• May not respect or trust the leader.

Leaders successfully overcome subordinate resistance by applying positive counseling practices.

To overcome resistance in counseling, leaders can employ several techniques to redirect the subordinate:

• Reconfirm the counseling session purpose—be specific and keep focused on the details (such as conditions, triggers, and outcomes) of the situation; refrain from any personal attacks on the subordinate.

• Keep the discussion professional and balanced in tone—do not argue or place blame on any party.

• Discuss the suspected resistance openly with the subordinate and respect his or her response.

• Slow the tempo of the session—rely on pertinent open-ended questions to give the subordinate the appropriate time and ability to reveal information and be an active participant in the counseling session.

• Focus on one specific behavior, its effect, and the consequences to minimize overwhelming the subordinate. It may be necessary to divide the session into multiple meetings to address each area adequately. Further, the leader should prioritize these discussions based on the needs of the individual and unit.

Take A Deep Dive into The Weekly Quiz: