Hi all, I have just been promoted to FS and to the role of NCO IC. I am fine with the FS as I have effectively been doing the role for a while. I have inherited the nco team in a bad state which I’ll explain to you. we have 2 sgts, one who is very immature but slowly improving and the other that rarely turns up. then there are 6 young cpls, they all got promoted less than 3 months ago and are still on probation. 3 of these are very good and on the ball, two are getting there but need more work and the last one is unlikely to pass probation due to attitude and abuse of rank.
I am trying to put together an NCO development plan, with the main focus to be teamwork and communication. The next is self discipline and then initiative.
Does anyone have any example development plans or any ways they think teamwork could be improved?
any ideas would help, thanks in advance
I think the ultimate goal is to have an essentially autonomous group of trusted cadet NCOs that are trusted to run tasks, and even entire parade nights. My NCO team are at this stage, but that might feel a long way off for your team. Here are some things that I’ve implemented, which might help you get there too:
It’s important to start being really clear about what you actually want from your NCOs, and liaise with staff if possible so it’s clear everyone is on the same journey. Produce a ‘duty NCO’ list of responsibilities, then create a rota so there is a different duty NCO each night. This is a simple way to see how well the NCO follows instructions and take initiative and also helps with the day to day running of a parade evening. When creating duty NCO responsibilities, think about what needs doing on a day to day parade night and give timings next to each task. I’ll provide an example in another comment.
Make time to sit down with each NCO individually and identify what their strengths and weaknesses are, then create two or three targets for them to agree to. Things like having a better standard of uniform, being more reliable, or taking more responsibility by running an activity. Try and keep targets measurable, give each target a review date (usually in a few months) and regularly check that the NCO is meeting them. if they aren’t meeting their targets, do everything you can to support them to do so.
The most important thing is whatever you implement, you need to spend some time making sure that the NCOs are following what you have asked them to do. All of the things mentioned so far are useless if the NCOs don’t follow the instructions they have been given and they aren’t being monitored. In the beginning, I’d suggest you monitor as much as you can and regularly provide constructive feedback to NCOs on an individual basis to help them achieve what you want them to achieve.
One other thing we do is at the end of every parade night, the NCOs get together for a short 5-10 minute meeting to discuss what went well during the parade night, what could be improved and what they could do better as a team. It’s also a good time to discuss what’s happening on your next parade night. Doing this regularly will really help with the communication between NCOs, and if done well can help you make rapid improvements.
My NCO team plan all parade nights formally in advance (normally in groups of two) and deliver them with practical activities and interesting resources. If you can get to this stage, you will really have a successful team you will be able to rely upon and trust. 
This is a tricky one a the leadership philosophy & ethics is also set by the CO.
Not sure if you are talking Individual plan or one for the whole team. In terms of individual development plans it needs to be mutually agreed between you and the NCO as otherwise it won’t work. Your goal should be getting the immature NCO up to standard. You will need your COs help with the non attending Sgt.
For a team plan then it need to be how you & the team will work. There’s a few different ways of doing this but one key idea is confirming roles and structure & ensuring everyone is clear in their positions according to Role, Goals & Relationships (I.e. what they do, what they are to achieve, who they work with & report to).
SMART goals are being replaced with FAST goals so you need to research what bests for you.
The other thing that might help is have them watch this video then ask them their thoughts.
Hopefully these will give you a good base from which to work from. Just don’t dawdle on trying to get your plan perfect it as otherwise things get dragged out.
Appreciate these are a big wishy washy but it comes down to what you & you CO want to achieve & how to make that happen in the Sqn environment.
The only other thing I know that’s sometimes been done is a peer review from a Cdt SNCO from another Sqn - hopefully you know enough fellow NCOs to get help through this route but if not the Wing CWO should be able to put you in touch with someone.
Hope this all helps.
We are re-doing our NCO targets now and this is all useful stuff. Thanks
Here is an example of a duty NCO checklist. Some of the tasks are just reminders for the NCO so they know what times things should be happening, and some may seem a little mundane, but they have all been designed to give an NCO responsibility and help our parade night run smoothly.
We make it the duty NCO responsibility to make sure the timings listed are adhered to.
Thanks everyone for your help. We did have a duty nco list but I will review and update it. I will also work on individual plans in the next few weeks and hopefully will see progress
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