In need of a 125 response/discussion to EACH of the following forum posts. There are (2) different Forum posts with different prompts. Agreement/disagreement/and/or continuing the discussion. I want you to be prepared to engage your fellow students and prepare some follow-up questions to ask one another or to challenge someone’s post. The two interactive posts should each be substantial, relevant, and engaging. Original forums discussion/topic post is as follows:

FORUM POST 1:

What is the significance of a well-defined counseling program? What objectives are you trying to obtain through counseling? How can you measure the effectiveness of counseling? What should the frequency of counseling be? Explain how counseling leads to your Marines’ development.

Hi class,

Awell-defined counseling program provides organization and a standard to follow.This prevents people from going off the wall and limits the “good idea fairy”.When counseling, some objectives are to develop Marines to their highestpotential, supporting and reinforcing good performance while correctingdeficiencies, and set goals for individual and team growth.

Counselingeffectiveness can be measured by efficiency and unit readiness. A good leaderwill continuously demand of the subordinate. The subordinate will continuouslydemand of himself, peers, and subordinates, to in turn be successful. Success producesconfidence and self-worth. In my experience, a confident Marine gets things done,thus increasing unit readiness and overall shop efficiency.

Thefrequency of counseling varies for each Marine. Counseling frequency can alsobe determined by local command policies; however, it can only be made stricterthan the original time frames. The most common counseling frequency is asfollows:

LanceCorporals and below – Initial counseling upon senior/junior relationship, andevery 30 days thereafter.

Corporalsthrough Colonels – Initial counseling upon senior/junior relationship, 90 daysafter initial counseling session, and at least every 6 months thereafter.

Counselingallows the leader and subordinate to focus on improving and maintaining futureperformance. Setting short- and long-term goals is especially important in ensuringpositive Marine development. We must follow the SMART guidelines in goalsetting and hold the Marine accountable in achieving them.

FORUM POST 2:

Explain why transparency is a best practice between you and your mentor. What attributes should you look for when choosing a mentor? What strengths do you possess that make you a good mentor? What benefits do you reap from mentoring?

Good Morning Everyone,

Transparency is a best practice between you and your mentor because it shows genuine care to coach, advise, and guide a younger Marine to enhance their technical and leadership skills, as well as intellectual and professional development. This genuine care for the development and success of the mentee will speak more volume than words ever will. When a mentor is transparent in nature it allows for a tighter bond and connection between the two. Transparency also creates and builds trust among the mentor and mentee.

When choosing a mentor you should look to find someone that has taken the same career path as you. Maybe not necessarily the same MOS but similar to it. When choosing a mentor it’s good to consider what type of person they are outside of work as well as professionally. You should choose a mentor that is trustworthy, genuine, respectable, and transparent in nature. These attributes will be vital to the mentees success later on in the future.

The strengths that I possess that make me a good mentor are the fact that when I mentor a Marine, I get to know the individual on a personal level. I figure out their likes and dislikes, what they value and what their goals are in life or the Marine Corps. I’ve found that when you connect with a younger Marine on a personal level there is a tighter bond formed. This bond creates level of trust unmatched to anything else. When I show genuine care for the well being and success of the mentee they open up more to me and become more transparent as well. Listening is the best attribute and strength a mentor can have. Sometimes the mentor doesn’t need to talk all the time. Sometimes the mentee just needs an ear to listen. It’s the mentors job to understand when to listen and when to talk.

The benefits reaped from mentoring are the satisfaction that you made a difference in someone’s life. This includes watching them grow and mature to not only being as good as you, but even better and being happy with their success. It means more to me to see my Marines get credit for their accomplishments, not me riding the coat tails of their success. Mentors learn from their mentees as well. This knowledge will provide a better insight for later on Marines you mentor. No two Marines are the same and it’s good to learn from your mistakes as a mentor in order to not make the same mistakes again.