The old inspections were directive and often extremely harsh. Inspectors knew what they were looking for, the checklists provided detailed instruction and inspectors never deviated from the checklists. Woe be to the unit or commander who had not followed the checklist to the letter. More recent inspection programs are friendlier, less threatening and focus on educating and developing. This analogy, with the difference in focus between old and new inspections, works with developmental counseling too.
Developmental counseling sounds new.
Counseling makes those counseled more involved, more committed and more responsible for their own personal and professional development. Those properly counseled become better individual and collective team members. Counseling helps subordinates succeed because leaders can chart a focused plan for a soldier's personal and professional growth, both near term and long range. Effective counseling is not directive, one-way communication. While there may be a time and place for such activity, it is not what we mean when we discuss our new leadership doctrine and developmental counseling.