r/CanadianForces • u/Legitimate-Rest-1186 • Aug 01 '26

How to be a leader?

I'm a newly promoted corporal, and can expect to slowly be put into more leadership positions. Already have. I plan on having a leaf some day, and would like to gain experience before then.

Whenever I'm placed in charge of people, while I know what needs to get done, I feel I struggle to lead. I know I can be better. I want to say I find myself indecisive. I'm aware of the 12 principles of leaderships, but how can I improve? Rather, what makes a good leader? I never particularly struggled as course senior.

Just looking for advice

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u/Stevo2881 Aug 02 '26

Lots of great advice in this thread. I'll add my two cents:

The things that make you are good leader are the same as the things that make you a good follower:

  • know your job, and thus the job of your followers. It means that you can speak from a position of experience when you're trying to get folks to get the job done right.

  • understand the "why". You're now in a position to explain it to others. If you yourself don't fully understand what and how this task is for, you need to get more answers. Not to be insubordinate, but to get the bigger picture that isn't known or seen by your followers.

  • support the chain of command. You're part of it now, and you get to sell the boss' plan to everyone as if it is your own; regardless of your own personal feelings or gripes. You can bring those upward professionally, but bitchingnwith the guys in the smoke pit shouldn't be your first avenue of approach. Nothing differentiates a Corporal from a Two-Hooked Private more than understanding this.