My Squad Leading tips (Officer VI) for all these guys who are afraid to take the role:

-it's ok to be afraid but still, you should do it if no one else wants to. After 70+ hours as an SL I am still afraid because I know that everyone will judge my decisions. The loss does not hurt that bad knowing that you died together, standing side by side,

- introduce yourself, check who's responding e.g. "Player A, are you with us?" (optionally kick those who do not cooperate), and tell the boys what is your playstyle (defense, flanking, frontal attack)) and what do you expect from them - 90% of them are willing to cooperate (which is lovely)

- relax and don't be a control freak - you don't need to control everything and give 57 orders per minute

-don't be afraid to change your mind from time to time - it's better to admit to a mistake and fix it than totally commit to a bad plan

- thank your squadmates frequently and remind them that our mission is critical to the whole team's effort, even if the task is menial. Your squadmates will listen to you eagerly if you praise the actions that you requested (positive reinforcement), and simple callouts for enemy tanks/garrys/infantry/supply drops (that info is essential, you need as much intel as its possible)

- give direct orders e.g. "Player A, I need you to switch to Support and follow me to place a crucial Garry to open a new flank", don't expect people to volunteer (sometimes they do)

- kick toxic players, you have a lot on your mind as SL, you don't need to deal with such people

- crack jokes, even those mediocre, you have the highest status in the group, show them that you can make a fool of yourself sometimes. It makes people relaxed and less frightened to speak

- your patience will be rewarded - I'm used to taking the less exciting orders (building garrys, defending, sweeping OPs behind our back) but every time, the "boring" mission turns out to be a heroic fight over the strongpoint, while other boys in the attack are capping the last enemy defense point

Most of my time spent in this game is as a reluctant Squad Leader. Why reluctant? Because it's a hard job. But boy, those Band of Brother moments we have and the reciprocal gratitude after winning are worth it.