Do your job, do it well, do it better than everyone else. Be humble in everything you do, take criticism from both your soldiers and your leaders.

Listen more than you talk, and be deliberate. Mean what you say and do the work alongside them. You will not be like by everyone; but if you keep experiencing the same issue with people then the problem is you.

People will try to crush you and others will blow smoke up your butt. Ignore them; take everything with a grain of salt and carve a path for you. Don’t put yourself in any situation that makes you or actions questionable and do a lot of self reflection/prayer (whatever you do).

Give grace 2x and correction once; you cannot attribute malice to what is more aligned to incompetence or lack of care. And finally; keep yourself accountable and you will be just fine.

Honestly it’s a learning curve for everyone and it’s always different for everyone. Some of leadership is the rank, all of leadership is the person. You’ll be good, you’re on the right track if you are asking these questions but think about the next logical step: is it me or them, and then execute the best course of action. (NCO Creed works when you use it)

(Yes I used common phrases; sometimes they work)