Leading a team is one of the most challenging roles someone can take on. Every team relies on certain things from their leadership. Let’s explore six things all leaders owe their teams.
1. Clarity: Your People Deserve to Know the Standard
As the leader of a team, you must know what is expected of your team. Leaders need to clearly communicate and demonstrate their expectations to their teams. If the leader does not clearly communicate their expectations, team members will be confused and frustrated. Many team members will try to do the right thing, but their efforts will lack unity. Thus, creating a lack of purpose. Leaders owe their team members crystal-clear standards, roles, and a clear understanding of what “right” looks like. These standards and expectations must be communicated clearly and consistently.
2. Consistency: Fairness Builds Trust
If you are communicating the standards and expectations to your team, then you owe it to your team to consistently enforce those standards. Enforcing standards only when it’s convenient or easy destroys the leader’s credibility. Leaders who preach one set of standards but enforce a different set of standards tear down trust. Team members won’t know what the leader expects from them, and this will lead to mediocre performance. Leaders owe their teams consistency in discipline, rewards, and workload.
3. Feedback: Guidance and Recognition
Everyone deserves feedback. The members on your team need to know what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Leaders who do not provide feedback to their teams will appear neglectful. When I give feedback to my team members, I aim to convey three key points: what they should continue doing, what they should stop doing, and what they should start doing. Something they should continue doing is something they are already doing right, and that is helpful to the team’s success. Something they should stop doing is something that is not productive or harmful to the team. Something they should start doing is something that I believe will improve them. As a leader, you owe it to them to correct them when they’re off track and to recognize them when they perform above expectations. When it comes to feedback, quick and timely feedback is more effective than annual evaluations. Don’t wait to give feedback once a year; do it when feedback is needed.
4. Protection: Shielding the Team from Chaos
Not every idea or task from higher in the organization is a good one. As a leader, you owe it to your team to communicate up the chain of command when you believe they are making a mistake. Subordinate leaders need to remain loyal to the chain of command. They can do this by explaining leadership’s ideas and plans to their team, even if they disagree with them. The goal of protecting your team is to control what you can control. The leader may not be able to stop a bad idea, but they can help make it better.
5. Growth: Preparing Them for the Next Stripe
Leaders are responsible for developing their team members. You owe it to your team to provide opportunities and experiences that will grow and challenge them. You are training your replacements; prepare them for the next stripe or position.
6. Example: Be the Standard
As the leader of the team, everyone is watching you. Everything you do becomes the expected standard. Your actions have more weight than your words. Leaders owe it to their team to model discipline, integrity, and professionalism. Your example will serve as a guide for your team members. Nothing will remove your authority faster than you not following the standards that you preach. “Rules for thee, and not for me” will not be acceptable.
Bottom Line
Those stripes on your sleeve don’t belong to you; they belong to your team. Your purpose as a leader is to serve those in your charge. You are there to ensure that your team is successful and prepared for future missions. You must prioritize the mission, then the team’s needs, and finally the individuals. Be willing to make tough decisions and be unpopular for the right reason. What you owe your team isn’t optional—it’s the price of wearing the stripes. The mission doesn’t succeed unless your people do. And your people won’t succeed without your leadership.
NCO Leadership Primer 
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