How do great leaders create more great leaders?

The greatest leader I was ever privileged to know personally, albeit to a very small extent, was the commander of my unit, with whom I'd been allowed to chat at one point for nearly an hour when I'd been in, back when dinos roamed the Pleistocene, lol. I found out later he flew over something like 174 combat missions in Vietnam in an OV-10 Bronco, that light tail mounted turboprop aircraft depicted in the gene Hackman Danny Glover film bat 21, if any of you have seen it, a true story. The commander of my unit had given me an appreciation plaque that day, which is indelibly etched in my memory, for some work I'd done, which, candidly, and truthfully, I genuinely hadn't expected, in all honesty. I only recall the almost overawing sheer raw emotional power of the man, and the way he helped me, in speaking with him, to be, I think, genuinely all the better for having been able to speak with him at such length. He'd been a Col when I'd met him, though he'd been approved for BGen, and was just waiting for his pin-on date, the day all that happened.Thee PMS and Assoc PMS of my prior army ROTC unit, as I'd initially been slated to go army, rather than, as happened later on, USAF, had also been Vietnam war heroes, the PMS had given me an award for the AUSA-US Army ROTC for military history for a paper I did for him on wargaming, they, too, profoundly influenced me, many times. I'd also been able, once, while at USAF OTS then at Lackland, before Maxwell, to actually see, and ask a couple of questions of, one of the Apollo astronauts, who'd been invited to chat with us by the USAF OTS commandant, also a most impressive man, who was evidently a personal friend of his. I was also much affected by both of the USAF OTS flight commanders whom supervised me while I went through the program there, I was recycled once. I'd also been allowed, while in army ROTC, to go up to West point for drills with my unit, rappelling on the cliff there, as well as staying in the barracks with the cadets sevl times, and to eat with them in the famous dining hall where Gregory Peck had re-enacted the speech by Gen MacArthur in the film about him. I just thought you might all find that useful by way of some insights , hope was of interest, be eager for any thoughts, many thanks.

I use the hope Method.......Help Other People Evolve.

Team... I think its been said; however, I feel it merits further mentioning.

The first thing the leaders has to be is genuine and care for their charges. This is very evident to juniors and the false leader is discovered quickly.

The second is the environment the leader establishes for their charges to grow. This can be done in all operating environments.... and in my opinion a leader that can create this environment... when in a "poor" organizational environment... provide their charges with the knowledge that the "leader sets the tone"... don't ever blame upper management for the climate you can control.

Third.... Provide as clear guidance as possible... or be clear that the guidance you are providing is the best you can provide based on what you have been given.

Lastly.... the followers have to have trust that their leader has there back. This element is the one necessary for leader development... so that growth and education can flourish.

These blended together have worked well for me for over 20 years... and I feel that I have provided a pretty good legacy for the Army.

My 2 cents and hope they help.

Cam