What advice can you give a Cadet commissioning in the Army on how to be an effective leader?

1) Learn from your NCOs. Take charge, yes....but do not dismiss the advice and guidance from your NCOs
2) Firm and fair. If your troops do no wrong but sh*t bullets get fly in their direction, do not be afraid to take those hits for them. The other side of that coin is that if the bullets are warranted, then do your duty as required.
3) Realize and understand that you will screw up. We all do. How you bounce back and re-adjust your fire from those screw ups.....that will show how good a Soldier and Leader you can be.
4) Do not take every order you are given to the exact letter of the order. Always remember that there will be times when you can use flexibility and ingenuity to execute the mission(s) given.
5) For all that is holy, please remember to use common sense. Too many leaders (young and old) seem to forget what that is.
6) Inventory and accountability. Know what you have, where its at, and who has it. You don't want to find out some rainy day that you are signed for a piece of equipment that you never saw before.
7) Don't alienate yourself from your troops. Get to know them. And not just their birthdays. Stuff you wouldnt think of, get to know that. An example would be.....if you know you have a Soldier whose parents are having a wedding anniversary....tell him to take a 5 minute break from work and to call home and wish them said happy anniversary.
8) If you dont have to be in a meeting or a briefing.....and there is dirty work to be done......roll those sleeves up and get dirty with them. Soldiers really do love to see their leaders chew the same dirt they have to.

What all of these boil down to is this.....take care of your people and your people will take care of you.

Just some general advice on how to set yourself apart from your peers once you commission:

1) don't be a scumbag. The rank 2LT literally carries no weight, so don't walk around acting like you're a general. Because everyone knows you aren't worth anything. Eyes and ears open, mouth shut. Too many lieutenants out there think they run the show. They don't.

2) Don't be ate up. There are certain things that are easy to get right. So get them right. When you get to BOLC, you're gonna see other lieutenants make some mistakes that will have you questioning whether or not they're really in the army. Don't do stupid stuff like text in formation. If you ever get the opportunity to lead PRT, don't forget the exercises. Don't ever appear in the incorrect uniform, basic stuff you already know, but I promise you'll be surprised when your peers do them.

3)always be prepared, and always know what's going on. If you know you have to give a briefing of some sort , know what you're talking about. If you have the opportunity to practice what you'll have to do in advance , practice.

4) take every chance you get to learn something new. Especially at bolc. It's easy to lay low there. Don't. Volunteer for everything. Because then you'll come out ahead of your peers.

5) do the dirty work with your soldiers. As an officer you're really not above your soldiers. You can earn so much respect from them by helping them load up trucks, clean up after training, etc. don't think that you shouldn't be doing that because you're an officer.

And finally, remember you're the example. When things go wrong, when stuff is hard, people are gonna look at you to see how you react. And that's a big deal. Don't be that guy complaining about the weather at training. Don't sit there and get depressed because your plan didn't go quite the way you wanted it. Be resilient to everything.

I'm a relatively new LT, just finished bolc , so I can't give you much , but I have served on a staff and as a platoon leader, at the battalion and brigade level, so if you have any more questions feel free to ask

All the best.

Be aware of the divide between you and your soldiers, but don't let it define you. Always be willing to listen. Praise in public, scold in private. Don't let yourself be walked on, but don't walk on others. And, if you see an e-9 without coffee in his or her hand, smartly about face and find something wrong far, far away to deal with!