[June 18, 2026] It wasn’t that long ago that a good friend of mine, very accomplished as an Army Captain, gave some great advice to his Lieutenants. He said that leadership is about caring but, what are the elements of caring? Success is in the details and he was going to make it easy for them.
He said that to be a good Lieutenant (or any leader in any position) needs to have a certain mindset. “Watch your Soldiers and every time they do something good, you say ‘Ha, I saw that, here’s what you did and I like it.’” And give them a small reward; mostly recognition in front of other Soldiers.
I used to do that with my Army Medics. Most of them had not been trained in how to properly check on my Company Soldiers. Okay, they knew the technical ways of treating various injuries and common illnesses but they were more reactive, rather than proactive.
Mostly, those medics are close to worthless, not exactly, but they did not have a proactive process in the tool bag. I think that many of them were testing me out as their commander to see if I cared, and they would just to the minimum to get by. They would talk to my Soldiers and ask if they had any medical problem, so they could sit back and relax.
The first time one of them checked a Soldier’s feet for blisters without being told, I would say, “I noticed your effort to keep our troopers going, thanks.” And, now and then they would do something else that actually mattered, and was more proactive. I would make note of that and say that all their other duties were not up to par, but the action of caring for a Soldier’s feet is excellent work.
I can tell you, unequivocally, that this made my Medics love those Lieutenants. A little pat on the back goes a long way for someone who supports your unit. The idea is simple and it is not manipulative, it is something intrinsically good, and they were learning how to be good medic. They knew they were being a good medic and revealed in their improved capabilities.
Recognize even the small things. Reward them. That is how you can get people to be better, to be more than they thought they could be. Leaders say they care about those who work for them. We too often don’t educate them about the basic element of caring: recognition and reward.
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Good question. The best leaders do care, but what are the elements of caring? Gen. Satterfield begins to answer that question here. And the answer is to RECOGNIZE good behavior, and then REWARD it.
Fred, thanks for the solid comment on my post. You captured the core perfectly. Recognition and reward form the foundation of genuine caring in leadership. In my units, proactive medics quickly stepped up after consistent praise. Small acknowledgments in front of peers built real motivation. This approach turned minimum effort into excellence. Caring isn’t abstract; it’s visible actions like foot checks. Leaders who master this elevate entire teams. Keep leading by example, Fred.
Thank you too Army Captain for your serivce and giving us some common sense leadership advice. Caring matters. Seeing and rewarding good behaivor matters too.