Episode 71: Lead, Develops, Achieves: The Second Part of the Triple Threat

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Are you struggling to write NCOER bullets that truly capture your leadership impact? The difference between mediocre and exceptional Army leaders comes down to understanding three critical competencies: Leads, Develops, and Achieves.

In this essential episode, we break down exactly what these competencies mean beyond the official language of DAPAM and AR 623-3. Your rater and senior rater aren't just looking for buzzwords—they're evaluating how effectively you influence others, build trust, communicate purpose, and deliver results under pressure. I share concrete examples of powerful bullets that demonstrate each competency in action, helping you transform vague accomplishments into quantifiable impacts.

The "Develops" competency deserves special attention as it represents your leadership legacy. When you properly develop subordinates, you create a force multiplier effect that extends your impact throughout the organization. Too many NCOs fail here due to misguided concerns about job security. I explain why the opposite is true—strong development of your replacement actually accelerates your own advancement.

What separates truly exceptional leaders is how they bring everything together through the "Achieves" competency. It's not just about checking boxes; it's about taking ownership and delivering measurable results that elevate your entire organization's performance. Whether someone's watching or not, these competencies should inform every aspect of your leadership.

Ready to transform your leadership approach? Join me in this practical, no-nonsense breakdown of Army leadership fundamentals. Share this episode with your battle buddies, follow the show for weekly Army insights, and connect with me on social media to discuss your specific leadership challenges. Remember—you don't have to embrace the suck if you've got the right tools in your ruck.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So here's a question what do the best leaders in the
armies have in common?
They don't just have the lookof a leader, they produce
results, they lead, they developothers and they achieve
outcomes that impact theirsoldiers, their units and the
mission.
So welcome back to the RogerSarne Podcast, where we talk all

(00:21):
things army and I'm your host,sarne Cruz, and today we're
going to break down the ArmyCorps Leadership Competencies,
which are Leads, develops andAchieves, and it's coming
straight out of DAPAM and AR623-3.
So, when it comes to thesethree words, they aren't just

(00:43):
words.
They're literally what yourRaider and Senior Raider are
watching for when they'rewriting your NCOER, and that's
going to define the kind ofleader you and, most importantly
, the kind of leader you havethe potential to be, because
that's what the Raider doesright, what you did, and what
the Senior Raider does, what youhave the potential to do.

(01:06):
So by the end of this episode,you'll know exactly what these
competencies look like in actionand how to write a clear,
quantifiable bullets that standout, because, at the end of the
day, the hell with fillerbullets.
So let's lock in.
To start off, let's talk aboutleads.

(01:27):
So to lead, it means more thanjust giving orders, because
anybody can give orders.
It's about influencing othersand setting the example.
It's about building trustwithin your organization.
It's about driving home thepurpose, because at the end of
the day, you have to understandthat these troops are smarter

(01:48):
nowadays and they just want toknow what the purpose is of what
we're doing.
So here are some guidelines andyou can see it on the support
form on the dash one alpha.
If you go down to page threeand four, you will see them.
But the guidelines are you haveto lead others, you have to
build trust, you have to extendinfluence beyond the chain of

(02:12):
command and then you have tolead others by example and then
communicate.
Those are the guidelines, rightFor these example bullets that
I'm about to give you, for theseexample bullets that I'm about
to give you.
So bullet number one led a 36soldier platoon during a 14 day

(02:45):
field training exercise, or youcan just say FT program resulted
in 25% increase in reenlistmentinterest.
Bullet number three maintainopen communication channels with
three adjacent units, reducingresponse time to incidents by

(03:05):
45%.
So you got to understandleading isn't just what you say,
it's what you do when thepressure hits the fan at the end
of the day.
So as long as you stay withinthose parameters when writing
your bullets, you're going to bejust fine when writing your
bullets, you're going to be justfine.

(03:28):
And let's talk about develops,and this one is kind of like a
leadership multiplier, becausewhen you develop others, it
means that you're going tocreate a positive environment,
it means that you're going toprepare others for future roles,
it means that you're going tobe counseling and mentoring and
it means that you're going to beinvesting in their professional
development or yourprofessional development.
Because, like I'm going to behonest, like in my opinion, in

(03:51):
my humble opinion, this is kindof like the legacy piece of your
leadership, like knowing thatyour soldier grew because you
showed up for them.
Right, and think about theforce multiplier If I know how
to conduct a certain task and Iteach two people, two troops,

(04:15):
how to do it, now it's three ofus that can conduct that same
task to the same standard, whichmeans that we can divide and
conquer thus the forcemultiplier.
So let me give you the examplebullets, right, because I kind
of got to do it.
So, bullet number one conductedmonthly counseling for nine

(04:36):
soldiers resulted in three earlypromotions and 100% school
enrollment.
Bullet number two created amentorship program for E4s
transitioning to NCOs.
Six of seven soldiers promotedwithin six months.
Bullet number three Built andmaintained a developmental

(05:00):
tracking matrix, enabledtailored training plans and
improved teams' readiness by 35%.
So, at the end of the day,developing is not just coaching,
it's kind of like it's creatinga space for others to succeed.

(05:21):
Right, because as ncos, it's ourjob to steward the profession.
So think about this.
You go to a section.
Let's say, I don't, you want togo to the S1, because everyone
has to go through the S1 at somepoint in their career.
Right, when they get to theunit, you go to the S1 and they

(05:43):
say, well, this person is nothere, so we have to wait until
tomorrow to do this specifictask that you want to do right,
or this action task that youwant to do right, or this action
, and you're like well, it's sixof you in here, why can't one

(06:05):
of you guys do it?
And, by section, each sectionhas, like, soldiers who do
specific tasks and that's cool.
But if everyone's trained onthe same thing, then, that said,
action can happen.
Another example if I'm the leadNCO, if I'm the NCOIC of a
section and, for instance, I goon leave for two weeks and I'm
constantly getting calls by mysubordinate that I left in

(06:29):
charge, then that tells me thatI didn't steward the profession
correctly, because I'm notputting them up on game, I'm not
training them to do my job, totake my job right.
I think that's kind of like abig deal.
A lot of NCOs and, I guess,people in general, because this
is also a thing that happens inthe civilian world as well it's

(06:50):
job security right.
So if I learn something I won'tteach it to someone else
because and then they can takemy job.
One thing in the army you wantthat junior NCO to take your job
because that means that you canmove up faster.
When I was in um, I was in thirdbrigade and I was in three

(07:11):
eight and I remember SergeantGiffen.
He took my job and it was easyfor me to go up to the brigade
because I was.
I was with the platoon, I was aplatoon sergeant and I got the
opportunity to.
I was nominated to go to be thebrigade medical and COIC and I
wouldn't have probably not beenable to go up there if Sergeant

(07:34):
Giffen wasn't.
He was good, naturally, but Ijust gave him everything that I
knew, right.
And who's to say that hewouldn't have taken it anyway?
But I, I, I'm going to take alittle bit of credit for it
because I taught him everythingI could.
I knew about whatever it wasthat I knew about being a

(07:55):
platoon sergeant, right.
So I say all that to say thisIf they give you a call or two,
that's fine, but if you'regetting a call every day, then
you're not stewarding theprofession.
So another thing if thispodcast is helping you grow, do
me a solid subscribe and shareit with your team.

(08:16):
And if you're listening on the,on the, on the audio version,
just drop a five-star rating andfollow the show.
All right, let's keep it moving.
Achieves this is where it kindof like all comes together.
This is like you've done A, band now C is where it's go time.

(08:39):
Like you've inspired, you'vetrained your soldiers and now
it's time to execute.
So Achieves is about executingthe task to standard.
It's about accomplishing themission and getting measurable
results, because you can sithere and you can conduct the

(09:00):
class.
Let's do something simple youcan conduct a class and if
everyone fails, you did conductthe mission.
You did, you went from A to Z,but if 60% of your class fails,
then you didn't get measurableresults or positive measurable

(09:21):
results, because you did getmeasurable results but they
weren't positive.
So here it is right.
Here, your measurable resultsare what?
The ones that you're going toput on your NCOER?
Because you're not going to put60% failure rate, you're going
to put 70%, 80%, 90% pass rate.
So achieves is it?

(09:42):
This is the bottom line.
So let's get some examples onthat.
Number one supervise the setupof a battalion aid station
during field trainings.
Treat it 112 personnel withzero mission timelines, with
zero missed timelines.
Number two manage annual SRPfor 450 soldiers, achieving 98%

(10:09):
deployable status in four days.
And if you know how hard it isto get a battalion in one spot
in a span of four days, that,right there, 98% is killer, all
right.
Number three coordinated withS4 to redistribute medical
supplies, reducing shortages by60% across five companies.

(10:34):
Now you guys have to remember,man, like results aren't just
about checking the block.
It's kind of like like you gotto think about it.
They're about like impacts thatyour actions have on the
mission and your team.
Slash organization, yourleaders look good, and when that

(11:00):
leader looks good, the nextlevel, you and it just it's from
the ground up right, you'regonna get your, you're gonna get
your, your marching orders fromhigher and then you're gonna
execute and then the mission isgonna be completed from the
ground up.
And if the base, like, if theground isn't up to par and it's
done mediocre, and then that'sgoing to be a mediocre

(11:21):
organization.
And this is why I always preach, and many other leaders preach
take pride in what you do.
If you're fixing a vehicle, youfix it as if it's your vehicle,
as if it's your freaking, as ifit your, your, your your suv,
your sedan, whatever it is thatyou drive, your bicycle, I don't

(11:41):
care.
You fix it that way because youhave to own it, and that's what
I like to preach you takeownership of everything that's
around you.
So there you have it.
Man leads, is, develops andachieves right.
These three competencies definewhat it means to be a leader in
the army.
That's, I'm telling you.
It's.
You got your attributes andcompetencies.

(12:03):
Attributes and competencies,and they're not just like for
the NCOER, they're for everypatrol.
You go on every formation,every moment, whether someone's
watching or not.
That's the big one.
So what's my challenge to you?
Put these competencies intoaction.

(12:24):
Lead with confidence, developyour team and achieve what
others say is impossible.
Because you can do it, trust me.
In your head, you think youcan't.
Sometimes your body may tellyou not, because you're kind of
tired, but you can do it, trustme.
So if this podcast brought youvalue, then here's the mission

(12:45):
send it to a battle buddy.
Who needs to hear it?
Follow the show for weekly armybreakdowns?
Because you know I do it.
Hit me up on socials and I wantto know what leadership
challenges you're facing rightnow.
And if you found this video oncompetencies helpful, then just
go ahead and watch my othervideo about the attributes, so

(13:08):
you can get the full spectrum.
And remember you don't have toembrace the suck if you got the
right tools in your ruck.
I'm Sarn Cruz and I'll see youin the next one.
Peace.