Do you believe weak leadership brings weakened morale? If so, how can it be improved?

2016-10-16T17:05:12-04:00

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2016 5:07 PM

2016-10-16T17:07:05-04:00

No, it depends on the supervisor.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Oct 16 at 2016 7:21 PM

2016-10-16T19:21:57-04:00

I would agree the answer to this is NO, and you can learn a lot from weak leadership and should not discount the experience. In a lot of cases it is an opportunity for you to step forwards and help out.

Response by CPT Nicholas D. made Oct 17 at 2016 12:39 AM

2016-10-17T00:39:37-04:00

For the sake of discussion, I am going to say "it can." I don't think they are always permanent cause-effect, but I have seen how weak leadership can negatively impact the morale of an organization.

Example 1: "Yes-Man" commander accepts every non-sense assignment from higher = Unit gets burned out and morale suffers.

Example 2: Command team tip-toes on cultural issues affecting unit, afraid to cross any PC lines (negatively affecting their career progression) = Unit implodes on itself

Example 3: Absent leadership, leaders are not engaged with the operations of the unit = Unit feels directionless and stagnant = Morale decreases.

I think strong (and positive) leadership is one of the best sources of morale. Leaders who can "rally" their troops, develop strong bonds of trust between the unit and chain of command, and breed heavy Esprit de Corps are the best recipe to prevent Low Morale.

Intent is critical too... One of the first questions that etches morale is the age old question "What the f... are we doing here?" If clear intent is communicated, "Hey folks, we are simply here to do ________," it eases the depression that some soldiers feel when they lack of direction and purpose. Especially on deployment, this is vital.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Oct 17 at 2016 12:03 PM

2016-10-17T12:03:16-04:00

It can be looked at as weak leadership encourages lower morale or at least doesn't do anything to improve it. Weak leadership has a habit of not doing the right things by their folk. I'm not talking about entitlements or hand outs. I'm talking about making sure people are trained correctly to do their job, showing appreciation for hard work, helping your crew stay safe, and being an overall contributor. We're also talking about correct selective pruning of the bottom end of the bell curve in a timely manner. Weak leadership encourages mediocrity and that's boring. Good people shift into mark time mode but are antsy to move on into something better.

I think we've all experienced small unit far away from the flagpole high energy and morale situations. Then when you get back in with the crowd, there's an inertial mass that drags you down. It's the same with all outfits, MIL, commercial, academic, you name it. A lot of it has to do with figuring out what piece you own and everyone else knows it and appreciates it. Harder to be visible in the herd.

Response by SSG Jeremy Sharp made Oct 17 at 2016 10:15 PM

2016-10-17T22:15:15-04:00

Unit leadership and unit morale are usually directly related. If your unit leadership is lacking, then the unit usually lacks direction and the motivation of subordinate membership is then diluted as they are unsure of the support they will receive from their chain of command. If subordinate leaders are unclear as to whether they have the support of the senior unit leadership, they will feel stifled and be less likely to exercise initiative and innovation in their approach to subordinate development which will have a stagnating effect to all levels of unit performance. This gives a unit a status quo morale rather than an esprit de corps sense of belonging to a larger entity dedicated to mission success.