Posted on Dec 8, 2013
What do YOU think YOUR best method of motivating your troops is?
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Doing something because you have to and because you want to are two different things. How do YOU as a leader best motivate your troops to WANT to follow you? For me, it is by being tough but fair. I have found that even though I am very demanding of my Soldiers, I have demonstrated to them that I am also fair and will fight for them. This has been the thing that has brought the most positive feedback from my Soldiers, past and present.
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Motivation
Motivation
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I was taught long ago, lead from the front, never ask your soldiers to do anything that you wouldn't do works much better than do it because I told you too, if you show them you are capable and willing to do the dirty jobs that you eventually task them to do, they will have more respect for you and be willing to do them without complaint. I would say this was probably true for about 90-95% of what I dealt with in my career.
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CMDCM Gene Treants
#1 Rule is Train like you fight. Makes no difference if that means dragging fully charged fire hoses around during fire fighting training and wearing full fire fighting equipment or donning full Camies and Combat gear to fight the Blue army in the woods of Ft. Bragg. Train as if your life depends on it.
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SSG (Join to see)
I agree MCPO Treants....fight fight fight and fight some more... everyday either here in garrison or abroad as military members we are part of a greater good and expected to perform without hesitation... We are constantly criticized for our shortcomings and atrocities and underappreciated for the adversaries we take out...even now internally as a military during this downsizing we are battling one another for position and rank... this domino never-ending process is what makes the military great. the next generation will face and endure most of the same controversies we have to date. I t will just be somewhere else in a jungle, desert, ice cube, or forrest.
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I maintain a candid, open but professional relationship with my Soldiers. I am always "loving" anything that is going on...showing that I can smile through adversity. I take care of my troops, and I work hard for them. Due to this, they are invested in me as well and they seem to work hard to accomplish the tasks and missions that I assign. They know that I have their best interests in mind and they understand that if I am providing guidance, that it is because the mission needs it. They trust me and my leadership, so they trust what I put out. They also seem me out there working next to them when I can. They see me running my tail off in the office to take care of them. They know that they can pull me aside at any point and talk to me if they need help. They know that I there to help them, to lead them, and to take care of them....and they work hard to take care of me too.
That is one of the best things about the military: we can develop such a strong bond that we will go through hell to ensure that we succeed as a team and as individuals. Once you develop that cohesiveness, magic happens and amazing things take place. It is amazing to see what a team will accomplish when they are motivated and dedicated to the team.
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Leading by example. Every time I PCS'd, withing the first week of taking over a new AO (motorpool), I would stay late/work over the weekend and rearrange and clean the entire office area myself. When the Soldiers came in on Monday I would explain that this is the new standard and I expect it to be maintained. Never had any issues.
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