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My unit is sucking my soldiers' motivation and morale out of them. I even find myself afflicted at times.
Posted in these groups: 
Morale
Morale
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 52
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By leading by example. You have to come in and have a "Fake it, till you make it" mindset. By you, yourself coming in and acting motivated, your soldiers will follow your example if you are a respected leader to them. Yes, I personally know it is easier said then done however IF you can get past the demotivated aspect of the issues and just have fun with it, you'll go a million miles forward. Open Communications and being honest is a huge boon for a leader and knowing this should bring you to, empathize and sympathize with your soldiers however don't get sucked into that. They will not always be in the "that unit" and change is inevitable. Paint the picture of their and your individual futures in an inspirational way, to them. Let them know that "that unit" is just a stepping stone which will teach them how NOT to do things in their futures as well as your future! Embrace the suck because there WILL BE LIGHT at the End of the Tunnel! Good luck Sgt.
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SGT Michael Thorin
SGT Cann, you're mindset had always proven itself 100% reliable throughout my career.
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SPC (Join to see)
SPC NIANG
My opinion is to apply all the way Leadership which is the process of influencing people by providing them Purpose, Direction, and Motivation to accomplish flawlessly the mission and improve the organization
My opinion is to apply all the way Leadership which is the process of influencing people by providing them Purpose, Direction, and Motivation to accomplish flawlessly the mission and improve the organization
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First, determine Why it is happening. Once you know the Why, find solutions that fit your Soldiers. Do you have any specifics, so I can give you ideas?
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CSM (Join to see)
SGT Brent Cann, I appreciate your optimism, since I am an optimist, too. However, I have encountered enough Soldiers to know there ARE counterproductive Soldiers and some are downright evil. Thank goodness it is a small percentage of all Soldiers overall. Unfortunately, sometimes these destructive Soldiers make it to positions of rank and authority. Their metrics might look great, but they can destroy everyone in the process.
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CSM (Join to see)
SGT Richard H. - Yes you make a good point to be the change you want to see in the world. I personally find most people use the word "Toxic" but it is usually used improperly to describe Toxic Leadership. If the issue is the culture is sucking all the Life out of the Soldiers then you must take action. Take your squad or team and do a sensing session. Find out what the constraints are to the Soldiers well-being. After you can identity the constraints work on ways to defeat them.
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SGT Richard H.
CSM (Join to see) - I'm not sure what a "sensing" session is. For me, my answer was to just take them and disappear...not to sham, but to go do Infantry stuff (whenever I could pull it off). It's really not that hard as long as you don't have a reputation for screwing off, and I always found that taking them out to do land nav or go to the mout site and kick some doors or something like that jacked the motivation a whole lot higher than it would be from a day of painting rocks.
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SFC (Join to see)
CSM (Join to see) - I concur with these comments and can attest to the same synopsis and may be a result of my recruiting efforts. Sometimes it is hard to tell what will happen down range but while a civilian (future soldier) for the few weeks/months they are delayed before BCT it is my job to transform them into productive and righteous soldiers. I am sure there are some success stories but then there are others who come back into my office xxx months/years later trying to enlist again?????
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Your brain is like a computer and your mind is like the software. If you change your mind you can change your life.
You must be able to discern between manipulation and motivation. Manipulation is self-serving and self-interest. Motivation is what is best for the common good - You , me, and all concerned. So ask yourself what is the "intention" behind behavior/action? Here is a paradox - "You can get whatever you want , if you help enough other people get what they want."
There are five levels of motivation:
1. Mission (Who else? What is my purpose?)
2. Identity (Who am I? Who are we?)
3. Values (Why do we do what we do?)
4. Beliefs (Why do we do what we do?)
5. Capabilities (How do we get things done?)
You can motivate anyone to do anything if it matches their internal mental programming
There are five motivational programs:
1. Toward - Away (goal achievers or problem solvers)
2. Internal - External ( decisive leadership or compliant followership)
3. Options - Procedures ( choices or process)
4. Active - Passive (self-starting or other initiating)
5. Sameness - Progress - Difference (same, improved, or new)
Create desire that, "I can be there."
Steps to building Esprit de Corps:
1. Reward cooperation
2. Assign responsibility for group morale to the group itself
3. Plan occasions when people can be away together
4. Assign a high value to communication
5. Collaborate
You must be able to discern between manipulation and motivation. Manipulation is self-serving and self-interest. Motivation is what is best for the common good - You , me, and all concerned. So ask yourself what is the "intention" behind behavior/action? Here is a paradox - "You can get whatever you want , if you help enough other people get what they want."
There are five levels of motivation:
1. Mission (Who else? What is my purpose?)
2. Identity (Who am I? Who are we?)
3. Values (Why do we do what we do?)
4. Beliefs (Why do we do what we do?)
5. Capabilities (How do we get things done?)
You can motivate anyone to do anything if it matches their internal mental programming
There are five motivational programs:
1. Toward - Away (goal achievers or problem solvers)
2. Internal - External ( decisive leadership or compliant followership)
3. Options - Procedures ( choices or process)
4. Active - Passive (self-starting or other initiating)
5. Sameness - Progress - Difference (same, improved, or new)
Create desire that, "I can be there."
Steps to building Esprit de Corps:
1. Reward cooperation
2. Assign responsibility for group morale to the group itself
3. Plan occasions when people can be away together
4. Assign a high value to communication
5. Collaborate
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SFC (Join to see)
I don't know about you but this is key:
3. Plan occasions when people can be away together (AKA- downtime)
3. Plan occasions when people can be away together (AKA- downtime)
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CSM (Join to see)
Try the Marshmallow Activity. It is a Team Building exercise that is a lot of fun and males people work together. It raises morale and creates laughter.
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CSM (Join to see)
To assess where your group is at and to see how they work together, I do a Bravo Tree - Baldwin Blueberry Break. It is a lot of fun and you see first hand how the people in the group make desicions together.
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