The Feeling of an Organization is Leadership’s Responsibility
The feeling of an organization is leadership’s responsibility. Left to chance, the lights go out.
Organizational morale evaluates leadership. I’ve seen people smile, wave, and shout, “Hey,” when leaders walk through a plant. I’ve also seen people pay no mind.
More than rewards:
A manager I coach wanted to discuss rewards. I asked, “What’s the purpose of rewards?
He said, “The purpose of rewards is to build team morale.” He could have said rewards honor performance or affirm effort. But he didn’t.
Energy drain:
The simplicity of morale-building beguiles egotistical leaders. You don’t need big programs, big budget, or big plans.
Egotistical leaders suck energy.
Big egos love the mirror. But morale building begins with caring for others.
4 don’ts of morale building:
Reject lame reward programs that cost money and bore employees.
- Don’t create unrealistic expectations.
- Don’t wait for big budgets.
- Don’t demotivate good performers.
- Don’t embarrass people who prefer the shadows.
Low budget morale builders:
Provide recognition often enough to make it effective, but not expected.
- Coffee and bagels for no reason.
- Pie.
- Apples or candy on desks with handwritten thank you notes. Mention strengths or character in the notes. “You’re great at … .”
- Pizza or subs for the team.
- Ice cream bars.
- Anniversary celebrations. Have a cake when someone hits their one year anniversary with the company.
- Send a teammate to meet customers and see his/her product in use.
No budget morale builders:
Get out of your head and into your heart, if you hope to build morale.
- Notice people.
- Express care.
- Set challenging goals and provide support.
- Give pats on the back.
- Begin meetings by talking about wins.
- Smile.
- Invite the CEO to pat your team on the back.
How might leaders build team morale? How do you do it?
What should leaders avoid when it comes to building morale?
I like this post. Thanks for sharing. I have noticed that some people newly appointed into leadership positions distance themselves from the workforce. They may think they are suddenly better than the rest. Truth is, as you mentioned in this post, you need to be close to your people. Take notice of everybody and reward good work personally. Small gestures can go a long way.
Thanks Donnavan. What a great point. You have to be physically present if you hope to build morale.
Morale-building is a full contact activity.
Highlight a positive skill, talent, or trait they’re not aware they possess.
Thanks Paul. See things they don’t see in themselves!! Notice when people put themselves down…maybe there’s an upside.
Thanks for your insight!
Dear Dan,
I appreciate the concept of morale. Morale is based on relations. When relation is good, morale will be high. Tangibles motivate as long as they are visible. The moment they are removed, motivation goes down. Morale is dependent on people and relations with them. It lasts long. People do remember their experience and especially positive. Morale creates positive feeling among people. And Yes, it is top down initiative. The simple rule of morale is creating equity and fairness and lead by example.
It does not cost anything. It only needs clear intention and determination to introduce it. Leaders should avoid favour when building morale. Favour is perhaps the greatest demotivator. It can motivate few, but lower the organisational morale to the lowest.
Thanks Dr. Gupta. Brilliant. The relationship side is essential. Great add.
In the conversation with the manager that I mentioned above. He was concerned about favoritism and demotivating people. That’s one reason to focus some attention on teams instead of individuals.
Having said that, individual relationships are the glue for successful teams.
I like what Donnavan said about being around. I always love the concept of Managing by Walking Around. You can have no agenda, and it is amazing what you can get done by just walking to the end of the office and back. It is a great opportunity to see the good things team members are doing and recognize them for a job well done. It also allows you to understand issues you never would have been aware of if you had not gotten out from behind your desk. 30 minutes walking around in the morning can sometimes save you hours of time later.
Team members appreciate accessibility, it helps build morale and sends the message that we are all in this together.
Thanks for the reminders.
Thanks Patrick. Your comment reminded me about the origins of MBWA (Management by Wandering Around) at HP. It must have seemed courageous to do something so UNfocused.
Glad you added this concept.
Also, accessibility is morale building. Think of how it feels to be excluded.
A letter from the great “Organizer of Victory” to quote Churchill: George C. Marshall’s thoughts on morale and a low-budget morale builder.
To Thomas E. Martin [Congressman]
April 10, 1944 [Washington, D.C.]
Dear Mr. Martin:
My attention has been called to a statement in the press indicating your concern over the number of Army decorations that have been awarded in this war.1 I am frankly disturbed about the apparent general lack of understanding of combat decorations and their value in sustaining the morale of the men who are doing the actual fighting. Napoleon is alleged to have said “Give me enough ribbon to place on the tunics of my soldiers and I can conquer the world.” I cannot vouch for the accuracy of that quotation but I certainly share the view which such a statement indicates.
We have awarded, since the outbreak of the war, probably 12,000 combat decorations other than the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal, about 3,000 decorations for distinguished or exceptionally meritorious service, and about 135,000 air decorations (Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal). When the size of our Army, and the extensiveness and nature of its operations are considered, the number of awards in the first two categories is surprisingly low.
The air decorations should be measured against the remarkable achievements of the Air Forces and the special nature of continuing air combat. For example, at the end of 1943 the Army Air Forces had flown 392,000 combat sorties, exposing 1,375,000 individuals to the danger of enemy fire. They have lost their hands and their feet in flying and fighting at temperatures far below zero. They suffered heavy loss of pilots or crew members, and almost as many sorties have been flown in the past three months as in all of 1943.
These are the men who pioneered the daylight bombing over Europe when the usual pessimistic predictions were that such tactics would be suicidal. They are the men who fought the Japanese air force against tremendous odds until they ultimately gained air superiority. They continued to fly missions when their chance of safe return was apparently less than one in five. They still take heavy casualties day after day, week after week. Yet their morale has continued high and their achievements have soared, and one of the reasons is that they have positive evidence that their work has been given immediate recognition.
No one who considers all of these things, and who understands the morale effect of the prompt bestowal of a bit of ribbon and bronze, would ever feel that our awards of combat and air decorations have been excessive. In fact, I wonder if we have given the men sufficient recognition. It is a tragic fact that the men who have received the most decorations are usually lost to us by their own continued daring and leadership.
It has been my opinion that one of the grave errors of the previous war was our ineffective policy in the award of decorations and our dilatory policy regarding campaign ribbons. We seemed to begrudge prompt recognition of the men who did the fighting, suffered the hardships, and took the losses. After the war the attempt was made to correct this, but as might have been expected, more of the importunate than the modest and deserving received these belated awards, and heavy political pressures were usually involved.
From the beginning of this war I determined that we would not repeat what clearly appeared to me were serious mistakes in the past. I have impressed upon our commanders in the field not only the value of decorations and their proper use, but of the necessity for their prompt bestowal. And, incidentally, there is small chance of the wrong or undeserving man getting the decorations if it is given in the field. From personal observation of the results, I am convinced that my view is the correct one.
I was so impressed with the effect of the Air Medal and the adverse effect of the lack of a suitable award of the same level for the long-suffering infantrymen that I personally asked for and secured the President’s approval to a corresponding decoration for the ground forces, to be known as the Bronze Star.2 I want to obtain the same effect with this among the ground troops, particularly the infantry who suffer such a high percentage of our casualties, and I intend that it shall be awarded with the same freedom as the Air Medal.
In short, it is my sincere belief that we cannot do too much in the way of prompt and appropriate recognition of the men who carry the fight and live under the conditions that exist at the fighting front.
I intend to see that these young soldiers enjoy this small fruit of their military effort while they are amongst their war comrades and confronted with the ordeal of further fighting.
The immediate award of the campaign or theater ribbon had a somewhat different purpose. One of our most serious morale problems related to the men serving in isolated distant posts, often under extremes of temperature and usually in discomfort. They did not have the stimulation or excitement of contact with the enemy to fix their interest or satisfy their normal desire for active service, and they suffered increasingly from loneliness, from the fact that they could do little to merit public recognition. Therefore the theater ribbon. The fact that some officer in Washington may wear one or two is not a proper argument against the present policy. Furthermore, in considering matters of this kind there is little similarity today with our deployment and the short duration of the war in 1917-18.
I am writing to you personally and at considerable length because of the importance that I attach to this subject. I think it essential that our friends in the Military Affairs Committee understand the problem, and have a complete appreciation of how we are using our decorations, and why we are proceeding along this line.3
Faithfully yours,
Document Copy Text Source: George C. Marshall Papers, Pentagon Office Collection, General Materials, George C. Marshall Research Library, Lexington, Virginia.
I’m saluting! Thanks William.
I wonder if CEO should stand for Chief Energy Officer. If leaders aren’t intentionally fueling energy, they’re derelict in duty.
Here’s a leadership question to ask at your next meeting, “What exactly are you doing to elevate morale?” Or, “How exactly are you fueling energy on your team?”
Thanks William. Really appreciate you sharing that passage.
A very good Friday reminder. I still find the old notion of “praise in public, criticize in private” to be really helpful. Even in the midst of difficult times, highlighting successes & thanking folks for their efforts via group emails or in meetings or in the general workspace does wonders for keeping people motivated and not just frustrated. Thanks, Dan!
Thanks Bob. And what does an atah boy/girl cost?
Here is what I shared on FB: Teachers, what is the morale in your classroom? Pastors, what is the morale in your congregation? Parents, what is the morale in your family? Administrators/CEOs, Deans/Presidents, Executive Directors/Head masters, what is the morale in your organization? This is an excellent post on how to improve morale, because if you lead, morale is your responsibility. And “the beatings will continue until morale improves” is likely not working for you…..or at least it’s not working for those who serve your organization. Smile. Love that. So simple.
Hey Pete. It’s mind expanding when you bring these ideas into different contexts. Powerful.
On smiling: I frequently see feedback for leaders that includes things like smiling. How hard is that?
What I find interesting is that many leaders do not understand the value of good morale and how it actually impacts their customers. I understand the concept of “the customer is always right,” and I think that if you treat your employees right, they will treat your customers the right way and you will not lose them. Happy employees = happy customers. Period.
Thanks Joseph. You’ve added to the growing list of benefits to morale building. Leading is about getting things done. High morale fuels results.
Companies like Southwest Airlines believe if you treat employees right good customer service follows.
Make sure everyone laughs AT LEAST once a day! Laughter such a great team builder, motivator.
Good one. Thanks Thinker. Simple and cost effective.
I might add to this one “Get out of your head and into your heart, if you hope to build morale.” by adding “& gut” as in gut instinct after “heart”.
I have been hearing lately that “morale is down out there” “morale is so low”, I think I have even said it. But then someone asked me why and I had a hard time giving them a good answer. The only thing I could say was that our brand for our product got sold and we lost it, and second, people have lost faith in our management. I do believe the selling of our brand is what started everything and then maybe our safety culture was poor as well at the same time. We have made a ton of improvements in our safety culture and even the structure of some departments. We are still in the transition phase and maybe that is part of the low morale, because not all people deal with change very well. We just switched to a 12-hour shift too and really it is hit or miss if people like that change or not. More-so the young people like the shift change whereas the baby boomers do not. At any rate, I really liked the idea of having employees going out with the sales staff to see their product they create in motion. I really think this would help us even though we currently do not have a brand.
It’s proven that people aren’t always motivated by money – recognition and a thank you go a long way to improving morale. Great suggestions Dan.